My siberian cat has Hypertrophic Cardiomopathy. Can anyone give me advice?

Question

I have just found out that my purebred Sib has heart disease. After reading up on this I note that life expectancy is 3 years. He is the love of my life and I want to make sure that the 3 years he has is filled with care and happiness. He is 8 months old. I am distressed at this diagnosis but I want to make sure that I can do everything to help him have a fulfilled life. Does anyone have anything to advise me on this terrible situation?

Answer 1

HCM can mean different things for different cats....some cases are more sever than others. Unfortunately, some breeds are more prone to this disease than others. The vet should have prescribed a drug to help with this....

It is very important to have regular echocardiograms done to watch the progress of the disease....sometimes as it progresses, additional medications need to be started for different things

here is a great website with reliable information
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=2507

Answer 2

I had a cat with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. My cat lived until he was 12 yrs old. He wasn't so active in his later yrs and occasionally I had to take him to the vet for a diuretic and antibiotics when he got an upper respiratory infection but other than that he was the same loving cat. Give him lots of love and watch him for any coughing(could indicate fluid buildup in lungs). They do give cardiac drugs to cats to streanthen the heart muscle so check with your vet. And Good luck :)

Answer 3

I am so very sorry. Larger breed cats such as Maine Coon and Siberian Forest are prone to this condition. But don't despair -- only recently a veterinary college her in UK performed heart surgery on a Maine Coon suffering from Cardiomiopathy, and he not only survived but was much improved. Talk to your vet and find out what is available. And follow all his other advice.
Give your beautiful boy as much love as you can. Sadly, we outlive our animals.
(There is now a test available to check for this genetic marker. The next breeder to contact should have both parents of kittens tested.)

Answer 4

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is an enlargement of the heart
muscle which makes it larger but not stronger - in fact, kind of saggy. Usually it is of unknown cause.
Watch your cats' diet - I would weigh him once a week. [ weigh yourself, and then yourself holding him ]. Keep him at advised weight, so his heart doesn't have to work so hard. Wash his food and water bowl every day.
'Inspect' him every day, while you brush him.Make sure his breathing is OK, tongue and gums not blue, etc. Keep his teeth andnails trim and clean [ don't use people toothpaste - must use cat toothpaste, if he will let you.]
Keep his medication on schedule, every day. If you
go out of town, make sure someone else comes in and feeds/medicates/pets and grooms him every day.

Answer 5

Perhaps these links will help you:

http://www.lamondvetclinic.com/html/Factsheets/Cat/24_265539.asp

and

http://www.fabcats.org/heartproblems.html


Good luck and a long and happy life