How old is Phinehas? My cat Pigeon was diagnosed w/it mid-October. She's 19 years old and had never had a sick day until then. Like you, I was frantic and because of her advanced years, my vet said that the prognosis wasn't good, that she could go at any time but here we are 4 months later and she's doing great. She sleeps a lot but I told my vet that I don't expect her to do cartwheels at this age.

Pigeon is on Enalapril, Atenolol and Lasix, which are beta blockers and diuretics. When the shock wears off and you can gather your thoughts, talk to your vet about these meds for your cat. I don't take Pidge's pulse; I can tell by her breathing whether or not she's in distress. When I first took her in, her heart rate was at 400! Can you believe it? 400! My vet took her heart rate 3 times because it was so incredibly high. After starting her on the meds, it came down to 137 or so.

As I said, she's doing great now and I don't kid myself that I'll have her forever because of her age but she's comfortable, walks up and down the stairs several times a day, can jump up on the sofa and bed, her appetite is good, her litterbox habits are fine, she drinks the right amount of water. So take heart. Phinehas may do just as well as my Pidgelet. We'll send up prayers that all will go well for him and you. Keep the faythe.