Baby Heart Health Scare Becomes Just Asthma

We had a health scare this past week. Last weekend-June 8-I noticed Baby breathing hard. I kept noticing it, then noticed that it wasn't just when she was grooming or active or upset. It happened at rest. The breathing rate was 40s-50s. So, I took her to the vet on Tuesday. Xrays showed a possible enlarged heart-one rib larger than last time. Now, the actual mathematical equation used to calculate size of heart to ribcage is more involved than just counting ribs. But to my experienced but untrained eye, it looked larger from both views. The lungs were clear. They emailed the results and xrays to her cardiologist. The dear woman was away at a conference but her office was concerned and called her to take a look. She texted me for feedback and after discussion-she saw no congestion-but since there were no appointments until the following week to see the cardio, she put Baby on lasix 5mg BID (twice a day.) Baby responded well Thursday and Friday morning but the breathing rate was up again so I put her on 5mg TID (three times a day.) She responded well to that. Her breathing rate fell to about 24-32, and she was perkier, and playful.

At some point, I said "No, not again. And poor Baby. But she is 13 so this could happen at any time as she ages."

Finally, we saw the cardio yesterday. And...nothing.

No enlarged heart-it's just slightly larger because it can happen as a cat ages but that is not due to internal workings and does not affect her health. Plus, she wasn't centered well on the xrays. But the echo was clean, no heart size changes, no SAM, no murmurs, no other obstructions or physical changes, no congestion, no fluid in or around the heart or lungs, and no signs of fluid in the body.

So what gives? We had a good laugh because she said my kitties are always coming up with some odd medical thing she's never seen. It's possible it's allergies or asthma kicking up when it was hot and humid. It's possible she needs her albuterol (for asthma) twice a day now instead of once. It's possible that she responded to the lasix because it can have a bronchial effect that is lost with long term use but was there in the short term. So, she's off lasix. She will receive albuterol BID and I may need to put her on the steroid Flovent. But we'll see.

HUGE sigh of relief and a prayer. And a good laugh. Because really-you must laugh.