Feline Dilated Cardiomyopathy

[tatsxxx11]

After reading the sad post about the passing of Bill, I thought this might be of some interest.

In dilated cardiomyopathy, the left muscular wall of the ventricle of the
heart becomes weak, which causes the left chamber of the heart to dilate.
This also interferes with the heart's ability to do its job adequately,
leading to heart failure. It also allows the formation of blood clots in
the heart which can then make their way into the circulation and cause
problems, such sudden weakness or loss of use of the rear limbs or sudden
death.

Dilated cardiomyopathy was very common until it was discovered to be the
result of taurine deficiency in most cats in which it occurred. When cat
food companies increased the taurine levels in their foods, this condition
nearly disappeared, but not quite completely. There are still some cases,
which may result from strong genetic predisposition to the problem, from
toxins (chemotherapy drugs can cause cardiomyopathy), as a rare effect of
hyperthyroidism and in cats who fend for themselves or are fed diets
deficient in taurine. In cats in which taurine deficiency is not present,
the prognosis for dilated cardiomyopathy is reported to be poor, with very
few cats living longer than six months (Scherding, "The Cat: Diseases and
Clinical Management).

[eicturne]

Thanks for the information on cardiomyopathy. I guess I will never really know if this was indeed Bill's problem, but it sounds like a good bet. A couple of months ago he had experienced a couple of seizures. I wonder if this could have also have been caused by clotting associated with cardiomyopathy.

Bill's Mom

[LoudLou]

I too have had an experience with this, at least my vet says this it what is was. Garbonzo Bean is a Birman and 6-8months ago had a seizure of some kind.... the vet thinks it was Feline Dilated Cardiomyopathy but can't really explain why. It's not Bonzo's diet. Anyway- they had us give him a baby asprin once a day for a week under the VET'S Care (as it IS/CAN be toxic to kitties) and other than having amuch bolder catatude now he seems to be fine and we look at EVERY day as a gift. So, sorry about Bill.