Andy

When Wayne and I started this journey, it was us and our three cats. Now we are down to one, our original "little grey baby" Abigail. We lost Bailey to predators in 2013.

Last week we lost our big boy Andy to congestive heart failure. I thought I'd take the time to share what I found out about this disease, and some of my favorite photos of our buddy.

The most common form of feline heart disease is HCM or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.  It is a thickening of the muscular wall of the heart.  In the initial phases, cats may not show any signs at all and appear completely normal.  While the progression of the disease in some may be slow, in others like Andy, it can be quite rapid and lead to congestive heart failure.

As I researched what was happening to Andy, I discovered that early symptoms are hard to recognize; like decreased energy levels.  At 25 pounds, Andy wasn’t the most energetic cat around. Plus cats are really good at hiding signs of disease, and often there aren’t any obvious signs until a ‘critical point’ is reached. One symptom that was listed was paralysis of the hind legs, but all we noticed was that his hips were really tender.

In cats, the most commonly seen sign of heart failure is the development of difficult breathing and/or rapid breathing.  This is generally caused by either a build up of fluid in the chest cavity around or inside the lungs.

 There is an apparent genetic link in some breeds, such as Maine coon cats, Ragdolls and Persians, although no breed is immune.  It is more common in male cats, usually 5-7 years old. And that fits Andy, he was 6 years old and at 25 pounds, our vet thought he had some Maine coon in his family tree.

 I wish I had a solid list of symptoms to check out, but in reality, cat's are just so tricky, they hide any problems they have, so they don't appear weak. That's one reason we love them so much, they are not near as needy as their canine friends.

Good bye buddy, we sure enjoyed the time we had with you.