How long will my cat live with CHF? I am having a very hard time getting him to take the meds. I have tried pill form, which has been a battle. I recently got liquid form from the compounding Pharm. At first he would eat it in his food. But, after about 2-3 days, he just walks away from it. He's definitely not getting a full dose of meds everyday.

My cat had diarrhea this past Monday and has barely ate food. We took him to the vet and they sent him home with “weight management” food by scientific diet and some probiotic to feed him for the next two days. Since last night he has been very lethargic, not eating drinking a lot of water. Today he was limp like a rag doll so I took him to the er and we found out he has hcm/ congestive heart failure. What are his success rate?

My cat is 11 years old, and was diagnosed with myocardial hypertrophy four and a half years ago. The cardiologist said he would rate the progression as moderate based on the ekg and xray. I decided against further treatment at the time, owing to my lack of funds, and we’ve had a good 4, asymptomatic years together. About 2 to 3 weeks ago I thought I noticed that her breathing pattern had started to change (sudden, jerky breaths) and I thought perhaps she was a little more lethargic. Over the last two or three days I can definitely hear a rattle-y wheeze when she breathes and her lethargy has increased. She is still eating, drinking, grooming, and asks to go outside. It seems clear to me she has some pulmonary edema and is at some early to middle stage of CHF, possibly rapidly progressing. I’m not interested in putting her through rounds of X-rays and EKGs and blood work and IVs for the rest of her life. But I would also like to be humane and do the best I can to make the rest of her life as long and pain free as possible without the luxury of those tests and treatments. Or at the least, have an informed sense of when she’s in too much pain or discomfort to let her continue on like this. Can anyone help me?

I have been planning to move from NYC to California with my two cats. To my surprise, Simon was diagnosed with myocardial disease 6 months ago--he had no symptoms. He started taking enalapril, pimobendan, and Plavix. (He does not have CHF.) He had his second EKG last week, and the vet said one of the chambers of his heart had actually gotten smaller. The report mentions systolic and diastolic dysfunction, mild concentric left ventricular hypertropy, mild atrial dilation, and dynamic right ventricular outflow tract gradient (benign). He has no cardiac related symptoms. My question is about travel with him. I do not want to put him in danger by putting him on a plane. We live in a quiet apartment, and the cats spend only about 15 minutes in their carriers on the way to and from the vet. No other travel. Could being confined, the noise of the airport, the long flight, etc., stress him out so much that he goes into CHF? Would it help to start taking them on long car trips so they get used to being confined to their carriers and being in motion? I have been wanting to move for years, but I simply could not go if it would be a significant threat to Simon. I know this sounds crazy, but if I could hire my vet to come on the flight with us--with whatever medications would be appropriate--would that be helpful? (I've known my vet for a very long time, he has family in California, and this is really not as crazy as it sounds.) I know there are no guarantees, but I would appreciate any insights you might have. This is a tough decision.

Our cat Luna was acting very strange a couple days ago. Meowing and breathing rapidly. We did some quick research and made the decision to take her an emergency vet. She was treated for asthma and we were told to watch her like a hawk. She had a rough night and by the next morning her breathing was still very rapid (over 100 breathes a minute!) we then rushed her back to the ER vet and they noticed her heart was showing some issues. She was placed in an oxygen tank and hooked up to an IV for the night until we could take her to a cardiologist the next morning. The cardiologist performed an ultrasound and found that she has mild heart disease. They also suspected she threw a blood clot to her right front leg which caused the sudden episode of pain and rapid breathing. She was prescribed an anti-coagulant clopidogrol and sent home. Her breathing is much much better and she is finally eating. However it’s now been 48hours after her ultrasound and she is still not walking right. While her right front leg is still understandably disabled she is now having issues with her right back leg. She’s also having a hard time staying upright and is very wobbly. Wondering if anyone else’s cat has had similar symptoms post diagnosis and treatment.