hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy

[darlinglittlechaos]

at a loss of how to feel. i have a young guy (about 2.5 years) that was just diagnosed with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy. i am hopeful and completely crushed at the same time. i have informed the breeder and she is completely devastated as he is a product of her outcross program. she is a responsible breeder and tests her breeders - his diagnosis is apparently an anomaly. i can't deal with another cat dying... and i know for sure it will be the end of me if i have to watch him die suddenly - or watch him slowly suffer for that matter. they have prescribed atenolol (beta blocker) and want a recheck in 6 months.
he is asymptomatic at the present as far as we can tell - i didn't know what to look for until now so *fingers crossed*. left ventricle is decreased, atrium is normal. right ventricle & atrium are normal. there are no clots/thrombi present.
there are notes about the valves that i am not completely clear on the meaning but will be doing some research to find out what the notes mean.
its seems that the long term prognosis of this disease is guarded - excuse me but what does that really mean?? - then the ppwrk says, though in one study, cats with this disease that were asymptomatic when diagnosed had an average survival of greater than 5 years.
anything you have to say will be vastly helpful. just fyi: i'm just looking for support - not medical advise... i added the medical stuff to give you an idea of what's going on medically in case you had a kitty that went through this.

 

[laurelizarris]

So sorry to hear this, i can't imagine what you must be going through
Atleast it's been caught in the early stages, and hopefully his meds along with regular check ups will help keep it under control so you can both have many more happy years despite his disease
Stay strong and think positive

 

[admin]

at a loss of how to feel. i have a young guy (about 2.5 years) that was just diagnosed with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy. i am hopeful and completely crushed at the same time. i have informed the breeder and she is completely devastated as he is a product of her outcross program. she is a responsible breeder and tests her breeders - his diagnosis is apparently an anomaly. i can't deal with another cat dying... and i know for sure it will be the end of me if i have to watch him die suddenly - or watch him slowly suffer for that matter. they have prescribed atenolol (beta blocker) and want a recheck in 6 months.
he is asymptomatic at the present as far as we can tell - i didn't know what to look for until now so *fingers crossed*. left ventricle is decreased, atrium is normal. right ventricle & atrium are normal. there are no clots/thrombi present.
there are notes about the valves that i am not completely clear on the meaning but will be doing some research to find out what the notes mean.
its seems that the long term prognosis of this disease is guarded - excuse me but what does that really mean?? - then the ppwrk says, though in one study, cats with this disease that were asymptomatic when diagnosed had an average survival of greater than 5 years.
anything you have to say will be vastly helpful. just fyi: i'm just looking for support - not medical advise... i added the medical stuff to give you an idea of what's going on medically in case you had a kitty that went through this.

So sorry to hear of your illness. It's never easy. Medication, love and check ups will give your kitty a long comfortable life.

 

[Boonecat]

So sad to hear this. Hopefully the meds & regular vet visits will give you a lot more time with him. Just love & cherish him every day

 

[MyJezebel]

My heart is breaking for you. I pray your baby stays symptom free and lives a long and healthy life. My little guy Finn is going to the cardiologist in two days because his heart appeared long on an x-ray that was taken to try and diagnose another health condition that we've been dealing with. I'm scared and hopeful at the same time about what will be found during the echocardiogram, so I completely understand how you feel.

 

[susi794]

Oh, blesshim...so sorry to hear of the diagnosis. Praying that the meds and early intervention will allow him a long and symptom free life. We are here for you as a support system or a shoulder to cry on when you need us.
Hugs,
Susi

 

[Inflamed]

I hope the meds will help him have a long and comfortable life, hang in there!

 

[Caloci]

Im so sorry your boy has this condition. I hope that treatment helps to make him happy and comfortable so that you can enjoy your time together. Best wishes for you both. Please keep us informed. By the way what is your boys name?

 

[ZiggyStardust]

I am so sorry to hear your boy has this disease. I too have a cat with HOCM. Catching it when he's asymptomatic is good. With proper medication and regular echos to stay on top of it, we've managed to get Ash's HOCM "relatively stable" and he was diagnosed three years ago. It's heartbreaking, but you can still have many more years with your baby. ::hugs::

 

[Hairless Blessing]

I'm sorry, I will send up prayers for him and you.
Hopeful since it was caught earily, he with meds and will have many
happy years with you. Keep us up dated on his progress.
Best Wishes.

 

[Nofuratu]

Sorry to hear your news! Try not to think the worst though...you may have many more years. But I understand how you feel.
Nofuratu was diagnosed with mild to moderate HOCM 2 yrs ago. He was asymptomatic except for murmur when he is agitated. We started Atenolol last year and i have to say I was thinking the worst....
but you would never know there is anything wrong with him!
He tears around the house and beats the crap out of the other cats and eats like a pig.
Ive heard of quite a few cats with the same diagnosis who are approaching double digit birthdays and still doing fine. Wish I could say something that would make you feel better!
Lets be hopeful together.

 

[NinaGato]

All I can say is kiss you kid and love hims lots.
I know all the vet speak can be confusing but it is good that they think his condition can be regulated with meds. I have been in your spot and really have compassion for what you are feeling.

Sphynx on the go use Tapatalk for smartphones

 

[darlinglittlechaos]

thank you all for your kind words!

@Caloci - his name is Taranis - Taranus (alternate spelling Taranis) is the celtic thunder god (like the nordic thor). i thought the name was fitting since he thunders around the house making sure that everyone and everything knows he is coming and means business. :Laugh:

he has been on atenolol for a week and has had his first full dose today. *fingers crossed*
although i had a really big scare this evening. i dont know if i should start a new thread for it - i am thinking i should just in case someone else is searching for the same thing.

i am not sure if it is a seizure or a stroke and i asked the dr. during his scan to see if she knew what was going on but she wasn't sure but said it might be a seizure... i was sure that i was going to lose him this evening.

so the family was about to sit down for dinner - and he always follows us in the kitchen to beg for food... tonight he started crying in the living room instead of following us but it wasn't his normal 'give me your meat' cry. the crying turned into screaming right as i walked back into the living room. i picked him up and his whole body was limp, his eyes were wide open and he was screaming so loud but barely breathing (at least his chest wasn't moving and i could barely feel breath coming out of his nose). but just as we were calling the emergency vet he stopped screaming, just picked himself up, walked away, laid down in his bed and started purring.

something like this has happened before but we just thought it was night terrors and it wasn't this scary - i really thought he was dying this time - not to say i wasn't completely terrified the 3 times it has happened since November but this one lasted so long - the other times it happened he 'woke up' when i picked him up which is why we thought it was night terrors originally.

so just to be sure - like i said earlier - i asked the dr during his scan and she said that it might be seizures but couldn't be sure without a video of it.
i totally failed at video taping it this evening and im not sure that i could grab my phone to make a video if it happened again. my first reaction is to pick him up and hold him.

he doesn't twitch or seize or tense up like a human seizure and i have looked a a bunch of videos online of cats having seizures and it doesn't look like that either. he is just limp like a ragdoll, eyes wide and screaming...

any thoughts or experiences like this? i am calling his vet and cardiologist on monday to let them know and to get their thoughts.

admin: please let me know if i should copy this to a new thread.

 

[kimmyhm]

When mimi had a seizure she had the classic stiffness, jerking them very limp, shallow breathing with a painful cry, her chest wasn't moving and we thought she had left us. She was limp for about ten minutes, I think she was in shock, very weak, I rushed her to emergency vets where she stayed over night.

It sound to me that yours has had a seizure, they are really scary, I hope your vet can give you some answers, keep us posted

 

[MyJezebel]

Wow. You must have been so scared. Thank goodness he recovered. I hope your vet can get to the bottom of this so that you know what you are dealing with and can treat him accordingly. Please keep us posted.

 

[Fialicat]

I too had a heart sphynx. His name was Smudge. He was given to me as a kitten when he was diagnosed. He was symptom free for 4 yrs. One day he was racing around the house and went up a 12' cat tree and promptly fell to the ground not moving. I rushed him to my office (work for a veterinarian). By the time we got there he was fine. During the next 6 months he was on medications but never regained his old stamina. Losing him was the most heartbreaking experience. Even now I'm crying. There are lots of new drugs out there. Just love him and don't worry about the future.

 

[Fluffy]

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