|
Maine Coon, Norwegian Forrest Cats and Rag Dolls (and other fluffy cats) all have the posability of a genetic heart defect that leads to early heart disease. Jack had it and I had no idea, which is why he suddenly went into cardiac arrest and died. When Sid had a round of UTI's they took xrays. The vet didn't notice anything but a radiologist who comes in weekly did. They recommended an ultrasound which showed that he has the genetic defect. There's not much you can do to cure it, but you can manage it to give the cat a longer life. Sid is on blood pressure meds 2x a day, gets monthly blood pressure checks and they've recommended an ultrasound every 6 months.
There are other things that I'm trying to piece together that may go along with the heart disease. Both Sid and Jack were tartar-prone and had pretty bad teeth for being youngsters. Sid's had to have his first teeth cleaning at 1 1/2. They both seem to get sicker than the other when something is going around. I'm not sure if this has anything to do with the heart issue, but I'm keeping it in mind as I piece together this puzzle.
I've also started giving Sid COQ10 to help him out. Luckily, he doesn't mind meds.
|