Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi everyone. Its been a while, so I'll briefly explain how I got here, my situation now, and my reasoning for my question.
I came here because of my dog. He had osteosarcoma....and while i dont regret anything, the 6 months we struggled have put me in a situation of where i have a hard time choosing my next steps with my current animals in regards to care and whatnot.....
Currently, I have a three legged Maine coon. I adopted him after the loss of our dog. He is approx 5 years old. Noticed coughing about 2 weeks ago. Took Him in. No murmur. Heart sounded great. Xrays however showeda significantly large heart. Obvious breathing through his stomach. Eating and acting normal. The decision is to move forward with ultrasound. Vet is concerned of a possible mass. They think all possible dxs are leaning towards a relatively short term life span with little treatment possibility.
The question is, do i put him through more stress of Dr visits to simply find out a diagnosis? Are there any possibilities this could be treatable? It was so hard going through what i did with my dog, i guess i find myself frozen as to what to do in the best interest of my cat.
I feel like I'm rambling and i hope this makes sense...
Ty in advance,
Lori
Oh dear sweet Lori, you aren't rambling at all!!! Of course it's good to hear from you, just hate that it's under these circumstances!
I don't have any input. Hopefully Dr Pam will jave some insight. Just a question though.....would the ultra sound give a fairly clear picture of what's going on, without any additional "invasive" tests?
Hope Saint Chuck is watching over his family and taking good care of everybody! And by the way, Chuck is still quite the inspiration around here for any dog facing this journey where amputation is not an option. He really showed everyone you could, indeed, get extended quality time even if you had to keep that bum leg!
Lots of love Lori!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
So an enlarged heart - in a person, cardiomyopathy. Often for a person they put them on heart medication to increase the strength of the contraction of the heart ( how strong the heart contracts to beat ... when it's enlarged, it beats sort of weaker, or sluggishly). Not sure if they would do the same sort of thing for a cat or not. The cough, to me, would suggest that it's left-sided heart failure, so the fluid is backing up into the lungs; since the heart is not beating the way it should, the blood sort of backs up some. They might even want a diuretic, a water pill, to help get rid of any extra fluids.
Maybe google "cardiomyopathy in cats" and see if you can find more information.
Donna
Donna, Glenn & Murphy
Murphy had his right front leg amputated due to histiocytic sarcoma at 7 years old. He survived 4 years, 2 months & 1 week, only to be taken by hemangiosarcoma at 11 1/2 years 6/12/17
Read about Murphy's Life on Three Legs
Lori! Wow I was just thinking of you when I stumbled in front of Bobby's TriKitty blog the other day. I'm sorry to hear you're in a medical situation with him. I know Dr. Pam will have some ideas for you but here's my take: Bobby is pretty young and if he hasn't had any other health situations, there's a good chance this can be fixed, at least I think there could be.
I'll let Pam comment but for now, why not get the ultrasound done? It's not a major surgery and it will give you peace of mind knowing what you're dealing with. At that point, you can move forward with whatever makes you most comfortable. Bobby's vets have no idea what's going on until they look with the right diagnostics, I'm sorry they've freaked you out like this, that sure wasn't helpful.
Sending lots of love & strength to you.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Maine Coon cats are a breed with a high risk for HCM (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy) and often will not have a heart murmur. I would do the echo to see how bad it is but depending on how early you are catching it these cats can live years. One of our clinic cats had this and lived 4 years. However there is always the risk of sudden death or blood clots with this disease and your cat will need to take medication for life.
PAM
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