It's Not Too Late to Support CatWalk 2005! Page 2

Your Cat's Coat Is More Than Just Fluffy Decoration Page 4

President's Message Page 6

Featured Feline Page 6

Our Donors Page 6

FFR Update Page 6

By Janet Bennett

I used to think that annual exams for our cats were expensive and not all that important. After all, nothing ever turns up, and we can get their shots done at a cheaper clinic. That was, until their last exam in November...

Our vet discovered a severe heart murmur in one of our cats, Sonny. Sonny is a 6-year-old Maine Coon mix that we rescued when he was an adolescent. We had been fostering Sonny but he attached himself to us (literally) and we couldn't let go. Sonny is a very affectionate cat who loves to cuddle with me in the mornings, and after long absences he becomes quite needy. He is still very playful and enjoys lying on his back and grabbing his tail. He chews every piece of cardboard or newspaper that he comes into contact with, and we think he must've been a dog in a previous life. He sleeps in our bed with his head on my husband's pillow, often consuming most of it, and I forget that he's not actually a person with four legs and fur. Needless to say, we spoil him rotten.

SONNY SNOOZING

The vet recommended that we see a specialist and get an echocardiogram performed. The soonest appointment I could get was almost two months away, so I was panicking in the meantime. I didn't know what this could mean for Sonny and what, if anything, we could do about it.

Sonny's appointment finally came and I took him in. He waited patiently in the waiting room, on his leash, while everyone commented on how well behaved he was. Sonny hates carriers and doesn't mind being around dogs, so we always put him on a harness when we go out.

The vet was about to perform the echocardiogram when she mentioned that, because Sonny was a Maine Coon breed, it was possible he could have a certain type of heart disease that was common to the breed. She didn't want to go into it unless that was the case, so she said she'd check first and then we could discuss it further. Meanwhile, I waited anxiously to hear the news.

The vet tech brought Sonny back after his procedure and his tummy was all wet from where they had applied the gel. When the vet came back, she brought with her a model of a heart and I became concerned. She said that, yes, he did have this particular disease, called high mild hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and that it was more common in Maine Coon cats. She explained that the disease causes the walls of the left ventricle of the heart to thicken, leaving less room for blood to flow and therefore causing less blood to pump into his body. As the disease progresses, the left atrium also gets enlarged. Luckily, she said, this hadn't yet happened because we had caught the disease in time. She said that there was no cure, and that our choices were to do nothing, in which case it could get worse, or treat him with a beta blocker and hope to keep the disease from progressing (or progressing as rapidly).

THE FELINE HEART

I was very distraught to hear this news. It was possible that Sonny's life would be shortened due to this disease. A cat's life is already too short, in my opinion, and having even less time with Sonny was something I couldn't bear. So we put him on a beta-blocker called atenolol. He takes a quarter pill every night, probably for the rest of his life. Next month we will do another echocardiogram to see if his heart is better, the same, or worse. The vet said that it's possible that the medication could reverse some of the effects, which would be great, but of course there's still no cure. He will need to be monitored on a regular basis.

I am so thankful that Sonny has had regular yearly exams and that his vet discovered this heart murmur. If Sonny had gone another year without this diagnosis, it may have been too late to do anything, and the disease could've been fatal or Sonny's lifespan could've been severely shortened.

I can't stress enough the importance of having yearly exams. It was critical that a vet examine Sonny, especially since he showed no external symptoms of the disease.

If you have been putting off your yearly trip to the vet, please don't delay. Make an appointment today. It's more than just a vaccination and a bill -- your pet's life could depend on it.

For more information on feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, visit http://members.aol.com/jchinitz/hcm/index.htm.

< PREVIOUS PAGE . . . . NEXT PAGE >