heart disease in cats

[rms]

Hi all,

I am sad to tell you all that our cat had to be put to sleep this past Thursday due to an aortic thromboembolism. I did not know anything about this illness in cats until it happened to ours. Apparently due to heart disease, blood clots are formed in the heart, and when a blood clot is thrown, it often lodges itself in the artery that feeds the back legs and tail. My husband was traveling. I woke up to the cat meowing loudly at 4am. Sometimes he is active at night, so I tried to get him to quiet down, but then got up to try and shoo him away, only to find him unable to walk. He started to pant. I dare say that cats don''t pant. I didn''t know what to do, so called my husband who said to just call the vet as soon as possible. But after about an hour of trying to calm the cat down, I couldn''t take it anymore because it as obvious he was in severe pain. So I called a vet phone number which then directed me to an animal emergency hospital and I drove him down at about 5:30am. I never had animals when I was a kid, and our cat has been with my husband for 7 years, since he was a kitten. We''ve been married less than a year. I loved the cat, but without a doubt my husband adored that cat, and the cat loved him that much back...they had been through a lot together. Because I was alone, I got afraid that maybe I did something or didn''t see signs that he was not well. But within minutes the vet told me what happened and that it is a very common and seriously painful condition in cats that oftentimes happens without warning due to heart disease. They immediately recommended euthanasia after explaining the condition and the options that we had. At first we were going to treat him, but after the vet said that the poor guy would likely always have pain and that the chance of the same thing happening again was very high, my husband couldn''t take the thought of him being in pain. I honestly never thought I would cry over an animal, but I just unexpectedly started to cry. We kept him in the hospital until my husband flew in that evening and we went to see him. My husband didn''t want to be there when we put him to sleep, but I stayed with him. The house is so quiet without him now. My husband said that he doesn''t ever want another cat, because of how much he loved him.

I think in a way because of how much my husband loved him, that it was better that he wasn''t here when it happened because hearing our cat cry was just awful.

I was just wondering if other folks have had this happen to their cat, and if so what did you do? We just talked about it and almost immediately wondered if we did the right thing. If you google the topic, just a ton of information comes up.

Sorry for the long post...but thank you for listening.

 

[movie zombie]

rms,

i feel for you both. i had to put my gato the cat down april 17 after prolonged illness. he was 22-23 years old and my companion of 20 years. it still hurts and i cry as i read your words. i can tell you that caring for a cat and watching him deteriorate before your very eyes is not pleasant.

cats mask symptoms very well and it is difficult to tell if they are ill or not. it is hard to not second guess yourself after the fact.

i believe your cat communicated very effectively. i believe you handled the situation in the best possible manner.

peace, movie zombie

 

[Jennifer5973]

I am so sorry for your loss. You were very brave and I agree thast it was a blessing that your husband wasn''t there for the "attack" but was able to visit with the cat in the hospital instead. I am sure your husband appreciates how resposnive and caring you were.

Losing an animal is one of the most difficult things a person can experience, and many people don''t understand this, which compounds the loss. Who is there EVERY day with us? Who LOVES us no matter how tired we are, how ugly we look, whether we are fat or thin, or what kind of mood we are in? Who is so much a part of our lives every minute of every day they as woven into our experience as much as the rising sun each morning?

You and your husband are in my thoughts. Perhaps someday he will overcome his pain enough to adopt another kitty.

 

[Lorelei]

Oh RMS I feel so bad for you. Ditto what Movie Zombie and Jennifer said. You did everything possible for your little guy. I can relate to how you feel, a few years ago, our beloved cat who had fought feline leukaemia for 6 YEARS, when they didn''t even give him 6 months - rolled off my lap one morning and died. I was in shock for ages. The reason he died was because his veins had weakened with the chemo and he suffered a fatal stroke. I am comforted that the leukaemia didn''t get him and he died instantly. This little cat will always be our hero and he has proved that miracles can sometimes happen. You are going to wonder at this time if you did the right thing, sounds to me that you did splendidly for someone with their first pet. I am sure that there was nothing that could be done even if you could have got him to the vet immediately. Please don''t beat yourself up, I know it''s hard not to. Grieve for him, you will need to and treasure that this cat introduced you to the precious gift of sharing your life with a pet. Maybe in time, when the pain has eased you may feel you would like to adopt another cat. There are so many cats out there needing loving homes. If you did, the new cat would be just as special as your old one, but in a different way. But take your time with coming to terms with your loss and don''t do anything until you are both ready. I am sure one of the other PS members is a vet, I can''t remember who it is, but maybe she will see this and reply or PM you. Be thinking of you, I know well how much it hurts but as the old true saying goes, the pain will ease eventually and your happy memories of him will come to the fore.

 

[rms]

thanks everyone for your thoughts and wishes. We have talked about it a lot the last couple of days and as hard as it was, I think we decided that we did the right thing.

Jennifer, you are right, the pets seem to love us no matter what. Even when I got mad at ours, he was back around in no time curling up next to me.

Movie Zombie and Lorelei, both your stories also touch my heart. Our cat was only 7 years old, but I was told right aroung the average age where blood clots tend to form. Movie zombie, to have a cat for 20 years must have been amazing. I don''t even know what the average lifetime of cats is. And Lorelei, your cat living for 6 years when only being given for 6 months...something like your experience is what makes me question whether we should have treated him. They said blood clots can form again within 2 months, or that the cat could live for 3 years. ho hum

Perhaps some time in the future we''ll get another cat...time will tell. Best wishes,

 

[AndyRosse]

Rita,

I''m so sorry to hear about your cat. I completely agree with what Jennifer said about how important pets really are to us. To me, my cat is who I come home to since my fiance often works much later than me. And he has had a couple health scares in these past couple months. But the thing I always promise him and myself is that if he is in tremendous pain and the chances of him getting better enough to live comfortably are slim, I will not draw out his treatment and pain just out of my own selfishness. And I think that is exactly what you and your husband promised and did for your cat. You can''t second guess yourself (though it''s hard not to), but in the end, you know that what you decided wasn''t out of your own selfishness but out of concern for him and his comfort. Hopefully that is some comfort to you both. I sure hope it will be to me if and when I have to make such a difficult decision.

So I just wanted to give you my condolences. I unfortunately do not have any info on heart disease in cats, but hopefully someone around here does.

[I wish that I had a little "hug" icon to insert right here.]

Michelle

 

[movie zombie]

rita, i want to thank you for reaching out with your post. i did take the time to research the internet re aortic thrombolism. i have now educated myself regarding another potential disease......you see, i have 8 remaining cats ranging in age from 7-14 years of age. thank you.

peace, movie zombie

 

[Lorelei]

Please try not to question whether you did the right thing rmr. Our cat wasn''t in pain, or much of it with his leukaemia, and it sounds like your cat was in terrible pain with little chance of relief. He had tumours in his lymphatic system which we could literally see growing. We agreed with our vet to try chemo and if it was too much for him, then we would think again. He tolerated the chemo well, which made us continue. If he was my cat, I would have done the same thing as you, he was in dreadful pain and I am sure that if you had tried treatment it would only be prolonging the inevitable. Our cat''s survival was literally unheard of, we were very very lucky. I think you absolutely did the right thing, the only thing you could do. The other side to trying treatment is that in cases like yours, unfortunately as the vet said he would always have pain and the outcome would be the same. Then you would have felt so bad thinking we shouldn''t have put him through it. There are no easy answers I know, but the pain you are both feeling now is a reflection of how much you loved him. You did everything right, believe me you did. With another of our cats, he had cancer in the mouth, and I still feel that I tried for maybe too long to save him and didn''t have him put to sleep soon enough. I really and truly don''t think you could have done anymore than you did for your cat, and I think you are to be admired for doing such a great job caring for your cat, you are very courageous. I wish more people were as caring and as responsible as you.

 

[Catmom]

Rita,

I''m so sorry to hear about your beloved kitty. My condolences to both you and your husband. It is so hard to lose a pet as they are really members of our family and loved as much as anyone else. Please know that you did the right thing for your kitty. I know that it is difficult to believe sometimes. If you are like me then you believe it in your head but your heart does not want to let go. I still mourn for my beloved Blaze kitty. We had her less than two years when she started to lose weight for no reason. Our Vet, who is the best by the way, could never find anything wrong with her even though she continued to lose weight over several months. She was still a spunky and vibrant kitty, but getting very thin when our vet suggested that we take her to a specialty animal hospital that is near our house. They wanted to do exploratory surgery which we consented to as we were getting deserate to find a cause. To this day I still remember her there on the exam table purring away as I petted her while talking to the surgeon. I left her there on that table purring up a storm and seamingly happy. The next thing I know is us getting a call from the surgeon saying that Blaze was still in the operating room under sedation but that they found massive tumors all througout her body and they suggested we let her go then and there and not let her wake up from the surgery. It was such a difficult decision to make but we did as they suggested as we did not want her to ever suffer. To this day I wonder if we did the right thing, especially when I think of her beautiful face looking up at me while she purred like crazy. I am crying now as I talk about this, just as I''m sure you do every time you think about your wonderful kitty. All you can do is believe that you did the right thing and that she did not needlessly suffer and then remember all the wonderful times you had with her and hopefully a smile will come to your face. She will always be with you, at least in your heart.

 

[movie zombie]

Catmom, you, too, did the right thing.

i think we all 2nd guess ourselves, either way.

peace, movie zombie

 

[moremoremore]

I''m SO sorry to hear this. Just so sorry. You can''t always protect your pets..it was out of your hands and you gave kitty a great life.

 

[rms]

I really want to thank all of you for sharing your thoughts and stories, even though they are sad stories. For as common as the blood clots seem to be per what the vet told me and what I read online, the only other person who has told me they had the same thing happen to a cat of theirs was (of all people), my mother-in-law. She told us that she also put her cat to sleep, so it did comfort us a bit.

Michelle, I hope that your cat is doing well these days.

Catmom, oh your story is so sad, I am just so sorry about that. That just had to have been terrible to need to make that decision so quickly. I wish they had been able to tell you what was wrong earlier.

I hope that all of us talking together helps the others in some small way.

On some lighter notes...

- we went out to dinner last night at a cool place that wraps your leftovers in tin foil and forms them into various shapes. Would you believe that we got ours wrapped up into a cat and a mouse? And mine was the cat, actually.

- oh, and movie zombie, I really don''t even want to begin to imagine what your litter box might look and smell like for you with 8 cats!! How do you do it?!?

 

[Blue824]

Guess I''m a little behind checking the threads...

I am so sorry to hear about your kitty. Everyone is right, you''re going to second guess yourself, but he was in pain, and if your vet thought there''d be a good chance of him being ok, the vet would''ve let you know...Regardless of how one loses a pet, it is extremely difficult because pets are such a huge part of your life. Yours and Allycat''s cat stories made me go give mine big hugs, I sort of take them forgranted. Best of luck in the next few weeks getting over the loss.

 

[Lorelei]

Yes I believe it rms. How wonderful that you had a sign, a gift in your tin foil kitty. Sometimes these " coincidences" happen just when we need them most in my experience. Feel comforted that your cat is in a better place, his physical body may be gone but his energy still connects with you and that cannot die. I hope you are both feeling a little better today .