To be aggressive or not?

[PamNY]

Today I took my 4 year old black cat into the vet for his annual exam and va I don't know that I feel it's right to treat animals with chronic conditions - forcing them to take meds all the time, bringing them in for tests frequently.

I'm sorry to hear about your kitty.

I don't see any ethical problem with treating a cardiac condition in a young cat. He may be annoyed by pills and vet visits, but he will get over it. Treating an animal who has no quality of life and no hope for improvement is another matter entirely, but you aren't in that situation.

You need a lot more information -- what meds, how much do they cost, and what are the side effects for starters. If you don't know how to pill a cat, you should learn.

I would want the ultrasound for my own curiosity and peace of mind. I'm glad that your vet is up-to-date on research.

The link ccnyc posted looks very helpful IMO. I had a dog on ACE inhibitors and Lasix for a time and he did very well. We used some of the supplements recommended and I think they helped.

ETA: If your cat ever needed surgery, your vet might not want to operate without clarification of his cardiac status. That's one reason to go ahead with testing and meds if needed. Of course I hope you don't have an emergency with him, but if you did, a heart problem might make things more complicated.

I had to spend around $2,000 (ultrasound and Holter monitor) on my dog before the cardiologist would clear him for surgery.

Good luck.

[roadie gal]

I'm sorry you have such a dilemma on your hands. I would go for the ultrasound. At least get an idea of what's going on. I would want to know if it's something minor that could easily be treated with medication and allow my kitty to have a normal life or a major cardiac disorder that would start affecting him sooner and would be harder to treat. Speaking for myself, I would want all of the information to make a better decision.

[JennK13]

I don't think it's fair to compare hyperthyroidism to a heart murmur. Hyperthyroidism will definitely affect a cat's quality of life if left untreated (having thyroid disease myself, I know!!!).
The heart murmur, on the other hand, depending on how serious it is, may shorten the cat's life as the heart may fail at any time. But if he's an indoor cat, and not overly active to the point activity would cause him problems, his quality of life should be fine.
It's my understanding that it can be controlled rather easily with medication, but a lot of animals don't like taking medicines. You wont know how your cat is until you try to do it. If he doesn't like it, and he's fine otherwise, I'm more along your initial thoughts of why make his life longer but worse? I'd rather he have a happy, stress free life, no matter how long it is, rather than him be uncomfortable for a longer period of time. Again, it depends on how bad it is and what symptoms you can expect. If it's something that's going to affect his quality of life, I'd treat him. If there's the potential his life may be shortened, but fine, I probably wouldn't do it. Going quickly due to a heart attack is a lot different than slowly suffering for a long time because of thyroid disease.

[malkin]

I'm sorry about your kitty's diagnosis. I wish you strength and peace with whatever you decide.

[blackhillsbiker]

The Pill Pockets were a godsend during the last months of our Scottie mix dog's life. I'm not sure how they'd work for a cat, but they would certainly be worth a try. You'll know when his quality of life is compromised. We had a dog when I was growing up who had a heart murmur and lived to be almost 16. We played with him all the time. He loved his squeekie ball. Do what is right for you and your family. With Arthur (the Scottie), DH and I sat down by ourselves and decided what steps we would and would not take.

Hugs!
Deb

[XMcShiftersonX]

Thanks everyone for all of your support and helping me think of all the options. My husband and I sat down and talked this morning about the situation. I showed him some articles I read about the condition and he looked into some other articles.

We decided we'll go ahead with giving him the aspirin as the vet prescribed to prevent blood clots, we'll monitor his weight and switch him back to his old food, just to make sure the weight loss isn't something more. We'll play with him and love him as usual (probably give him even more attention though ).

But we won't get the ultrasound until he starts showing symptoms. I'll check with the vet to make sure I understood her correctly. It sounded to me like she said we don't start treating it until he goes into heart failure anyways. If I notice any symptoms, I'll take him in, but I think until then, I should just let him be a carefree kitty.

I have talked with some people who have had cats with heart murmurs and they had the ultrasound and it turned out to be a different condition, that didn't require treatment, and the animal lived a normal life.

My husband was worried this would be a repeat of our first kitty Ishmael. They didn't know what was wrong with him, but kept prescribing tests and medications - it ended up not helping him at all, in fact with some of the side effects, it made things worse, and because we were forcing him to take horrible medications three times a day, he never wanted to be around us. It was horrible. We finally got the diagnosis of FIP a few days before he died, and there was nothing to treat it with anyways. Hopefully he won't have any side effects from the Aspirin.

Here's a silly picture of the man we've been discussing... Affectionately known as "Colbert-Mofrair," "Colbert-a-saurus," "Batman," "Little Man," or "Little Fang."

-Jessica

[Koronin]

I'm sorry your kitty has a heart murmur. I know nothing about heart murmurs at all. My oldest cat, Tiger, has a health issue. Basically she will stop eating for no reason and we have to give her pills and force feed her. This has happened 4 times. Right now she is doing just fine and sitting with me right now as I type this. We were never able to figure out what the cause of this is. It had been like clock work just about every 6 months, then all of a sudden she's been fine for the past 2 years and our move hasn't bothered her at all. She also has a sensitive stomach, and we've only found a couple of foods she can eat without throwing up. They are on California Natural for this reason. As soon as we moved I went and found a vet here whom I like and am very happy with. (I still haven't found a dentist or doctor for me or hubby yet). Then another of our cats, Ariel, also has health issues. She has both allergies and kidney/bladder stones. She's on Royal Canin SO for the stones, but she's allergic to the corn in it. Go figure, so she gets a bath with an oatmeal foam every so often and that seems to work.

(I've spent several thousand dollars on Tiger over the years, and I truly don't want to know what the total amount has been. She's worth it though. She moved with me from Ohio to NC 10 yrs ago.)

I wish you and your kitty the best.