Bumpurr
RESPECT The- Star! | 
 | | Purred: Thu Dec 18, '08 4:23pm PST |  | |  | | My name is Bumpurr, I am a show kitty. My mommy and "brothers and sister" live in Syracuse NY.
My little "brother" was diagnosed with HCM at 10 months, and was a show kitty too, and
his vet pulled him from the show circuit. He was told he would not live past 1 yr. My
mommy, who is extremly overly pickey about us, refused to accept that.
Being that my mommy has show horses, for a very long time, and knows how critical
their care is, knows all about illness's and disease's, and what can be done to treat them,
said, hey, cats can be too.
She did a ton of research, bugged vets, breeders, anybody who would help, and learned
alot. She also sent her vet on a "mission" and said, start your book now, as he is the one
that is going to survive, so she is pretty much an expert on it.
She has alot, alot of info and sites to share, but is also on 2 cat show boards and a horse
board, so will give info as she gets time.
Lets start from the very beginning. 
Once your cat has been diagnosed with a heart murmur, the next step is get a chest x-ray.
This shows the vet how enlarged the heart is, and if there is any fluid on the heart or
lungs. And it is important that chest x-rays be done over time, so the vet can see if there
is any change.
You also need blood work. This shows the vet if any organs or other levels are not
normal. It is also important that this is done over time too, so the vet can catch any
change. It is critical, that any change be caught quickly, that is the key, cannot stress
this enough.
You also need an echo cardiogram. The vet takes the measurements of the heart, and
can see how the left ventrical is working or not working. Basicly, the "doors" don't
open and shut properly. Sometimes too much blood gets in, sometimes not enough.
Its kinda like a door not being closed tightly. This test, tells the vet, what treatment to
pursue, what meds to put the cat on, and is the only way to properly determine the grade.
A cardiologist runs around $500-$600. ASK your vet to look into the cardiologist that
travels around to different vets, and just does an echocardiogram, this costs $120.
In the Syracuse area, it is Dr Homco, and I don't know what her travel area is, but your
vet should know, or be able to find out the info.
The key is, the cat must be fed a high quality food, preferably, grain free, grain is for
horses, not cats. No garbage, no fillers, no junk you find in the grocery store. It is very
important the food be LOW IN SALT.
The cat must be kept in a stress free environment. This is also very important.
**Danger** signs to watch for, if the cat starts to pant, or is coughing (not hair balls) or is
dragging one or both hind legs, the cat needs to be taken to the ER IMMEDIATELY.
Start keeping all your cats vet records in one place, so you can grab them right away,
should you have to go. One of my horse friends, who works for a vet, said when people
come in with an emergency, they are hysterical, and cannot properly give the vet any
information, the vet needs to know this info.
Well, this will get you started, lol, thank you so much for inviting me to join this group.
Just as many many people helped my mommy, she wants to be able to share the info and
help other kittys.
What do I like to do? I like to go to shows, finished in the top 10 in my region and the
nation last year, my mommy is very proud of me. I also like to pull my mommy's socks
and underware out of the drawer, I get in the shower with her and play with the water,
and I love it when my mommy vacumes me with the attachments. |  |  | |  |
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