Our sick little Bunny

I mentioned in my entry yesterday that we’ve got an upper respiratory virus running through the house.  Some cats are worse that others—some have outright “kitty colds”, yet others have no symptoms at all.  On Sunday night we noticed Bunny was breathing a bit heavily, and I attributed that to the URI and perhaps some congestion.  By early Monday she was really breathing heavily, was moving very little, and couldn’t do normal physical tasks like jump a baby gate.  We took her to the vet as an emergency visit first thing in the morning, and she was initially diagnosed with either asthma or pneumonia.  Then the vet did an x-ray, and told us that Bunny had congestion in her lungs and in her airways, indicative of both asthma and pneumonia.  She also had a very enlarged, “Valentine-shaped” heart, which no one expected.  The vet said that could be indicative of “an extremely rare condition called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy”, but told us not to be concerned about it because for now, asthma was still the likeliest culprit.

By the end of the day, Bunny had been treated with a bronchodilator, cortisone, some antibiotics, and Lasix, and was doing much better.  We brought her home with prednisone, Baytril, and Theophylline, with instructions to bring her back in later in the week to have an echocardiogram.  The echocardiogram would say more about the enlarged heart issue.

Sadly (and there’s not a powerful enough way for me to word that), I do think Bunny has all the signs of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, and I think the vet knows it too.  The vet even gave us her email address so we could update her on her days off about Bunny’s condition.  In my mind, Bunny’s episode yesterday was just like congestive heart failure.  Enlarged heart, fluid build-up in the lungs, difficulty breathing, lethargy, etc.  Even today, when she’s “better”, Bunny is still sitting rigidly upright or laying down in a “sphinx” position, and both are ways for cats with lung fluid to keep their airways open.  The other odd thing about her is that a couple of months ago, she just stopped growing.  We were looking at it from the opposite perspective—we thought Carlo was a gargantuan monster—but in reality, Bunny just doesn’t grow at all.  That would also be a sign of a body where circulation, oxygenation, etc., were poor.  One thing that can “set off” HCM in a genetically-predisposed cat is anesthesia (specifically ketamine)... did Bunny’s spay set off a chain of terrible events?  I guess we won’t know anything until she has an echocardiogram.

HCM is a really bad thing.  If a perfectly healthy cat is diagnosed with an enlarged heart incidentally, like during an x-ray for an injury, everything I’ve read says that the cat can live “many more years” with preventative treatment.  When a cat is diagnosed with HCM because they’re symptomatic, the prognosis seems to be along the lines of “months”, or “up to one year”.  And the year is filled with diuretics, beta blockers, and the omnipresent risk of sudden death. 

I know that having a lot of pets means we’ll see a lot of death.  I didn’t expect to have to encounter the possibility in one of my eight month old babies.  We kept Bunny and Carol because we thought Carlo was the frail one with his digestive problems, but it may turn out that Bunny is the genetic minefield.  If she has HCM and it’s genetic, then we’ll need to check Carlo for it, too.  I know I’m jumping the gun a bit because Bunny hasn’t had a formal diagnosis, but I’m not stupid.  The thought of losing her and having a prognosis written in “months” is just killing me.  I love them both so much.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 11/27 at 09:19 AM

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  1. Gah.  HCM sucks big time.  We’re sending you lots of sparkly light and vibes that it’s not genetic.  So, yeah, it’s hard saying goodbye to a little one ... but perhaps you can see it from a couple of other perspectives:
    1. You actually do get some time to say goodbye.  And to spoil her before she crosses the rainbow bridge.
    2. She gets the chance to come back in a healthier body (until all of her 9 lives are used up).  Not a bad deal.
    Many purrs to you guys from The Feline Four and Little White Canine (and their mama)

    Posted by Charlotte  on  11/27  at  04:46 PM

  2. Oh, poor bunny and poor you!
    Hope the kitty colds pass quickly, and that bunny turns out ok too.  Sounds like the meds helped. Fingers crossed.

    Posted by Ryssee  on  11/27  at  06:49 PM

  3. I am so sorry.  I hope that it is simply something that will pass shortly leaving her happy and energetic.  Fingers crossed.

    Posted by Von Krankipantzen  on  11/27  at  11:45 PM

  4. Eep! And a lot of hugs!

    Posted by Georg  on  11/28  at  02:18 AM

  5. I’m so sorry. I hope it doesn’t turn out to be as serious as you fear.

    Posted by Helly  on  11/28  at  09:36 AM

  6. *hugs*

    Salem, Rocky, and I all send get-well vibes for little Bunny.

    Posted by Helena  on  11/28  at  11:03 AM

  7. Poor Bunny. It’s always good to prepare for the worst. Yes, we expect death to come when we have pets, but we hope for a long life first.

    Posted by jan  on  11/28  at  07:52 PM

  8. Ugh, I know only too well what you’re going through with Bunny and I’m really sorry. I hope you can focus on how lucky Bunny is to be receiving care from you, even if it turns out to be for a shorter time than you would have liked. You make a huge difference to the quality of life for so many cats.

    Posted by Calamity Jen  on  11/28  at  11:09 PM

  9. Oh hell - this is a major blow and I’m so sorry.  Bunny did seem like the one who would thrive and have a long life.  Perhaps, though, that will still be the case.  I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you all. 

    On a different topic - forget the SpotBot.  I got one for work and it was less than competent in dispatching stains far less intense than animal ‘accidents’.

    Posted by Print  on  11/28  at  11:35 PM

  10. Phew, I’m glad you posted about it, Print.  I was thinking about getting it for Leigh-Ann for Christmas.  I guess we’ll keep buying those little Woolite carpet cleaning pods at the grocery store.  They magically make stains disappear, without having to rinse the stain out.  It’s freakish.  I only wish they were refillable and/or larger.

    As for Bunny - she’s been responding really well to her meds.  Luckily, she takes them like a champ.  Leigh-Ann puts them in her food and she chomps ‘em right down.  She’s been cuddlier than normal, which is nice.  I think she’s confused at why she’s getting so much attention from us.  Plus, I’m sure the weeping really baffles her.

    I hope that maybe catching it quickly means something.  I know logically that her symptoms were really really bad, but she’s done so well on the meds (she’s already playing, she never lost her appetite, her breathing is normal now) that we’re hopeful for a longer future with her.

    Posted by Flippy  on  11/29  at  07:47 PM
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