Heart Attack in Belle, my cat?

Question

My cat, Belle, died this morning from what the veternarian said may have been a heart attack. She was a petite cat, not at all overweight, very graceful and sweet. I heard her scream, she rolled heavily down the stairs. I thought she had tripped and broke her leg but there was no evidence of a break. I cannot believe that this could happen to a healthy cat. Has anyone else experienced this. My young sister (47) is in the last stages of colon cancer and I found myself having more of a reaction to losing Belle than I have been able to express about my sister. Belle did not show any obvious signs of being distressed. She did have a problem with fleas, even though all of our cats are indoors. We had never had fleas before. She also had last summer what may have been a kidney stone, and a tape worm from the flea situation. She was treated for all of these things. We have started using Advantage and I wonder if this harmed her. I am just numb now but became hysterical when she died

Answer 1

I am very sorry about the loss of your beautiful Belle. I also have a kitty named Belle and she is very precious to me.

I'd also like to add that I am perplexed about the veterinarian claiming heart attack as a probable cause of death. Cats and dogs very, very rarely have heart attacks. The vasculature around their hearts is different than ours and makes heart attacks very uncommon. Plus, cats and dogs generally do not live long enough to build up blockages in the arteries and veins around their hearts.

A sudden death, such as the one your cat suffered, is more likely caused by a heart condition called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM). This disease causes an inward thickening of the heart muscle and reduces the amount of blood the heart can pump with each beat. A cat can live with HCM for years and appear perfectly healthy. Even x-rays sometimes cannot detect it because from the outside, the heart frequently appears normal. Often the only way to make a definitive diagnosis is with an echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart). Unfortunately, the diagnosis is frequently made post-morten because the first sign that something is wrong is sudden death.

A common complication with HCM is a saddle thrombus. Because the heart is not pumping blood efficiently, blood can pool in the heart for too long and clots can form. These clots eventually espcape into the vascular system and frequently lodge where the arteries split before entering the back legs. This causes sudden paralysis and severe pain for the cat. If not treated immediately, it is fatal. Even with treatment, prognosis is not great.

Perhaps your veterinarian used the term "heart attack" as a lay term he thought would be familiar to you so he would have less explaining. That is really too bad if true. It is inaccurate and shows poor judgement on the part of the veterinarian. I hope the explanation I provided gives you a better idea of what is a more likely cause (though I can't be certain) of your sweet kitty's death.

Again, my sympathies.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

I am truly sorry about your loss of Belle. I have lost three of my own cats due to heart problems. It may have very well been a heart attack. My three cats were in perfect health (or so I thought) when they passed away. I have been told by my veterinarian that cats are hard to diagnose with heart problems. Some symptoms are easy to spot but most time you don't have a clue until it's to late. I use Advantage for my cats and I'm quite sure that it didn't cause Belle's death. Losing a beloved pet so suddenly is a huge shock. Again, I am truly sorry for your loss.

Answer 4

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RE:
Heart Attack in Belle, my cat?
My cat, Belle, died this morning from what the veternarian said may have been a heart attack. She was a petite cat, not at all overweight, very graceful and sweet. I heard her scream, she rolled heavily down the stairs. I thought she had tripped and broke her leg but there was no evidence of a...

Answer 5

First of all, I'm sorry for your loss. I now have to ask about her age... heart attacks are a possible cause of death, and just like in humans, they can happen all of a sudden and kill without warning and in seconds. And the older the cat, the higher the risk. Do you have any info on her parents? Maybe there's a genetic connection.

I never had any problems with Advantage in my two cats, it worked great. I don't think that's it.
Again, I'm really sorry.

Answer 6

I am very sorry for your loss. I can relate to being more upset over my cat then my family. Animals give unconditional love where most people can not. To answer your question cats do have heart attacks as well as strokes it is more common then you think. I know a few people that this happened to over the years. My cat was put to sleep prior to Thanksgiving due to cancer and both kidneys were shutting down.

Answer 7

I am sooooo SORRY THIS HAPPENED TO YOU. I am constantly worried this will happen to one of my cats. When you get her home make sure to add some lemon juice to her water.... this changes the PH in the urine and it doesn't make the crystals that get lodged in the tube that comes from the kidneys. REMEMBER when she gets home she has had a great deal of trama by a dog... so the dog you just adopted from the shelter is not a good idea right now.... and might be better off with someone else. SHE IS GOING TO BE VERY AFRAID OF THE DOG. You don't want her to have MORE stress at this time! I wish you the best of luck

Answer 8

The suddenness of the death is what has caused the intense pain and disbelief. I am so sorry you had to lose your precious cat baby and you obviously gave her the best possible care.

When death comes more slowly as with your sister you have some time to prepare for the inevitability of your loss (as I did with my dear brother).

My heart goes out to you. Denial, grief, anger are all emotions you will have to cope with. At some point acceptance will come. I have two cats with cancer at the moment and maybe you or I will come to see the sudden death as something of a blessing though it will never minimize the pain of your loss.

Answer 9

I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your cat. They become like family to us and only pet owners can understand what you are going through. I worry all the time about something happening to my girl, Bella. Hang in there and just remember the good times that you had together and how happy she was with you.

Answer 10

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