hi i have read sphynxlair on and off for the last year or so despite having adopted a sphynx about 9 years ago. it is with great guilt and sadness that i finally write to a forum now. my sphynx harry passed last tuesday from severe hcm. i wanted to share his story in hopes that others new to the breed understand the importance of screening for this before it is too late.
i first met harry in 2006 when i was finishing up my senior year of college. i did some googling, read some articles, and even watched an animal planet episode on the sphynx. harry had been passed through two families when he finally came to me. i thought i was aware of all the care he needed--weekly baths, teeth brushing, ear cleaning, clipping nails, wiping eye boogers, yearly vet visits, but in all my research and all my vet visits, hcm never came up. the vet always said his heart and lungs sounded good, every time he went under for an extensive teeth cleaning there was never any question of the stability of his heart and i always requested them not to use ketamine. i thought i was doing all i could.
for 9 years, harry seemed fine until the last week of october 2015. he developed a strange cough in the middle night. after the 4th night we went to the vet. the vet listened to his heart and lungs--"everything sounded fine" i was told. she gave him some antibiotics and we scheduled a chest xrayto see what was going on. the xray revealed some cloudiness in his lungs and an enlarged heart. we went to a board certified cardiologist a week later. harry was diagnosed with severe hcm and early congestive heart failure. he started lasix and plavix. he never acted that different besides that cough. he did seem to sleep a little more but i just thought it was because he was getting older. when he first started his medicine he seemed to be less tired and more playful even. to make sure i was doing absolutely everything i could for him, i had another consultation with a cardiologist from the cornell feline health center. i even found other cats on instagram living with congestive heart failure and making it. his next echocardiogram was scheduled in four months. i was hopeful. i thought he could last through this for awhile especially after reading about cats on here living decent lives with hcm.
but less than 2 weeks into starting his medicine, one evening he started laying on his side very funny. everytime i would try to stroke him he would act uncomfortable and wiggle around. his breathing rate was high and then he stood up vomitted twice. ran away from me like he was trying to hide. and then he collapsed and cried out. we rushed to the vet, but harry never got back up. his temperature would not go up. he was only 94 despite being surrounded with heat packs. he was in an oxygen tank because he was struggling to breath. when he was stabilized the vet let us come back and see him. as soon as i put my hand through the slot to pet him he started wiggling again and his heart plummeted from 118 to 34. the vet said he was dying and i did not want him to struggle anymore so i asked her to help him. it was almost as if he waited to see us again before he started to let go. he passed with his head in my hand. he was already so cold. and i cannot get this image out of my head. i failed him.
he was my first true love, love of my life. i hope he knew how much i loved him and i will miss him every single day. now i cant help but feel guilty i didnt understand hcm and did not have him checked for it earlier in his life. what if i had done it and we caught it sooner would he still be here? i am filled with so much guilt and i want others to know harrys story so they can understand how to better care for your sphynx. know what hcm is and how it is properly diagnosed. even though he went to the vet yearly his whole life i dont understand why a vet never brought it up to have him screened for hcm. so i hope anyone reading on here that isnt aware, learns.
this is the last photo (attached) i have of harry two days prior to his passing. i still cannot believe he is gone. i miss his warm body sleeping on my head every night, purring all night long, the sound of his toes tinkling on the floor, finding him waiting in the bathroom for someone to fill up the sink with water, finding him buried in blankets whenever i came home from work, his nose bites, his porkchop legs, riding on my back, his silky furry paws, and that potato chip like smell he would develop when it was time for a bath. ive had plenty of pets come and go growing up but none have left the impression harry left on my life.
im sorry this is so long and maybe it makes no sense and i am preaching to the choir. i just want anyone that is new to the breed on here to please do your research. know what care your sphynx should have and do not rely on a vet to do it for you. maybe i was only ever meant to have only 9 years with harry and i am lucky to have had him for so long. i just cant stop thinking about what if this had been caught sooner...
thanks for reading.
in memory of harry 5/14/06 - 11/24/15
i first met harry in 2006 when i was finishing up my senior year of college. i did some googling, read some articles, and even watched an animal planet episode on the sphynx. harry had been passed through two families when he finally came to me. i thought i was aware of all the care he needed--weekly baths, teeth brushing, ear cleaning, clipping nails, wiping eye boogers, yearly vet visits, but in all my research and all my vet visits, hcm never came up. the vet always said his heart and lungs sounded good, every time he went under for an extensive teeth cleaning there was never any question of the stability of his heart and i always requested them not to use ketamine. i thought i was doing all i could.
for 9 years, harry seemed fine until the last week of october 2015. he developed a strange cough in the middle night. after the 4th night we went to the vet. the vet listened to his heart and lungs--"everything sounded fine" i was told. she gave him some antibiotics and we scheduled a chest xrayto see what was going on. the xray revealed some cloudiness in his lungs and an enlarged heart. we went to a board certified cardiologist a week later. harry was diagnosed with severe hcm and early congestive heart failure. he started lasix and plavix. he never acted that different besides that cough. he did seem to sleep a little more but i just thought it was because he was getting older. when he first started his medicine he seemed to be less tired and more playful even. to make sure i was doing absolutely everything i could for him, i had another consultation with a cardiologist from the cornell feline health center. i even found other cats on instagram living with congestive heart failure and making it. his next echocardiogram was scheduled in four months. i was hopeful. i thought he could last through this for awhile especially after reading about cats on here living decent lives with hcm.
but less than 2 weeks into starting his medicine, one evening he started laying on his side very funny. everytime i would try to stroke him he would act uncomfortable and wiggle around. his breathing rate was high and then he stood up vomitted twice. ran away from me like he was trying to hide. and then he collapsed and cried out. we rushed to the vet, but harry never got back up. his temperature would not go up. he was only 94 despite being surrounded with heat packs. he was in an oxygen tank because he was struggling to breath. when he was stabilized the vet let us come back and see him. as soon as i put my hand through the slot to pet him he started wiggling again and his heart plummeted from 118 to 34. the vet said he was dying and i did not want him to struggle anymore so i asked her to help him. it was almost as if he waited to see us again before he started to let go. he passed with his head in my hand. he was already so cold. and i cannot get this image out of my head. i failed him.
he was my first true love, love of my life. i hope he knew how much i loved him and i will miss him every single day. now i cant help but feel guilty i didnt understand hcm and did not have him checked for it earlier in his life. what if i had done it and we caught it sooner would he still be here? i am filled with so much guilt and i want others to know harrys story so they can understand how to better care for your sphynx. know what hcm is and how it is properly diagnosed. even though he went to the vet yearly his whole life i dont understand why a vet never brought it up to have him screened for hcm. so i hope anyone reading on here that isnt aware, learns.
this is the last photo (attached) i have of harry two days prior to his passing. i still cannot believe he is gone. i miss his warm body sleeping on my head every night, purring all night long, the sound of his toes tinkling on the floor, finding him waiting in the bathroom for someone to fill up the sink with water, finding him buried in blankets whenever i came home from work, his nose bites, his porkchop legs, riding on my back, his silky furry paws, and that potato chip like smell he would develop when it was time for a bath. ive had plenty of pets come and go growing up but none have left the impression harry left on my life.
im sorry this is so long and maybe it makes no sense and i am preaching to the choir. i just want anyone that is new to the breed on here to please do your research. know what care your sphynx should have and do not rely on a vet to do it for you. maybe i was only ever meant to have only 9 years with harry and i am lucky to have had him for so long. i just cant stop thinking about what if this had been caught sooner...
thanks for reading.
in memory of harry 5/14/06 - 11/24/15
️I am sorry for your loss. I will miss the potato chip like smell from my boy as well.