Thread: suspected HCM

There have been other threads on here but at the moment can't trace them,have to feel very sorry for you if you are unlucky enough to have had two cats with HCM especially as they are from negative parents,murmurs in them selves do not mean the animal has to have HCM & sometimes a low grade one can disappear, it can be caused by stress or even infection but also cats can live a full life with a murmur my daughter's cat has had one from a year old & at 13 is still leading a normal life with no medication at all. The fact that your other cat was never confirmed as having HCM is a shame, for some reason because it is recognised in the breed as a problem a lot of vets seem to go for that one straight off... Were your cats parents screened for the HCM gene or done by scan.....?
Hopefully someone will come on & give you some much needed help here,I will also try again a bit later & see if I can pick up the other threads on it. Might also pay to speak to the breeder as it looks as if they are doing all they can to try & prevent it in their lines.

Thank You, both sets of parents were DNA tested for HCM. I show dogs so do understand re DNA tests and various different genes for HCM. The breeder has been made fully aware of this. My local vets who did the post mortem said that it was HCM and it has been them that suspect that Bis, my current boy has HCM. I am loathe to put him through a test if there is nothing that can be done should he definitely have this condition, hence why I'm looking for other people's experiences.

Forgot to add that they one I lost, was castrated a few months beforehand and no heart murmur was picked up then.

I have worked at a vets for 40 years & have only known one true case of HCM,that was in a young domestic cat that didn't come round from an anaesthetic after being castrated,that cat too had his heart checked before op & there was no sign of murmur but as I said that isn't a necessary sign anyway of HCM,the vet done a PM & suspected HCM but the heart was sent away for confirmation & it did return a positive result,the next one was a possible but was never confirmed. Once again I am sure there is someone out there who has been through it & can give you more advice but from what I understand of it there is not a cure but there are drugs that can help,I think if I was in your position that I would have the heart scan done that way you would know for sure how things stand with your babe,if it showed the worse they could advice you the best course of treatment & if it is not that you can relax & enjoy.... I feel so sorry for you & the breeder too as it must be awful to have this happen when everything has been done to help avoid it,cuddles to you both....xxx
Still trying to pick up thread....

First let me say I am so sorry for the loss of your young kitty, how very sad, my heart truly goes out to you :(

The good news is that there ARE treatments for HCM cats!! I would definitely recommend getting a cardiac ultrasound done on your other kitty as soon as possible. This is the only sure way to diagnose HCM.

If you take a look at my previous posts you will see that I have been through this with my little boy. He was diagnosed when he had no symptoms other than a slight murmur, our vet said it could be nothing since he was under a year old at the time but offered us the option of diagnostics if we were interested. My boy is not from a breeder, he is the product of my parent's female cat escaping the house before she was spayed and an opportunistic neighborhood Coon. Since I didn't have any genetic info on his parents I decided to be cautious and get the ultrasound.

Being told that my seemingly healthy 1 and a half year old kitty, who I have had since the moment of his birth, had a chronic, progressive, untreatable heart condition was one of the most devastating moments of my life. But as hard as it was to hear I'm glad I found out early and was able to get him on medication.

Generally asymptomatic HCM is treated with atenolol, it is a beta-blocker which slows the heart rate and eases the workload of the heart muscle. The goal is to keep the walls of the heart from thickening any further. In some cases this may be all that is needed. There are things that can be done at home too such as maintaining a healthy weight and feeding a diet that is low in salt. Some people I have talked to feel they have seen benefits from supplements like fish oil and CoQ10.

Knowledge is the most important weapon in this battle, you have to know what you're up against, so the first step is getting the testing done. My little boy went into heart failure when he was about 3 (the progression of his condition was slowed by the medication but in his case it didn't halt the thickening) he fought back from death's doorstep and with the help of a fantastic cardiology team, made a full recovery. He is now 7.5 years old and takes a diuretic medication and an ACE inhibitor for his heart, but to all outward appearances he is a happy, healthy, active, rambunctious kitty. I think that the early treatment he received when he was asymptomatic and the fact that I was able to recognize his heart failure and get him the right treatment right away are the reasons that his condition is so stable and well managed now. His doctors are very pleased with his results and are optimistic about his future. I am looking forward to many more years together