HCM in cats may cause sudden death

1. Feline cardiomegaly

Cat cardiomegaly, namely feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, is one of the most common heart problems in cats and is considered a genetic disease. . Many cats, such as Persian cats, American shorthair cats, Ragdoll cats and other breeds of cats, carry the gene for heart hypertrophy.

Feline cardiac hypertrophy occurs more often in male cats. Other scholars have found that cats who are timid, sensitive, and prone to nervousness and anxiety are more likely to develop the disease, and the onset of the disease is relatively early, and most of them will show up in their youth. Cats with easy-going, quiet personalities may develop the disease later or may not suffer serious consequences.

2. Symptoms of Feline Cardiomytrophy

The adverse effect of cats suffering from cardiomegaly is that the heart blood vessels are squeezed, resulting in insufficient blood supply, which also leads to cats suffering from heart disease. People are prone to shortness of breath, but sometimes their symptoms are not obvious, so they are not easily noticed. However, if the owner sees that the cat often opens its mouth to breathe under normal circumstances, it is necessary to consider whether there is a problem with their heart.

Some cats with cardiac hypertrophy will develop thromboembolism, which may cause the affected cat to suddenly have difficulty moving or paralyzing its hind limbs, and howl loudly due to extreme pain. The specific cause requires professional diagnosis by a veterinarian.

But in fact, most cats with cardiac hypertrophy will not have obvious symptoms, and some even have no symptoms. Therefore, Dr. Claws suggests that if you have British Shorthair, American Shorthair, Ragdoll, etc. Cats carrying the myocardial hypertrophy gene should be taken to the pet hospital regularly for heart tests to be informed of the cat’s health problems in a timely manner and take relevant prevention measures.

3. Care for cats with cardiac hypertrophy

Because HCM is a hereditary disease, it is unavoidable, and it is caused by changes in body functions. Currently, there are no specific drugs that can cure it. Most drugs can only be used for support. To treat or improve some of the problems that occur after cats develop the disease, owners can only focus on the care of cats with cardiac hypertrophy. For example:

1. Allowing cats to live in a relatively comfortable environment and reducing factors that may cause stress is a more effective way to reduce the incidence or sudden onset of cat disease. For example, if cats don’t like loud noises, they should be provided with an environment with relatively good sound insulation, so that when they encounter loud noises, such as New Year’s firecrackers, thunder on rainy days, etc., they can have a relatively safe environment. haven.

2. If the affected cat is very resistant to bathing, the owner should not bathe them too frequently. Bathing is one of the main culprits of stress reactions in cats. If the affected cat's body is dirty, the owner can wipe it with a damp cloth or dry-clean it with cornstarch for cleaning. Bathing your cat should be done at home as much as possible, at least in its own territory, where it will feel more comfortable. Tragedies of cats dying after bathing outside also happen from time to time. We hope owners will pay attention to this.

3. When you need to take your cat out, such as for vaccination or physical examination, you can use some medicine to help them relax and ease their mood, such as catnip, which has a sedative effect.

Dr. Claw’s warm reminder: The sudden death of a cat will have a great impact on pet owners, but this situation can still be avoided. If the owner can protect the fragile "mind" of the cat, the risk can be greatly reduced. Tragedy happens.