We attended the HCM Clinic in Birmingham, AL on 23 October and the following details our results.
We have mixed emotions of sadness for Sigmund and Rose, and joy for Bilbo and Lily.
This is our first experience with HCM in a living cat. Our beloved boy, Gimli (Godz Gimli Gil-Galad, the object of this blog), was discovered to have late stage HCM (age 3) at necropsy after he was killed with Ketamine. So we have much to learn about caring for Siggy, who will be living with the disease and Rosie, who is highly suspected of having early onset.
RESULTS:
GoNaked FreudianSlip of RmplSlkSknz
sire: GoNaked Deklan
dam: KOTY, GC, NW, RW EnchantedLair NWA Cornflake Girl
Age: 15 months
Diagnosis: Early Mild HCM
GP Godz Rose of Sharron
sire: GC Godz MyDadza Mooner, aka DZ
dam: GC Godz Camellia
Age: 2 years, 9 months
Diagnosis: Equivocal Early Mild HCM
GP Godz Junipurr Lily
sire: GC Godz MyDadza Mooner, aka DZ
dam: GC Godz Camelia
Age: 2 years, 9 months
Diagnosis: HCM Negative
Godz Bilbo Bombadil Marshall
sire: GC Barebods Hermovy of Godz
dam: CH Degukats Lady Godiva of Godz
Age: 5 years, 8 months
Diagnosis: HCM Negative
(This is Bilbo's 2nd clear scan)
Siggy started Atenolol today. We're rescanning he and Rose in a few months. Since Gimli was the littermate to DZ (sire of Rose) we will be monitoring her as closely as Sigmund.
Thank you for the kind letters and FB posts already sent to us. Your thoughtfulness and hugs to our kitties are greatly appreciated.
Our sympathies to all breeders involved in our two positive scans.
Kay & Jerry, Bilbo, Rosie, Siggy, & Lily
Home of the RmplSlkSknz crew
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8 comments:
What to say, what to say. I'm grieiving with you.
xo
I know, sweet girl. Thank you for being you. <3
Such bitter-sweet news. Our hearts go out to you and the gang.
Here's to hoping for little to no progression and long happy lives.
Allison
Luna, Pierre and Lucy
Thanks so much for your comment, Allison. *hugs*
Sunny was diagnosed with HCM at the age of 11 years in February 2008. The symptom that had me take him to the vet was vomiting. In and of itself, nothing serious, as he would vomit if he ate too fast. But this was tinged with blood. They discovered fluid in his lungs and then made the HCM diagnosis. It's a tightrope you have to walk between keeping fluid out of the lungs and making sure he has enough fluids so that the kidneys function. Atenolol and Lasix were what Sunny was given. He lived two symptom free years and then made a rapid decline around late November 2009. I'm not sure some of that wasn't just old age. I believe with proper medication and vet care, they should live a fairly normal life expectancy. What does the vet say about that?
Hey Joni.. I just now saw your post.. forgive me.
Poor Sunny. I know she was very, very special to you... as Gimmie was to us. (still is)
Our situation with Gimli was different. He was diagnosed with HCM at necrospy and the theory is that, with Sphynx, Ketamine CAN progress an undiagnosed case. It did with Gimli. We had NO clue that he had the disease until the pathology report came back. What killed him was the incompetence of that vet. He died from the Ketamine due to CHF. Damn her. To this very day, and forever more, I shall dispise her. Her actions with us were appalling.
But anyway... as you probably know from FB, we recently (in Oct. 2010) took all four for annual heart scans at our vet cardiologist. Bilbo and Junipurr Lily scanned clear (thankfully) but Rose didn't ... a shock!... and Sigmund (Siggy) was diagnosed as Early Mild HCM. I was not surprised. His breeder found out that HCM had crept into the lines and Siggy was suspected to possible develope or have it even as a little, wee kitten. But my heart had already become Sigmundized. I didn't care. He was ours no matter what. He is just adorable. It saddens me every day that I allow myself to go to that dark place that my mind knows about. What's in his future and how devastating it will be.
I try not to let that come forward very often but it does... for a second, a minute, longer.
He's on Atentol - has been since Oct.
Rose was given an Equivocal diagnosis; which is basically saying that the vet was sitting on the fence, and is not on meds at this time.
We're making a five hour trip to Atlanta in April for a six-month re-scan with a new cardiologist who is Board Certified. I like our other vet cardiologist but I wanted a 2nd opinion on Rose. I hope, hope, hope to see a positive change in Siggy since we've taken started him on meds ASAP. I also really hope that Rose's diagnosis will be downgraded to Normal.
We've now moved into the world of BARF... Bones and Raw Food ... for our Sphynx, mainly due to the diagnosis and the overwhelming chatter about benefits.
We've been very sketical about it but saw dramatic change, then ran out of our stash of raw during the holidays and saw a return of hyperactivity, diarreah, throwing up (which, believe it or not, is quite common in Sphynx). We made raw last weekend and w/in three days saw a return to stable stool, activitity and not one case of cookie-tossing. AMAZING.
It converted us. In fact, in about a month I'll be replacing our brand new home-quality meat grinder with a commercial model. I didn't want to invest that much at the get-go until we were certain... we're certain now.
So... with Gimli everything was a totally out of the blue. We were reeling for months, really a couple of years. We love him so. It still weighs heavily on my mind. I can't stop dwelling on it and hope so much - as I've been told hundreds of times - that Gimmie's blog has helped educate people to the dangers of Ketamine in exotics.
Thanks for posting here. I appreciate your interest and your friendship. {{{{SUNNY}}}}
Hi Joni... Your post makes me overwhelmingly sad. I empathize with you and appreciate the blog for the awareness it provides. I too have a pet cat and he will greatly benefit from what information that you have shared.
To Panic Attack:
Thank you for your comments. I appreciate you for reading through the blog and its contents. Hopefully, the information I've gathered will be of use to others. I only wish it had been available to me prior to Gimli's death.
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