When To Euthanize A Cat With Heart Failure? (2024)

FAQs

How do I know when to euthanize my cat with heart failure? ›

Loss of appetite and drinking less. Weakness, lethargy, inactivity. Grey or blue-coloured tongue and gums. Difficulty breathing and swallowing with unusual lung sounds.

End-Stage Congestive Heart Failure in Cats

An increased heart rate. Confusion. Dyspnea – shortness of breath. Swellings caused by trapped excess fluids.

Most cats with congestive heart failure will live 6 to 12 months. If a heart condition such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is detected early on, treatment and management can mean a close-to-normal lifetime for your cat.

If a patient has end-stage heart failure it means they are at high risk of dying in the next 6 to 12 months. These are the common symptoms of end-stage heart failure: pain. breathlessness on minimal exertion or at rest.

Warning signs and symptoms of heart failure include shortness of breath, chronic coughing or wheezing, swelling, fatigue, loss of appetite, and others. Heart failure means the heart has failed to pump the way it should in order to circulate oxygen-rich blood throughout the body.

Sometimes heart issues can make cats nauseous. They may be experiencing tummy troubles that can cause appetite loss. Your cat may lose their appetite altogether.

Is heart failure in cats painful? Heart failure is not believed to cause acute pain, but it can cause your cat to become very lethargic and have difficulty breathing.

Weakness in the hind legs, as well as laborious breathing because of fluid buildup, can be strong indications of the presence of heart disease. Congestive heart failure in cats often results in blood clots, which can cut the blood supply to the hind legs and even cause paralysis or even a cat heart attack if untreated.

Physical Symptoms – Certain physical symptoms can also signal that a cat is near the end of their life. Loss of appetite, weight loss, and poor coat condition are all common signs of illness in cats, as well as difficulty breathing or laboured breathing.

The use of a diuretic can be life saving when a cat is in a crisis caused by heart failure. Drugs called ACE inhibitors may be used to treat heart failure and high blood pressure. Medications that relax and enlarge blood vessels (such as amlodipine) are also commonly used to treat high blood pressure.

Can heart failure in cats happen suddenly? ›

Some heart diseases are “peracute” or sudden onset. There may be no warning signs or pre-existing symptoms and if your cat has not had a thorough physical examination, sudden onset heart disease can be quite a shock.

ACE inhibitors (ACE stands for angiotensin-converting enzyme) and vasodilators can widen blood vessels and thus lower blood pressure. Beta-adrenergic blocking drugs (also called beta-blockers) and calcium channel blockers are also helpful in some cases of congestive heart failure.

Patients in the end stages of heart failure want to know what to expect. The symptoms of end-stage congestive heart failure include dyspnea, chronic cough or wheezing, edema, nausea or lack of appetite, a high heart rate, and confusion or impaired thinking.

In the final stages of heart failure, people feel breathless both during activity and at rest. Persistent coughing or wheezing. This may produce white or pink mucus. The cough may be worse at night or when lying down.

What does a congestive heart failure cough sound like? A cough due to congestive heart fluid often sounds “wet.” Healthcare professionals describe a wet cough as one that produces rales, or crackles, when they listen to it with a stethoscope. Crackles sound like rattling or popping.

Actually, heart failure, sometimes called HF, means that the heart isn't pumping as well as it should. Congestive heart failure is a type of heart failure that requires timely medical attention, although sometimes the two terms are used interchangeably.

Typical signs of heart failure include: Breathlessness or Shortness of Breath (Dyspnea) When the heart begins to fail, blood backs up in the veins attempting to carry oxygenated blood from the lungs to the heart. As fluid pools in the lungs, it interferes with normal breathing.

There are plenty of medications veterinarians recommend to help reduce fluid buildup, improve heart function, and/or normalize heart rhythms. A low-sodium diet may also be recommended to help prevent fluid accumulation. Most cats with congestive heart failure require medications for the remainder of their lives.

Is It Curable? Unfortunately, most of the damage that occurs in the heart during heart failure is usually irreversible. However, with proper treatment you may be able to temporarily correct fluid buildup in the chest, lungs, or abdomen and start your cat on medications that help slow any further damage to the heart.

When should you euthanize a cat? ›

The end stage of the disease is characterized by ventricular wall thinning, decreased myocardial contractility, and marked left atrial enlargement. Intracardiac thrombi or arterial thromboemboli (ATE) and CHF are consistent findings with ES-HCM (5).

Overview of Furosemide (Lasix®) for Dogs and Cats

Furosemide, commonly known as Lasix®, is used to reduce fluid accumulation and prevent further edema from forming. It is primarily used to treat heart failure and pulmonary edema in dogs and cats.

Behaviour signs of a cat in pain

Lethargy. Decreased interest in positive things like playing, social interaction and exploring outside. Being withdrawn and hiding away. Appearing lame and experiencing increased sensitivity to touch in specific areas of their body.

The Task Force has designated four age-related life stages (Table 1): the kitten stage, from birth up to 1 year; young adult, from 1 year through 6 years; mature adult, from 7 to 10 years; and senior, aged over 10 years.

They will only feel a needle prick, but some felines may be more sensitive to this than others. If your vet injects the euthanasia drug directly from a needle and syringe, again they may react slightly to the needle prick but will not experience any pain when the drug is being injected.

General Cost to Manage This Condition

The initial workup for a cat with HCM typically costs approximately $1,000-$1,500. Once these initial diagnostics have been completed, however, the ongoing costs associated with monitoring and treatment are often relatively low.

Side effects include loss of appetite, vomiting, liver failure (which may be reversible if the drug is stopped) and destruction of platelets by the immune system.

Cats with severe CHF may require high doses of furosemide, so the dose range is considerable. As a ceiling-loop diuretic, it results in loss of chloride, sodium and potassium (with water) in the renal tubules, so pre-renal azotemia and hypokalemia may subsequently develop.

Why is heart failure silent in cats? ›

Many cats, especially those in the early stages of the disease, may only have changes in the cardiac muscle that are detected during ultrasound examination of the heart. These cats are clinically silent (or asymptomatic), although many will go on to develop signs later on.

Indoor cats generally live from 12-18 years of age. Many may live to be in their early 20s. The oldest reported cat, Creme Puff lived to be an amazing 38 years old. Outdoor cats generally live shorter lives due to being more likely to be involved in traumas such as motor vehicle accidents or dog attacks.

As a result, treatment for chronic CHF generally involves the use of 4 medications: furosemide, pimobendan, an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, and spironolactone. These drugs are usually continued indefinitely. Other drugs may also be required.

Pets with heart disease can lose their appetites or become picky eaters. Many owners of pets with heart disease find that their dog or cat's overall intake of food decreases. Your pet's food preferences also may change. This might be the result of worsening heart disease or side effects of certain medications.

There are plenty of medications veterinarians recommend to help reduce fluid buildup, improve heart function, and/or normalize heart rhythms. A low-sodium diet may also be recommended to help prevent fluid accumulation. Most cats with congestive heart failure require medications for the remainder of their lives.

Physical Symptoms – Certain physical symptoms can also signal that a cat is near the end of their life. Loss of appetite, weight loss, and poor coat condition are all common signs of illness in cats, as well as difficulty breathing or laboured breathing.

You will notice your cat becoming more lethargic, sedentary and refusing to move. Their weakness will be very apparent in their hind legs, and they will also sleep a great deal more than usual.

Because HCM results in a severely thickened and poorly functioning heart muscle, congestive heart failure, an irregular heart beat (e.g., arrhythmia) and/or life threatening blood clots (commonly called a “saddle thrombus”) can occur, making this disease the most common cause of sudden death in indoor cats.

It occurs in about 1 out of 100 adults with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy each year. Sudden death is often the result of ventricular tachycardia (a type of rapid heart rate) or other dangerous arrhythmias, which can be caused by hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

What do you feed a cat with congestive heart failure? ›

Dietary recommendations focus on maintaining cats' caloric and protein intake, avoiding high sodium intake, providing omega-3 fatty acids, and monitoring for nutrient deficiencies. Anorexia is a common problem in cats with CHF, so maintaining lean body mass with adequate calorie and protein intake is important.

They may eat less, groom themselves less, and behave differently than normal. Some cats may become irritable and growl or hiss when interacting with other animals or humans. They may also seem anxious or restless.

Signs Of Obvious Distress

Cats are typically very stoic animals, so if your cat suddenly seems to be in distress, it is a cause for concern. Howling, crying, hiding, and otherwise acting in a way that is out of character for your pet should alert you that something may be seriously wrong.

Pay particular attention if your cat settles down in a so-called meatloaf position, where her nose is on the floor and her front paws are out of her body. This position often describes a cat in pain. If your cat replaces her bread loaf position with this one, it is a time to visit your vet.