Heart disease recently diagnosed for diabetic cat

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Peggy

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Hi I could use any and all advice for my 15 year old cat Wylie who has been recently diagnosed with a heart condition, hardening of his left ventricular wall. He has been OTJ for more than a year and a half thanks to Dr. Pierson and Fancy Feast. Now however after seeing a cardiologist he has been diagnosed with this new condition.
For the last month, he has taken Benazeprill (1/2 tablet), Atenolol (1/4),Furosemide(1/2) 1x day and baby aspirin (1/4) 2x week.
He seems to be doing ok but is very low key and has lost some of his appetite... but not all. From what I read in how this affects humans it doesn't seem too out of the norm. Should I tweak his diet to a higher calorie content to keep him from loosing weight or should I keep it status quo to keep the diabetes under control? Anything else I should be aware of regarding changes?
Yes I know as one person put it our cats don't come with expiration dates stamped on them, but that doesn't make me want to sit back and not try to take the best care of his remaininbg days that I can. If there is anything else I can be doing for this sweet animal that has made my life so much better I would like to reciporcate. The irony is he is one of the kindest animals ever made and has a heart of gold, the irony is his golden heart is in a little trouble and needs some help!
Peggy
 
I would ask the vet - it may be that some of the weight he lost was due to the lasix (diuretic) - heart issues can cause water retention, so as the heart issues are addressed, the water retention stops. However, that's just one possibility. I'm no vet - maybe others have insights I don't. Laura
 
Maybe his tummy is upset with all the meds?

A vet once prescribed Peptic AC Regular strength (10 mg) for my cat when she was not eating right when on meds.
It was either 1/4 of the tablet or 1/2 of it.

*****Call your vet and ask if he could take that with those meds he is on and if it should be 1/4 or 1/2.
I think it was 1/4, but not sure.
 
I am sorry you haven't had many answers. There are people here with kitties with heart problems. Oliver had cardiomyopathy and unfortunately the medications and treatments did not work well and he died at 16. But I know others have had success with their kitties.

I did search on the old board for heart problems and found all these posts: http://www.felinediabetes.com/phorum5/g ... tes.com%2F

Maybe one of them will help. Hope so.
 
Hi Peggy

I'm sorry to hear this. Based on those medications, it sounds like your cat was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure. Has he had chest x-rays? Has he had bloodwork since starting his medications, or since there were any changes in his furosemide or benazepril? These medications can cause the kidney values to go up (not from kidney damage but from dehydration) so a drop in appetite in cats on these medications should be taken seriously because it can mean that their kidney values are up/electrolytes are off OR, if they aren't, they soon will be because cats on furosemide MUST keep a good appetite to maintain hydration and electrolytes, esp. potassium.

Unfortunately there is nothing to do but treat symptoms of HCM, there is no reversal. I assume this was done already, but if not your kitty should be screened for hypertension and hyperthyroidism -- both of these conditions can cause cardiac changes that mimic HCM if they are not well-controlled.

Some cats with HCM do appear to stabilize and can be managed long-term. Since your cat recently went into CHF, time will tell if he is one of these guys. In the meantime, keep him eating and drinking ok?

Hope this helps
Jess
 
Hi Jess yes he had a chest xray and an ultrasound. I guess I overstated the eating issue, he is eating and drinking it's just before the meds he would eat all day all the time. My husband works at home and he would sit at his office door and meow when his bowl was empty. The vet who diagnosed him said yes we caught it early and studies say at this point of diagnosis averages show he can live another 500 days which would put him at the 17 year mark and know I should count my blessings if that were the case because that is a long time for cats. I just wasn't sure aside from him taking his meds (while purring) and making sure he eats/drinks if there is anything else I should be doing. Thanks again.
 
hi Peggy,

My Merlyn had Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy with severe left atrial enlargement, and when diagnosed he did have pulmonary edema so Congestive heart failure as well. He was on all the same meds your cat is on-except he was on diltiazem instead of atenolol. He also had moderate kidney disease so it was a balance. With the lasix, he dehydrated so fast so we found a balance for how much subq fluids his heart could tolerate and still help his kidneys.

It sounds like Wylie is eating, just not as much as before. I know that some of the meds can taste yukky. Merlyn would say that the taste lingered in his mouth and made the food taste funny (this is thru an animal communicator) I would have a pill cutting session and make capsules with his meds in them so I only had to pill him once in the morning and once at night. Also, there was one occasion after diagnosis, he was taken off the lasix and the fluid build up returned and he stopped eating because of the fluid buildup. Merlyn tended toward constipation, and I think his heart condition made it worse because he felt weaker and couldnt push out the poo.. and when he was constipated he would stop eating also, and we added miralax to his food.

And, when he was just being fussy, I would puree his wellness with a hand blender and start by syringing him and then usually he would just lick it or suck it out the syringe.. but it helped not having to chew much.
Because of his heart he couldnt have a dental, and he was prone to resorptive lesions, so I think that his mouth wasnt too good near the end, so the puree felt better.

anyway, Merlyn was diagnosed in November 2006 and I had to send him over the Bridge April 2009, so he lived almost 2 and half years after diagnosis.

As Jess said, theres no way to know...but I just wanted to let you know you may have more time than you think with Wylie.

Sending cyber hugs to you and Wylie (((((((((((((((((((((((PEGGY)))))))))))))))))))))))
 
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