Hi everyone, I am new here. I have a 2 1/2 year old Sphynx baby named Pharo who was just diagnosed with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy HCM (heart disease). The last few days I have noticed him coughing. I wasn't sure if it was a cough or a choke. Of course, it can't be a hairball because my baby is hairless. I had also noticed he was breathing heavier than normal. I decided to take him to the vet yesterday to see if it was allergies, or asthma or something. Unfortunately, it turned out to be devastating. They took an x-ray of his chest and found that his heart was enlarged and that there was fluid in his lungs. In other words my precious baby was in conjunctive heart failure. The vet sent us over to an emergency center that had a cardiologist on site. They did an ultra sound and found that he had HCM. This means the walls of his heart are severely thickened. I am totally devastated. They told me that is prognosis is poor. They did manage to get him out of failure and he came home today. I have to give him a dieretic 3 times a day to keep the fluid down. They also said his heart went down to a better size after overnight care and oxygen. They said that he could form a clot and I could possibly see him become paralysed in the hind legs or he could just die of a heart attack. My husband and I have been crying constantly. I feel so empty inside. Can someone please help me deal with this? I love this kitty more than anything and it kills me to know that he could be here for 4 hours or 4 months, noone knows. I just want to try to give him all the love I can, but I feel hopeless. I can't believe my poor baby is going through this and he hasn't even had a chance to live. Please help.

mozgrrl,
I am so sorry for your poor Pharo.
I lost my sweet little loving companion dog to a terminal illness (took 2 1/2 months) after having her only 9 months and the pain isn't any different than when I lost my collie of 12 yrs.
It was worse.
Anyway I am saying that so you know you are not alone in your helplessness and sadness.
My advice is to spent every moment you can with your kitty being positive infront of her and grateful you have this time to say goodbye to each other.
Also during this time maybe you can research her condition to see what you can expect or make her comfortable.
I let my little starry eat all the frosted flakes she wanted, she loved those.
I know this sounds terrible to also say but try and figure out your plans for when the day comes as to what and where you will do with her.
I know these words are harsh to hear but your body and mind may be so numb now and it will help later to know you did the most you could.
good luck to you all. starry's mom.....

Hi, I just belatedly read your post. How are you doing?? How is sweet Pharo? Sending prayers,
Kathy

I am so sorry for Pharo's diagnosis. Have you looked up all the treatment options on the internet? I know the studies are limited, but I found some referrals to some cats surviving as long as 4 years. I know it isn't a lifetime, but maybe he will have a little longer quality life.

Theresa

Hi,
I don't know if it's appropriate for Pharo, but my female Norwegian Forest cat has had hypertropic cardiomyopathy with mitral valve regurgitation for several years now, first diagnosed after our local vet heard a heart murmur. We took her to a vet cardiologist (who I trust implicitly cause her practice treats the big cats and their kittens at the National Zoo) and she found severe heart disease. It is a devastating blow, of course, but Kimi was immediately treated with atenol every day and baby aspirin twice a week now, and the symptoms have improved a lot since the original echocardiograms were done. She has continued the echoes every year with bi-yearly heart checks, but I know I have to accept that her lifespan may well be shortened by this, but who knows by how much? Her male littermate shows no signs now, but I've heard that males can be asymptomatic till a devastating occurence which could cause their loss.

I sympathize with the all-too-human sense of "What happened and why?", and the uncertainty and pain which goes along with it. I never would've known about Kimi till too late except that she picked up fleas somewhere and in order to get the flea meds the cat has to be checked, and that's how it was discovered. So I hate to say it, but bless the nasty little things that ended up bringing this to my attention. I don't know if any of this is apropos to your Pharo, but that's what I know about the cardio issue. I wish all the best to your Pharo and you, and hope you can come back and tell us what happened. Do take care - Barbara

Pharo and yourself are in my prayers. My cat Miss Precious is 14 yrs old and back in April of this year I found her behind the couch and her eyes were very black (she has the most stunning emerald green eyes) and she wouldn't eat. I rushed her over to the vet's office. They said she has kidney disease. They put her on a IV and kept her for a week and also said she was going blind. When I picked her up she seemed much better but her eyes were still black. So I thought she would be blind from now on and that she would probably die soon so I took her home where she would want to be. Well within a week her eye sight came back and I saw her beautiful green eyes again. She started eating her beloved can food (diet now) and she is back to sunny herself like a true french feline on our deck. I call her the Outdoor diva she is all that. So there are miracles out there for our beloved fur babies. I hope this helps.

Helen

My boy passed due to heart failure. His heart was also enlarged ... and by the time he died, it was like a sponge unable to function with all the fluid ... He was coughing badly in the days before he died, and coughing up thick white fluid. He was also on diuretics amongst other drugs, but in the end his body filled with fluid and he passed ... I can tell you more if you wish. It's hard with heart disease because of how frightening it is ... I understand. I'm here to help ...