My cat could just drop dead...

TresGats

Hi, I had posted in a thread about pets heart murmurs, my cat has one, I found out she had a mild murmur when neutered at 3- and that it was bad in Dec. (No kittens, indoor only).
She had a horrible 'incident' on New Years Eve where she almost died on the stairs , just out of the blue I was watching the puter, I hear an odd sound, my cat was unconcious on the stairs. I put her in recovery position on my bed, and she came around. I thought she had died.
So we had to wait a while to see the cardiologist, who she saw yesterday, and got 2 types of heart scans. She ha HCM, but apprantly thats the least f my worries.
I got the horrible news just now that she has an extremely rare heart illness for cats, the electricity balance is not right, the vet said, and they are going to try source a human med, called atdenedolol or something like that, but she could literally have another attack any minute and die.
I'm just wondering if any of you have gone thru the same, or can offer me advice? The medcation will help her live a bit longer, I'm not ready to lose her, I can't convey how upset I am, but to be honest, I've expected the worst since the incident although everyone has been telling me not to worry etc.
Would love to hear good and bad stories/ comments. I know she will die within max a year. I'm really heartbroken.
Edit: hate to say this, but I'm really worried about money. I am on disability allowance, and own my home. The stress of this has increased my medcation and caused a flare-up. I've already spent 600e in the past 2 months on my kitty, and at present, that is unsustainable. As I said in another thread, I'd spend my bank balance on her, well I nearly have already.
I said it to my Dr. yesterday, he suggested getting a new cat. I kept my mouth closed, because you either understand that that is a family member dying on the stairs or you don't.

Ms Doubtfire1

Thats basically a beta blocker. [font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Cats: Atenolol is used in cats to treat hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), left ventricular outflow tract obstruction, and hypertension secondary to hyperthyroidism. [/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I presume your cat has the condition i marked in bold. The price of the tables should not be too bad.It should also not be difficult to get for the vet. Would give it a try.[/font]

BlueSkyes

Hello OP, im sorry to hear about your situation its always painful to see your beloved kitty suffering.

Just recently I have been in a similar situation than yourself, my 8 year old cat have always had feline asthma and the vets have informed
that unfortunately it cannot be cured. Since she been diagnosed with feline asthma she has had 2 attacks where she has dropped to the floor gasping. She recovered well each time after staying with the vets as they put a mask on for her. On the last visit for a check up however, the vet said he could hear a heart murmur. Sadly just a few months after that she had a heart attack at home, I rushed her to the vets as fast as I could. The vet explained to us that she would try her best but if my cat is suffering too much she told me to be prepared that we may have to make a decision to put her to sleep.
The vet then brought her into another room where they put her in a mask and gave her an injection to try to revive her however
she could not make it and stopped breathing which broke my mums and my heart.

This may be a sad case but I wanted to share with you OP because in my experience and I have done some research on the condition,
there is not really a whole lot you can do. Once the condition is diagnosed you can only prolong the life span of your cat by keeping up
with vet checks and medication and making the most of your time with her.

Now your cat may be completely different story but in any case I hope the best for both you and your cat. I'm sure your cat is very happy
to have you by her side.

TresGats

Hi, thank you both for your replies, I appreciate them both. I'm just in shock I guess, up until December I thought she had a mild heart murmur, and there was years ahead of her.
MrsDoubhtfire, the medication required is a beta blocker that was taken off the market but is suitable in this unusual incidence.I was told her condition is so unusual that there is not much known, apart from it being fatal.
Basically, it's to prolong her life a little, as she has severe murmur (with audilbe whooshing sound ), arrythmia, HCM and a cardio electrical imbalance, I don't fully understand it all, or the name they gave it, it's hard to take in details when receiving bad news on the phone. But she did spell out how difficult it was to source this med, and that they were calling the drug wholesalers/ distributors (Dublin Drug etc) to see if they had any. Thank you, I thought it was atenolol also.
Blueskyes I;m sorry to hear you went through similar. I asked was she in any pain, and they said no, not at the moment. If she was , I would take that decision too. I feel like I'm giving pallative care to a family member , and I daren't leave the house for more than an hour.If she gets the meds, they come with their own serious side effects, so I asked the vet if it was her cat would she do it, she said Yes so I'm going with that.
In a way, I'm glad I know, that I get to cuddle her and spend time with her before she goes. However, I feel like i'm in mourning as bad as for a relative dying.I don't have much family left, and am at risk of turning into a cat-lady. We were hoping to emigrate this year but this news has shocked me some, leaving me with little concentration or energy to put into anything else.

Jimmy Bottlehead

Hi OP.

First of all I'm sorry to hear your cat has this illness. All I can offer is to try to re-frame this... You know your lady might go at any time. But that's going to make you love and treasure her even more.

Sadly, all of us pet owners could lose them at any time... Theft, illness, going missing, hit by a car, attacked by another animal... So just try to appreciate the time you have with her and remember that none of us know when either us or our pets are having their last day, so enjoy every second.