Giant Hearted Kitty Update

It is with mixed feelings that I write this, because in no way can my words be taken as an upsided or downsided situation with Ed. I spent a few hours late yesterday at the new Vet’s office, and I really, really, REALLY have to commend their dedication and attention to detail. The staff is wonderful there. On occasion in your life you have the opportunity to meet doctors of your own that (I mean really) “get it,” and aren’t afraid to read up in medical texts on things right in front of you, or are always looking into new procedures, illnesses, and therapies. I think I have had maybe two such doctors in my life time, and that was in Marin at Greenbrae (one has since retired, and not by his choice – he simply got too old). Ed now has one such doctor.

This in no way diminishes his previous vet care. Muppet actually made a comment that could sum it up nicely; our regular vet is very young, and may not have had experience with the type of issues Ed presents, as what I am about to describe is very rare. It is also very difficult to diagnose, and can often go undetected because it piggy backs on more important, scary illnesses, such as Diabetes and Cancer – neither of which Ed has been diagnosed with in the past.

After close examination of the cardiac sonograms taken, it was determined that Ed does not, in fact, have heart disease. There is no build-up of reservoir of blood in the “receptacle lake” area of his heart muscle, and most importantly, the walls of his heart are not thick enough to assume heart disease as a viable problem. His murmur comes and goes; this has been noted by all three vets.

It was determined that along with his heart, his liver and gall bladder are enlarged…but his bloodwork came back normal, excepting an issue concerning the liver enzymes, where one area was scary high (if normal range were 20-100…Ed’s was over 1500). He has had skin problems recently – and was treated for multiple random sores (not caused by fleas or other pest) on his skin that scab over. He has significant hair loss and thinning, combined with a change from his thick black coat to a mangy, very thin, grayish-brown coat. He has chronic problems with constipation and bowel issues. He is obsessively hungry all the time, and drinks a lot of water (marked increase from last year). His decline can be noted from January on…most significantly noticed in March. His eyes are sometimes buggy…meaning, you can see the whites of his eyes on occasion.

When the vet showed me his skin, it was paper (and I do mean paper thin – it was gross) thin, and very fragile…and there is something called “Fragile Skin Disease” associated with this kind of condition, where the skin is so thin and fragile it tears easily—like if you grab a cat by the scruff of his neck, the skin could actually come off. This is the result of a high cortisone production and build-up, which also means a doughy, sort of pot-bellied abdomen and weak abdominal muscles, all of which Ed has. The vet likened it to as if his body was giving himself cortisone shots daily, because he has never been on any cortisone therapy with any vet.

His abdominal sonogram looked relatively normal, however…and his adrenal glands were not enlarged. The vet believes he may have a very rare disease in cats, called Cushing's Disease, which is also common in humans, and sometimes in dogs…but rarely cats. In Ed’s case, this could be just a hormone imbalance, and with proper treatment it could be regulated.

If you read up on Cushing's Disease in Felines, however, you will see that only 50% of cats that have adrenalectomy surgeries survive—most of which die within a few days post operation. Similarly, only 50% who do medical treatments not involving surgeries survive. Since there is almost always an underlying bigger issue causing Cushing's, and it is not likely to be Ed’s adrenal glands or diabetes, it is likely that he has some kind of cancer that has not presented itself yet.

Cancer is, of course, bad…but it is much more treatable than something like Cushing's because there are so many more options available.

Come Monday, Ed will undergo a special test to decide if he can be diagnosed with Cushing's disease. I’ll post an update soon after—as this test process will take all day.

Thanks you to everyone for your kind words and well-wishes for Ed. This has been a very emotional process, and your thoughts and good vibes have helped us through immensely. Ed is on medication to keep him stable right now, and he’s doing well—almost back to his normal self, but still lethargic and not eating as well as I would like him to be.

It has taken 7 months to get this far in finding out what's wrong with Ed...and in finding out the real problem we can stop treating symptoms and actually treat the big issue--which may make him healthy or at least healthier again.

Labels: cats

posted by Rain at 2:20 PM

His Heart is Just Too Big

Those of you who have had the pleasure or profound amusement to meet my big black cat Ed, know why we call him special. He is perhaps one of the sweetest, most loving, and overly-affectionate empathic cats I’ve ever met, who loves to enunciate when he’s talking to you (or at you), as much as he loves to eat. He brings joy to everyone he meets. He has the personality, intelligence, and whimsical nature of a four year old child…and sometimes…a very large dog. He is a lap cat. He sleeps on my head at night. He likes to hug. He likes to kiss. He likes to pet you with his paws, because he knows it feels good when people pet him. He sometimes steals your food when you are not paying enough attention to the plate…and when he’s been scolded, he sometimes feels so bad that his eyes well up with tears and he appears to almost cry.

He has been my companion for 11 years, and his heart very, very big and open to anyone that needs a little (or a lot) of love.

We found out just how very big his heart is last night.

At 6pm I got home from work to find a very different sort of cat at the door. Though he did greet me, he did not meow at all, which is completely abnormal for him. When I gave him his medication in a little bowl of milk, he did not so much as touch it, or cry for more…or cry for food in general, which is part of his routine. He usually meows like a broken record until he gets fed his dinner, and I noticed he was very uncomfortable around the abdomen, and very tired. He followed me from room to room and tried to lay down wherever I was, until he was too tired to even do that, and found a spot on top of my purse (the thing he knows I never leave with out) at the table. I knew something was very, very wrong.

I called the Muppet and he was on his way home by 6:30, and we took Ed to the emergency vet in the outer Richmond, who saw him right away. He said he had a terrible heart murmur, and then took some x-rays, which showed his abdomen, and also his liver, lungs, and heart. There was a ton of fluid back-up in his lungs, making it difficult to breathe, so they put him on oxygen and I couldn’t see him then. The vet went over his x-rays with me and showed me where Ed’s heart should be, and said it was grossly enlarged—and it was. About the size of your fist…or a human size heart.

The vet kept him overnight to watch him closely, and after about 11pm they took him off the oxygen, as he was responding to the two medications they gave him to help reduce the fluid, and get his breathing back to normal, as well as his heartbeat. The vet recommended an emergency cardiac sonogram be done the next day, and though we already had one scheduled for the 25th—this needed to be done immediately. Our vet only gets the sono guy once a month, so he recommended a place that had the machine kind of near the Fillmore area. We called this morning, but they were not seeing new patients, so the ER vet actually spoke to him on the phone and that got us in…we were so relieved. Between these two very knowledgeable doctors, we felt Ed was in better hands than ever.

I am now awaiting the results of the abdominal sonogram, followed by the cardiac sonogram.

I can’t tell you what a wreck I was last night, and I am very thankful for all the friends who called or sent texts to let me know they were praying for my little man, and that they hoped he’d be ok. I’m very thankful for the Muppet and all his support last night—as well as today. Friends and Animals have always been as important to me as family—especially at times when I didn’t have family growing up (and that’s a very different thing now).

I can’t begin to tell you what knowing that I might wake up this morning and not have my Eddie to come home to every day did to me, but I haven’t cried that hard in a long time.

I would like to thank All Animals Emergency Hospital and SF Pet Hospital for their extraordinary attention to detail and giving Ed the best care they know how with limited frame of reference. Whatever happens, I know he has and will receive the bes