We found out a week ago Friday that Cooper, our very large part Maine Coon cat, which is seven years old, has heart disease. He has not been himself since the February dental surgery he had at MSU. He's lost over a pound since December; his calcium level is up (a history of hypercalcemia) a bit as of the January blood work (we've been fighting hypercalcemia for two years and had it just below high normal a year ago but now it's above normal.) He has not been eating well since the dental surgery. While he began to eat more, he soon slowed down. A trick to get him to eat more that worked one day, wouldn't work the next; the food he loved one day, he wouldn't eat later in the day. I bought kitten dry food on Thursday because it has more calories and more protein. He ate some Friday morning but not enough. So, I called the vet and made an appointment for later in the afternoon.
The vet discovered he had congestion and a large heart. We've been through all of this with Myrna our HCM (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy) cat but it didn't prevent the news from being upsetting. I called Myrna's cardiologist to see if she was still in the office although by then they were closed. She wasn't but she said she would come in and do an echo to check the heart. (We are so grateful for her. She's been wonderful with Myrna.) I drove Cooper up to Novi ER where they stabilized him, gave him lasix, and put him on oxygen. Then the cardio did the echo. At first she thought he had HCM but the lungs were so full of fluid that it was difficult to get a good reading.
His heart seemed segmented in one area by lumps of thickened wall. Cooper is seven years old, sort of young but in the age range that most cardiac issues are discovered in cats. It could be that it was developing over the summer which is why Cooper began to lose weight. It is likely that the stress of the dental surgery as well as the anesthesia was a trigger for further development of the heart disease and CHF.
We brought him home last Saturday after a night in the ER. He was put on lasix 10mg twice a day to get rid of extra fluid to prevent CHF. He began Plavix and Spironolactone as well.
His heart disease developed quickly. He had an echo two years ago when he first had hypercalcemia and we were worried about the effects on the heart. The echo was clear. He had a stress related murmur that he's had even as a kitten but no sign of disease. Last summer he weighed 12.8 lbs and began to slowly lose weight-an ounce here, 1/2 ounce there but he was eating well enough. By December he wasn't always eating everything offered and by the end of December he weighed 12.1 lbs. We knew that he hadn't been eating well but thought it had to do with the tooth he was losing to resorption. Two months later at the dental surgery, he weighed 11.5. We had not realized that he had drastically lost weight. We now believe the weight loss indicated the onset of heart disease. At no time did he ever present with congestion until last week. It wasn't until he really didn't want to eat last week, and that he looked tired, and that on Thursday seemed to breathe fast, that I knew he needed to see the vet. But even then, I wasn't expecting heart disease. I thought the hypercalcemia was causing issues again.
After last week's ER visit, he perked up and began eating more and seemed more alert. His breathing improved and was stable at 8-10 in 15 seconds. But by Tuesday, it was about 14 in 15 seconds so around 60 per minute. If this were Myrna, that would be WAY too high. But he was up and about and the breathing wasn't labored and it went down to 12 and up to 14 when he was moving about. But by 1 a.m. he exhibited such labored effort to breathe that I gave him 10mg more of lasix. The rate fell to 15 and wasn't as labored. Eventually, we fell asleep and I went back to bed.
Thursday he wasn't better and hadn't urinated. So, I had my husband come home and take him to the vet ER/cardiologist office. I had an appointment for later that day with Myrna to see the cardiologist. In short, they placed him in the ER all Thursday through Friday. They gave him IV lasix, and later lasix injections. He was placed on oxygen until Friday a.m. when his xrays were more clear. Friday, the cardiologist did an echo and found that he has Moderator Band Cardiomyopathy and not HCM she had originally suspected. He came home Friday afternoon.
His kidneys are fine; he was actually dehydrated so while the lasix kicked out some fluid slowly, it wasn't forcing out the fluid from the lungs as quickly as it was fluid from any other part of the body. Eventually, the lasix worked.
Cooper is receiving lasix 10mg three times a day (TID); spironolactone 1/4 twice a day; 1.25 mg of Vetmedin twice a day (the medication isn't for HCM so Myrna our HCM cat is not taking it.) Valium for litter box use he was already receiving; and 1/4 tab of Plavix once a day. So far, no beta blockers or ACE inhibitors. Moderator Band Cardiomyopathy (MBCM) has bands of muscle tissue that are restricting the heart valve from properly contracting. The bands connect across from wall to wall in the valve; can link or weave together. They do not belong there. There is no known surgery to remove them. No medication that can decrease them. The symptoms must be fought with meds and treated as if the patient has heart disease such as HCM. We must be aggressive with his congestion to prevent CHF-congestive heart failure-and will give extra lasix as needed. He doesn't need to be seen until May if all goes well.
I need to do a lot of research to learn more about this disease. But in general, scientific research assumed that cats were born with MBCM because most cats don't have heart echos before getting heart disease. In his case, he had and he was clear of disease. So, he somehow developed heart disease-without any indications two years ago, and without any known contributing factors. But the symptoms are the same as with HCM; the meds are used for the same reasons. We've been through all of this with one of our other cats that has HCM.
What is different is that between Cooper and Myrna our HCM cat, the reaction to the effects are different and their symptoms are different. Myrna bounced back as a kitten once she recovered from CHF but not Cooper. Myrna breathes gradually faster and it becomes more labored and she looks miserable if CHF comes on before we can conquer it with more lasix. But not Cooper. He kept breathing fast and then slowing down. He still ate. He moved about. He didn't seem in pain or miserable until we went to bed. Then his breathing was suddenly very labored even if it was as fast as it had been early that evening. Myrna reacts quickly to lasix but not Cooper.
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| Cooper |
His heart seemed segmented in one area by lumps of thickened wall. Cooper is seven years old, sort of young but in the age range that most cardiac issues are discovered in cats. It could be that it was developing over the summer which is why Cooper began to lose weight. It is likely that the stress of the dental surgery as well as the anesthesia was a trigger for further development of the heart disease and CHF.
We brought him home last Saturday after a night in the ER. He was put on lasix 10mg twice a day to get rid of extra fluid to prevent CHF. He began Plavix and Spironolactone as well.
His heart disease developed quickly. He had an echo two years ago when he first had hypercalcemia and we were worried about the effects on the heart. The echo was clear. He had a stress related murmur that he's had even as a kitten but no sign of disease. Last summer he weighed 12.8 lbs and began to slowly lose weight-an ounce here, 1/2 ounce there but he was eating well enough. By December he wasn't always eating everything offered and by the end of December he weighed 12.1 lbs. We knew that he hadn't been eating well but thought it had to do with the tooth he was losing to resorption. Two months later at the dental surgery, he weighed 11.5. We had not realized that he had drastically lost weight. We now believe the weight loss indicated the onset of heart disease. At no time did he ever present with congestion until last week. It wasn't until he really didn't want to eat last week, and that he looked tired, and that on Thursday seemed to breathe fast, that I knew he needed to see the vet. But even then, I wasn't expecting heart disease. I thought the hypercalcemia was causing issues again.
After last week's ER visit, he perked up and began eating more and seemed more alert. His breathing improved and was stable at 8-10 in 15 seconds. But by Tuesday, it was about 14 in 15 seconds so around 60 per minute. If this were Myrna, that would be WAY too high. But he was up and about and the breathing wasn't labored and it went down to 12 and up to 14 when he was moving about. But by 1 a.m. he exhibited such labored effort to breathe that I gave him 10mg more of lasix. The rate fell to 15 and wasn't as labored. Eventually, we fell asleep and I went back to bed.
Thursday he wasn't better and hadn't urinated. So, I had my husband come home and take him to the vet ER/cardiologist office. I had an appointment for later that day with Myrna to see the cardiologist. In short, they placed him in the ER all Thursday through Friday. They gave him IV lasix, and later lasix injections. He was placed on oxygen until Friday a.m. when his xrays were more clear. Friday, the cardiologist did an echo and found that he has Moderator Band Cardiomyopathy and not HCM she had originally suspected. He came home Friday afternoon.
His kidneys are fine; he was actually dehydrated so while the lasix kicked out some fluid slowly, it wasn't forcing out the fluid from the lungs as quickly as it was fluid from any other part of the body. Eventually, the lasix worked.
Cooper is receiving lasix 10mg three times a day (TID); spironolactone 1/4 twice a day; 1.25 mg of Vetmedin twice a day (the medication isn't for HCM so Myrna our HCM cat is not taking it.) Valium for litter box use he was already receiving; and 1/4 tab of Plavix once a day. So far, no beta blockers or ACE inhibitors. Moderator Band Cardiomyopathy (MBCM) has bands of muscle tissue that are restricting the heart valve from properly contracting. The bands connect across from wall to wall in the valve; can link or weave together. They do not belong there. There is no known surgery to remove them. No medication that can decrease them. The symptoms must be fought with meds and treated as if the patient has heart disease such as HCM. We must be aggressive with his congestion to prevent CHF-congestive heart failure-and will give extra lasix as needed. He doesn't need to be seen until May if all goes well.
I need to do a lot of research to learn more about this disease. But in general, scientific research assumed that cats were born with MBCM because most cats don't have heart echos before getting heart disease. In his case, he had and he was clear of disease. So, he somehow developed heart disease-without any indications two years ago, and without any known contributing factors. But the symptoms are the same as with HCM; the meds are used for the same reasons. We've been through all of this with one of our other cats that has HCM.
What is different is that between Cooper and Myrna our HCM cat, the reaction to the effects are different and their symptoms are different. Myrna bounced back as a kitten once she recovered from CHF but not Cooper. Myrna breathes gradually faster and it becomes more labored and she looks miserable if CHF comes on before we can conquer it with more lasix. But not Cooper. He kept breathing fast and then slowing down. He still ate. He moved about. He didn't seem in pain or miserable until we went to bed. Then his breathing was suddenly very labored even if it was as fast as it had been early that evening. Myrna reacts quickly to lasix but not Cooper.
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