Dilated Cardiomyopathy in Cats

Has Symptoms

I have a 7 month old British Shorthair with DCM. The cardiologist diagnosed him when he was 5 months old. I took him in after I saw that he would pant after minimal exercise. All four chambers of his heart are enlarged with left and right systolic dysfunction. No mitral valve regurgitation. Taurine levels in blood came back normal. I don’t know what his prognosis is, I was just told that it’s a progressive condition. His health seems to go and down. He was eating less than usual and they said it could possibly be the profession of his condition, cardiac cachexeria. After appetite stimulants were given, he has been better. His coat has started to lighten in spots and I’m not sure if that could be related.

Has Symptoms

My cat is 15 years old and just got diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy with a very guarded to poor diagnosis. He has signs of pericardial effusion and polmonary edema. His heart has poor contractility as well. They are recommending six different medications for treatment but not sure if doing that will help as he is older and the diagnosis is so poor. Any advice is appreciated on what to do moving forward.

Has Symptoms

hi, my cat has a DMC not yet diagnosed completely, I have an appointment only on the 7th December. He went to the hospital with liquid in the torax, he spent there one night to get exams. His right side is huge compared with the left side, but the cardiologist there couldn't say why and sent me to get an appointment in a specialist. He is at home for 4 days now, after he got home he started to get much better and was eating and drinking a lot,now he doesn't eat anything, if I try to feed him he starts to vomit. He drunk some water today but not much. Is it somehow normal? Should I take him to the vet? he is taking furosemide in a very high dose - 7,5 mg 3 times a day, clopidogrel and ramipril. He is breading well and calm but is still colder than it should.

I forgot to tell he is now 6,6 pounds.

Has Symptoms

I visited the vet specialists to see a cardiologist after our primary vet told us my cat had a 3/6 heart murmur. The specialists were able to do an echocardiogram, blood work (CBC, Chemistry, T4, urinalysis), heart worm profile, abdominal ultrasound and chest x-rays. They said he has dilated cardiomyopathy in his right ventricle and his murmur is due to his tricuspid valve. They mentioned the pressure around his heart was quite high, and that there was likely an underlying cause. They also mentioned it was atypical that with his condition, he was showing no clinical signs and that the cardiologist would be hesitant to have any medication given to him due to the fact that he's not clinical yet. Upon receiving his test results, they were also quite surprised to see all of his blood work came back perfectly fine, and that the testing showed he was healthy. When I asked the specialist if I should have any immediate worry however, she said yes, that his heart condition is quite severe. She suggested to return for an electrocardiogram, which is our next step. He is very active, always jumping around, and chasing after my other cat. He's never been a cat that just sits and sleeps all day. He probably sleeps half of what a regular cat does, and has never showed any signs of being lethargic or short of breath. They asked me to measure his breaths per minute when he's asleep, and he's been within normal range (22-25 breaths per minute).

Has Symptoms

My cat has a heart murmur and Cardiomyopathy. She is currently on furosemide to remove liquid around her heart. She has been on this medication for two years now. Lately she does not have much appetite and we had to increase her dose of furosemide. I am wondering if it could be caused by hyperthyroidism.

I forgot to add Coco is a Malayan cat a breed that was born of a mating between a Burmese and Chinchilla cats. She was 4 years old when it happened. The other symptom I noticed she would also have her head shaking, almost like a tremor or a vibration? It just didn't seem normal and was the ultimate reason for me taking to the emergency vets who practice out of our vet hospital. Since then she has had all the lymph nodes in her neck swell up its been ongoing over last six weeks. So far she's been treated with antibiotics, has had a FNA (fine needle aspiration) results - inflammation. A special blood test when her Popliteal nodes ( glands at the back of her hind legs) became swollen too - results still inflammation, no spike. Finally she's had surgery to excise one of the popliteal nodes - results should be back in a couple of days. Meanwhile two days post op I had to take her back as her belly had become swollen and I suspected Ascities. I was correct in my guess ( I was an anaesthetic nurse for 25 years and a scrub nurse for 5) so I had a little knowledge of what was happening. She's now home and back on the Frusemide .25 of a tab per day. Hopefully with each test she won't have Lymphoma.

My cat has Dilated Cardiomyopathy and luckily our vets practice is also a hospital for domestic and farm animals. When she came into the hospital there was a regular visiting cardiac consultant who managed to save her life. Her medication is:- Vetmedin x2 daily Taurine x2 daily Plavix x1 daily Occasionally she also requires Frusemide either x1 or x2 daily - she required it for first 6 months. Her specialist at her 6 month scans said she is only the second cat he's seen in 15 years that's responded to Taurine 500mg ! At the time she developed the DCM she also developed a Corneal Sequstrum .