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Old November 21st, 2008, 11:48 AM
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mboles22 mboles22 is offline
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Cat with HCM (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy)

Hi there,

I have a question about my cat Shamu who has moderate HCM (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy). He is 4.5 yrs old and is currently taking atenolol 2/day and baby aspirin 2/week.

His last ultrasound showed his left ventricle had gotten a bit worse since May.

And now I am concerned because he has started gagging more often....coughing up a little spittle. He gags about 3-4 times and then he is fine. It has been happening almost every day the past week or two.

Is this cause for concern or is this just part of living with HCM?

thanks to anyone who can offer an opinion.

Michelle
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Old November 21st, 2008, 12:43 PM
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sugarcatmom sugarcatmom is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mboles22 View Post
I have a question about my cat Shamu who has moderate HCM (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy).
Sorry to hear that, especially at such a young age. I have an HCM cat as well, but he's 15 yrs old and it's relatively mild.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mboles22 View Post
He is 4.5 yrs old and is currently taking atenolol 2/day and baby aspirin 2/week.
What's the dose of Atenolol? My guy (Aztec) gets 12.5mg once a day and he's a big boy at 15 lbs.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mboles22 View Post
His last ultrasound showed his left ventricle had gotten a bit worse since May.
Is the echo being done/interpretted by a cardiologist?


Quote:
Originally Posted by mboles22 View Post
Is this cause for concern or is this just part of living with HCM?
Hmmm, hard to say. Might be worth talking your vet about though. Something else I highly recommend is joining the Feline Heart Yahoo group. Lots of experience and advice available from people who've been dealing with this a long time.

There are some supplements that can be added to your kitty's diet which could also be helpful. Coenzyme Q10 is an important one. I give Aztec 30mg/day (split in 2 doses). Extra Taurine doesn't hurt, and apparently L-Carnitine is another one to consider.

What does your cat eat? Providing him with the best nutrition possible (which, unfortunately isn't going to be from kibble), can go a long way towards keeping the rest of his systems functioning at an optimum level. A raw diet is ideal, but if that's not an option right now, a quality canned food would be my next choice. http://www.catinfo.org/

One last question - how do you administer the Atenolol and aspirin? If it's by pilling, is it possible there's a pill stuck in his throat that's causing the gagging? Personally, I just crush the Atenolol and mix it in with canned food (it's totally tasteless - I tasted it myself). Aspirin might do okay in a Pill Pocket. All pills should be followed with a liquid chaser or some food/treats to make sure they go all the way down the hatch: http://www.catinfo.org/pillingcats.htm
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Old November 23rd, 2008, 11:11 PM
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mboles22 mboles22 is offline
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Thanks for the advice sugarcatmom. I will definitely look at the Yahoo Feline Heart group.

My little guy gets 12.5 mg of the atenolol twice a day. His gagging does NOT occur at pill time. Fortunately for me and him, he takes the pill very easily.

The diet recommendations make sense. I will look into that also.

m.
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Old November 24th, 2008, 10:45 AM
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kathryn kathryn is offline
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I'm going to have to agree with the taurine. I think that would be veryyyy good to add to his diet. you might be able to find some treats with added taurine. For the coughing thing, maybe it's not related to his health problems. Try adding salmon or cod liver oil to his diet... my fluffy kitty used t hack up hairballs and cough up junk all the time and someone on here (probably sugarcatmom lol) told me to give him salmon oil and he's been fine ever since... Good luck with your kitty.
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Old December 24th, 2008, 09:51 PM
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sandyrivers sandyrivers is offline
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Salmon/cod liver oil

Hi, my cat Tonali has just been diagnosted with a heart murmur...( see my post)
Until I get answers from my vet, I would like to do all that's possible for her. I was wondering, how much salmon or cod liver oil should be added to her diet... Also, is the cod liver oil the one we can buy at the drugstore in the form of gel-caps, or is it a specific brand for cats...
I am seeing my vet again on the 6th of January, time at which he will tell me more about Tonali's condition. Meanwhile, I want to do all I can to help her out!

Looked up your zootoo space Kathryn!!! How cool.
I will make sure I become a member, (after the holiday madness that is). Thanks for the link!

Sandy
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Last edited by sandyrivers; December 24th, 2008 at 09:56 PM. Reason: add info
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