Unfortunately I found out too late that heart disease in cats is quite common and often asymptomatic until a fatal event occurs. My 10 year old cat Winston was acting fine most of the day and when I came in from taking care of the chickens I found him lying on his side unable to move his back legs and meowing in pain. Upon examination the vet at urgent care said he had classic signs of heart disease in which a blood clot forms and gets lodged in the artery supplying the hind quarters. It is actually a congenital heart problem and American Short Hairs, Maine Coons and various other breeds are predisposed to the problem particularly males. Sadly once a large clot gets lodged and blocks both legs there is not a good treatment. The vet said that research into trying to break down the clots or do surgery has not proven successful. The blocked blood flow then brings on congestive heart failure within minutes. Winston was panting because his heart was unable to get adequate oxygen to his body. He was in serious pain and the vet said the only option for most of these cases is to put the cat down. Winston got an injection of pain medicine before we said good bye to him, but his breathing was obviously labored and you could hear the crackling in his lungs due to the congestive heart failure. I will miss him so much. Winston was very loving- he asked to be cuddle. He would look at me with his soulful eyes while kneading with his grey paws, then plop himself down on my lap and absorb all the stress and strain out of me.
His brother who is also very sweet in his own way could also be predisposed. Upon doing some searching on the internet, it turns out that there are effective treatments to prevent the progression of heart disease that are not expensive, so I will be taking him into the vet soon to find out more. Here is a link with some info for those who want to find out more:
http://www.portlandvetspecialists.com/library/heartdisease4.html
WINSTON (gray) and MATISSE (black and white)
His brother who is also very sweet in his own way could also be predisposed. Upon doing some searching on the internet, it turns out that there are effective treatments to prevent the progression of heart disease that are not expensive, so I will be taking him into the vet soon to find out more. Here is a link with some info for those who want to find out more:
http://www.portlandvetspecialists.com/library/heartdisease4.html
WINSTON (gray) and MATISSE (black and white)
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