Question about heart disease

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allie and newkitty

allie and newkitty

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Is it possible for a cat whose blood pressure has always tested normal (as recently as December) and whose pulse rate has as well, no heart murmur, ideal echocardiagram in 2008, to have heart disease? And how can you tell the difference between a hairball cough and a heart cough?
 
Can't answer the first question and I'm not sure how to put into words the answer to the second but I'll try.

A heart 'cough' is because of fluid in the lungs. ECID but when most cats have trouble breathing, they crouch low and extend their neck forward creating the straightest open airway possible. It's also mostly in the forward part of the body altho' the more fluid the more the diaphragm tries to help.

A hairball originates further down in the body and is more of an attempt to throw up. There's usually throat gagging and humping of the back rather than attempting to create a low straight line. The hairball has to be forced back up the throat requiring the stomach getting involved.

This is the best I can do and is what I've had personal experience with...unfortunately....hope it makes at least a little sense.

HUGS!
 
I think that's a good explanation. At first I thought Waldo had a furball I gave him laxatone and thought it did the trick but a week later Waldo was again "coughing" then I knew something else was up.It kills me that I didnt realize it sooner. Waldo had that "cough" for a long time before he was diagnosed.He did such a good job of hiding his illness. After diagnosed he lived a good two years with the correct medication. Who knows how long he could have lived if I had been more diligent. :/

Sending prayers and good wishes,
jeanne

edited to fix lame spelling :/*
 
Squeaky, wow, that is an excellent description!!! The reason I am asking is Newkitty is not a cougher or even much a hairball puker, however, when she gets a hairball they tend to be large and hard like a rock. Back in November, right after fluids, her eyes started streaming and then she coughed and gagged and puked food 2 times. No hair in it BUT I had been treating her for a hairball due to a puke the day before with hair in it.

Then this week, she did the same thing, right after fluids (under 100 ml), but no puking, just coughing. She is stage 2 and gets 150 ml a week, 50ml at a time. I wonder if I am overhydrating her. Again, coincidentally possibly, I had been treating her for a hairball due to loss of appetite (our other two cats as well)this time too. So far, this has only happened after fluids.

She just had a dental at the end of December with all the monitoring that goes with it. I know I tend to borrow trouble with Newkitty and have probably strained my credibility a little. :) She is also overweight, which does not help.

Jeanne, you were an outstanding mom to Waldo. I am sure you did the best by him that anyone could have--far better than 99% of the population could or would have done.

Did either of your cats like toss their head back? Newkitty has started doing this head toss like Joey on Friends "how you doin'?' and then she'll talk. Not sure if this is just cuteness or another airway thing.

Thank you for your help!!
 
Coughing is also a symptom of asthma. This is from http://www.fritzthebrave.com/asthma/symptoms.html

Some Symptoms to Watch For:

Wheezing or rapid, labored breathing
Persistent cough, looks like hairball behavior but is unproductive
Squatting with shoulders hunched, neck extended & low to the ground
Frothy mucus while coughing
Lethargy
Open mouth breathing
Labored breath after exertion
Upward extended neck and gasping for breath
 
Thank you Debby! Of that list she only has the labored breathing after exertion, and that is just today that I have seen. She is on such a high dose of prednisone though that it may influence me seeing asthma symptoms if she had others.

She is big on the walk a few feet, lie down. Walk a few feet, lie down. So she does self-limit. However, she has arthritis and luxating patellas too.
 
When I asked about coughing and the heart, Jess and Earl mentioned that doesnt happen with cats as much.

Merlyn had no symptoms whatsoever of heart disease, dont know if an echo would have been normal at that point. We only found his hypertrophic cardiomyopathy because he was obstipated and couldnt poo. When the ER Xrayed him they were like, so how long has he had an enlarged heart.. and I am like huh? So they couldnt even get the poo out because they couldnt sedate him not knowing how bad his heart was, which was bad. No heart murmur, normal BP, but his heart was racing that night because of straining so long to poop. Vet listened to heart rate before and never noticed anything abnormal before that night. But.... he lived two and half years after diagnosis, with moderate kidney disease to boot.
 
Lisa and Merlyn (GA) said:
When I asked about coughing and the heart, Jess and Earl mentioned that doesnt happen with cats as much.

Merlyn had no symptoms whatsoever of heart disease, dont know if an echo would have been normal at that point. We only found his hypertrophic cardiomyopathy because he was obstipated and couldnt poo. When the ER Xrayed him they were like, so how long has he had an enlarged heart.. and I am like huh? So they couldnt even get the poo out because they couldnt sedate him not knowing how bad his heart was, which was bad. No heart murmur, normal BP, but his heart was racing that night because of straining so long to poop. Vet listened to heart rate before and never noticed anything abnormal before that night. But.... he lived two and half years after diagnosis, with moderate kidney disease to boot.
Click to expand...

Lisa, that is really scary that he could have such a serious condition and no indication of it at all until the xray, which was looking for something else entirely. :( That worries me. I am going to have to call my vet next week to talk about this. Thanks for the info.
 
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