Help me do right by my cat with congestive heart failure & URI
May 9, 2018 11:34 AM   Subscribe

I have a cat situation and I am not sure how to proceed. My 11 year old cat Mama was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. She had been running around playing like normal and then all of a sudden she was lying on her side obviously having difficulty breathing.

We rushed her to the emergency vet where they did xrays and confirmed that her heart was enlarged and there was fluid build-up. She was given lasix and we were able to take her home the next day. We were given 4 different medications and she has responded really well, surpassing our expectations. The vet said she had 9 to 18 months to live. Until this point she was always healthy. She is my favorite cat and my best friend and this is really hard. She has been mostly back to normal. She does seem to get to the point where she wants to run around like a maniac and this freaks us out so we do try to calm her down. We've had blood work done twice since she was diagnosed and everything was looking good.

Besides Mama I have 4 other cats. We recently took Roscoe in because he seemed to be having some issues with his mouth. He ended up having all of his teeth extractions. We brought him home and he seemed to be doing well but started to lose interest in food and his eyes and nose were very watery. We took him back in and he was diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection. So now I have 5 cats who are sneezy and runny nosed. I used to give them l-lysine all the time but stopped and now we are all paying the price. Unfortunately Mama caught it next and wasn't interested in food. We tried every flavor, baby food, temptations treats, freeze dried chicken treats. Not eating means not getting her medicine. Her breathing was labored and we didn't know how long she could go without food or her medicine so we freaked out about that and took her to the vet on Sunday.

At the vet they took blood again even though we just had blood work done the week before, and we asked them to give her some of the meds that she had missed. She was very unhappy about all of this and spit out 2 of her meds. We usually crush her meds up in food but the vet pilled her which we never attempted. She is usually really good but now seemed even more stressed due to the blood taking and pilling. They said the breathing issue was related to the URI and sent us home. We expected her to calm down after an hour or so but she didn't. Her breathing rate was in the 60's as opposed to the 30s. She was crouched in a position that didn't seem normal. We took her back in later that night. After practically 2 days in the oxygen tank her breathing has calmed down. The problem now is that she is still not eating. We even dropped off food that she usually likes. They have given her an appetite stimulant. The vet is now concerned that there may be something going on with her mouth. The only way to find out is to sedate her. This comes with risks due to her CHF.

It seems like our options are: Bring her home and hope she eats with us. The vet did mention that some cats don't eat at the vet. Or have them take a look in her mouth to see if there is some underlying issue. My fears are:
1 - we will bring her home and she still wont eat, wont be getting her meds, and will be suffering and we have to take her back in and start the process again.
2 - we do the procedure and she wont make it through.
3 - we do the procedure, she will make it through, but we've traumatized her some more.
4 - we do the procedure, it turns out nothing is wrong, and we put her through that for no reason.
5 - we do the procedure, find out she has some other terrible thing going on and I don't know what from there.

I need a sanity check and some perspective. I've called the vet who initially saw her but haven't heard back from him yet. I don't know if he will even be able to give me any feedback since she is now at a different animal hospital. Has anyone else been through something similar? I will have to decide soon and I have already made some bad decisions through all of this. I don't want to keep putting her through stressful situations. I want to do right by her. I was hoping that she would grow old with me. Since that doesn't seem to be an option I want her to be happy and stress free for whatever time she does have left. Am I missing some options and possible outcomes?
posted by mokeydraws to Pets & Animals (9 answers total)
 
I *just* went through a similar scenario a few weeks ago: CHF diagnosed all of a sudden, fluid build-up, x-rays, etc. Our beloved cat Ira was not even five years old, and he died not three weeks after his diagnosis. We learned that he had "thrown a clot" half an hour from home as we were returning from vacation. He would never recover, and we had to euthanize him. It was horrible. We were able to say goodbye to him, but we are still reeling.

You should do everything you can to make your cat's life comfortable, but you should prepare for the worst. I hate to say this, but I think that's a reasonable approach to this situation. I don't think you should sedate your cat. It's too stressful. Drip some juice from a tuna can onto her food, continue with her existing medications, and just love her.
posted by Dr. Wu at 11:56 AM on May 9, 2018 [2 favorites]


I agree with Dr. Wu - don't sedate your cat.

Bring her home. Sometimes cats need a little push to eat again if they've stopped eating. And she may be more comfortable eating at home anyway.

I had a cat with CHF. He was young, so I let him play and run around like he usually did, there wasn't much stopping him; he'd get tired more quickly. The hard fact is that he was going to die no matter what I did, so I made sure he was happy and comfortable as much as I could. Like, Dr. Wu's cat, he threw a clot and there wasn't much to do after that. I still miss him, but I'm glad we had a good time together up til the end.
posted by BooneTheCowboyToy at 12:37 PM on May 9, 2018 [2 favorites]


I'm so sorry you are going through this with Mama.

My story started the same as yours; Waffles had some breathing problems, fluid in the lungs, etc.. The vet recommended we watch him for a bit and then if he improved I could take him to the cat cardiologist vet; the vet wasn't sure if he would survive the 45 minute car ride. He drained some fluid and we waited a few hours and Waffles just didn't get better. He drained more fluid and there was blood.

I then had to make one of the toughest decisions I've ever had to make in my life - to take him in the car to the cat cardio vet and risk him dying in a cat carrier to save his life, or to end his pain and have him put to sleep. I took a look at him and his breathing was still so labored, my heart was aching, I was crying like a baby, but I knew what I had to do. I didn't want to do it, but it had to happen - sooner or later (and realistically, more like sooner) it would happen and this was quiet and peaceful and I was there with him.

The vet let me hold him and I thanked Waffles for being the best buddy ever in the whole world and kissed his little head as he drifted off to sleep. I'm tearing up now even typing this, I miss him so much. It ripped a hole in my heart that I've only felt again when my mom died. It absolutely sucked, but it was what I had to do for him; he didn't deserve to be in pain, he'd been so awesome all our years together and I owed him this. I honestly have no regrets about my decision. I didn't like it, but that is how life - and death - are.

You have done so very much for Mama - more than most people would do. But seeing as she is on a few medications, and now that she's stopped eating, which means she's not getting the meds, it seems to me that she's giving you a sign that she's tired and ready to say goodbye. I'm sorry. Spend one last awesome excellent bestest day ever with her, she already knows how much you love her, but remind her and hug her and kiss her and then say goodbye to her and allow her to be free of pain. I know its hard and I know it sucks, but it is the best gift you can give her in return for all she gave to you.
Again, I'm so sorry you are going through this, I hope you both find peace.
posted by NoraCharles at 1:35 PM on May 9, 2018 [5 favorites]


One of the best things I did for my sweet girl was find a hospice vet who made house calls. I’d try to see if that’s available in your area. The vet I found really helped both of us with those last few difficult months.
posted by FencingGal at 4:53 PM on May 9, 2018 [3 favorites]


I'm so sorry you're going through this. This may be irrelevant, but I was wondering if she couldn't have her meds when not eating because the only way you're comfortable administering the pills is via the food? Or does she get too stressed out from the pilling? Or do the meds have to be taken with food? I guess what I'm getting at is: is there any other way to get the pills into her?

I have never had a cat with this problem, but I've had cats hospitalized numerous times for issues such as pancreatitis and one who (eventually) died from liver failure after weeks of escalating tests/procedures/meds. I definitely understand not wanting to subject her to endless rounds of vets and pilling and so forth only to have her not pull through. It's a very stressful place to be and unfortunately if there was a clear right answer then you would have no trouble choosing it.

I know you're waiting to hear back from the vet; have you asked them what they would do if this was their cat? Sometimes I've had vets offer helpful opinions when asked that question.

I'm sending good thoughts for Mama your way.
posted by whistle pig at 8:43 PM on May 9, 2018


If one of Mama's vets suggests a feeding tube to get her over this hump, I wanted to tell you that cats tolerate them really well; it's not the harbinger of doom we associate with human applications. The tube goes through a small incision in their necks such that the food, medicine, water, etc. lands in the esophagus right on top of the sphincter leading to the stomach. They wear a cloth collar that keeps the tube in place and out of the way while they sleep and take care of cat business. You mix up a slurry of food/meds/water, unscrew the cap, screw in a syringe, and slowly press the plunger. The best part is that they can eat normally with the feeding tube in place, so as she feels better she can gradually begin eating normally again. The worst part is the beginning, when it's an every two-three hour schedule.

My cat learned that he felt better afterwards and didn't fight it, standing patiently on the kitchen counter while I ministered to him. He depended on the feeding tube for about three-four weeks, slowly started eating himself and made a full recovery from a really terrible case of pancreatitis.

I hope things go easily for all concerned.
posted by carmicha at 9:08 PM on May 9, 2018


Response by poster: Thank you all for the kind thoughts. Unfortunately Mama passed away yesterday. I am absolutely heartbroken. My gut was saying not to sedate her and your comments helped make my decision easier. We were preparing to bring her home to try to get her to eat with us. Well then the vet mentioned that her kidney levels were now looking like a problem. They had doubled. She said it may be due to how they were administering the lasix. She recommended keeping her another night so that she could recheck in the morning. As of yesterday morning her kidney levels were still going up.

The vet mentioned a urinalysis and abdominal ultrasound and that maybe a different antibiotic would be required. We stopped by to visit her quickly and drop off more food. She seemed ok-ish. A few hours later the vet called back saying that they did the abdominal ultrasound and everything was fine but now her heart rate was dropping and she didn't think she would make it. They were doing cpr and they try it 3 times before stopping. She didn't make it.

I am so sorry that I put her through so much. Every decision I made was the wrong one. I should have given her a little time before rushing her to the vet. I should have insisted that they put her in oxygen when we did go and not let them send us home. I should have isolated Roscoe when we brought him back. I should have never stopped giving them l-lysine. I should have not been so willing to follow everything the vet said to do. I am angry that they offered so many options that turned out to be unnecessary.

Mama was such a good cat and I wanted to be as good to her as she was to me. She slept with me every night, was a great cuddler, and brought me so much joy and laughter. I was abandoned and lost both my parents when I was very young. I spent many years very lonely and isolated. I learned unconditional love through my cats. I would spend so much time just petting Mama and rubbing her belly. I learned how to accept affection and be affectionate because of her. It felt like I was reparenting myself with her as crazy as that sounds. I re-named her Mama because of that. We were also the only 2 girls with 5 male cats and a ragey boyfriend at one point. Me and my cats have been through some shit and I really believe that they have saved me a couple of times.

This is so long. Thank you for reading. Here are some pictures of my beautiful girl.
Mama so fancy
Mama doing some online shopping
Mama in a box!

I had also posted a question a while back about an episode Mama had and I think it may have been early signs of her heart failure.
posted by mokeydraws at 5:59 AM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]


So sorry to hear that Mama passed away. I feel your pain, I really do - our cat Ira died just a few weeks ago, and we're still grieving.

Please, please don't beat yourself up about this. You loved Mama, and she knew it, and that's the important thing. The death of a pet is an absolutely brutal thing to go through - don't make it worse for yourself! You are obviously a kind and caring pet owner and friend, so don't second-guess yourself because of the last few difficult days.

RIP, Mama. And Ira, too.
posted by Dr. Wu at 11:55 AM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]


I'm sorry to hear about Mama. You were a good and loving companion to her. You tried everything you could to save her so that she could have more time with you, her loving friend. It's impossible sometimes to know the right thing to do when it comes to pet medical issues. I hope that you can find peace and comfort.
posted by whistle pig at 4:38 PM on May 12, 2018


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