Cat Heart Disease
Your cat may suffer from heart disease, just like humans. Fortunately, they do not suffer from heart attacks, but there are a number of other feline heart conditions that may occur.
Your cat's heart is similar to a human's in that it has four chambers, consisting of a left and right ventricle and a left and right atrium. The atrium is designed to intake blood from the lungs and the rest of the body, while the ventricle pumps blood and oxygen throughout the body. There are also valves that prevent blood from flowing in the wrong direction.
Cats are either born with, or develop, three types of heart disease, known as Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM), Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM), and Idiopathic Cardiomyopathy (ICM). Symptoms that may indicate that your cat has heart problems include loss of appetite, weakness, fainting, a persistent cough, difficulty breathing, a bloated abdomen, and a rapid, weak heart rate.
Once in a while, cats are born with congenital heart disease. These can often be treated with surgery, but is usually too complicated for the average animal hospital. You may have to contact a veterinary cardiologist or a veterinary college in these cases.
Symptoms of heart disease in cats may be very subtle at the beginning, but if you wait too long it may be too late for successful treatment, so if you have any suspicions take your cat to your vet to be tested at the first signs of symptoms. Since heart disease can also be a result of liver or kidney disease, the appropriate blood tests may be in order. Cats are also susceptible to hyperthyroid disease, and there is a way to test for that, also. A cat may show signs of a heart murmur, but this by itself is not automatically an indication of heart disease. Other symptoms may need to be present first.
There are things you can do to treat your cat at home. For starters, try to avoid most commercial cat foods if at all possible, as they tend to be very salty. If you can, make your cat's food at home. Certain herbs, such as dandelion, ginseng, goldenseal, and cayenne can help restore heart health in your cat (NOTE: some herbs and herbal remedies can hurt your cat more than help it, so check with your vet first). Raw honey, fish oil, garlic, and kelp are also good for the cat heart (and the human heart). Be very careful with fat-soluble vitamins such as A and E, as they are stored in the liver, and can easily be overdone when given to cats.
Please post any news, comments and additional info concerning this pet health care page below:
