Cat with heart problems not sure what to do

[JoeyCreek]

I posted this in chat and was advised to post on here.

Looking for advice really from any cat owners who’ve experienced this or advice generally really.
My much loved cat Daisy who is 14 and has never been ill a day in her life suddenly collapsed on Saturday. I found her weak in the garden, very lethargic and not eating. She had problems with her back legs that kept giving way.
She would walk to her water bowl for eg then collapse with no energy to move. Took her to vet who said she looked anaemic. She had full blood test which came back clear. Vet gave her a tablet to get her to eat which Daisy did ever so slightly.
Vet said she thinks Daisy has a heart issue and needs a specialist heart blood test for £300. If it shows a heart problem then Daisy would be on medication for the rest of her life.
Daisy is currently lying on my bed, very lethargic. It’s like she can move her head biyt not her body. She is not eating. Normally she would be out in the garden by now having a little walk around.
I have googled heart problems in cats and it seems to me there is no coming back for Daisy and she is too far gone. It is devastating for us. I think the best thing we can do is put her to sleep.
My DH and teenage sons disagree. They have booked Daisy in for this blood test tomorrow. Depending on results she would need medication which the vet said could be tablets up to 3 times a day. Daisy can’t even tolerate her flea and worming treatment I though getting so upset she froths at the mouth.
Just don’t know what to do for the best. Seeing her so lethargic is awful.

Wrap the tablet in a piece of wafer thin ham. This is the only way one of my cats will take a tablet. You could give it a go on the heart medication and see if she perks up.

I don’t know why you wouldn’t at least try the medication if it seems she needs it. Wrap it in ham or put some tuna on it.

I asked the vet yesterday if we could try her on medication today to see if that will help perk her up and get her to eat they said no have to have another blood test first.

Daisy cannot even tolerate her worming tablet. It takes 3 of her to try and give it to her. She gets so upset she froths at the mouth and hides under the bed for days. I have tried wrapping it in ham she knows it’s there and refuses to eat it!

I think you do know what is best OP and it does sound like it is the right and kindness choice

Wrap the tablet in a bit of Webbox cat stick. Even better are the Lidl cat sticks.

I suspect you are right about the cat, but I can see that your husband and DCs will want to try.

The tablets are beef flavoured - they’ll end up taking it as a treat. You can wrap the cat in a towel and flick it in - that’s how we started and as I say, they ended up taking them as treats with no bother

I'm sorry to hear about Daisy.

My boy Harry had heart failure when he was 17. He was put on various medications and he had 5 more months with us and they were 5 good months. When we took him to the emergency vet his breathing was erratic and he was clearly ill but once the meds kicked in there was an amazing improvement. Harry wouldn't take tablets so his meds were either liquid or tablets that could be crushed on his food.

I would have the blood tests done and see what the results show so you know you've made an informed decision.

I understand why they want to try, but I can also see why you are afraid that this may not be the kindest thing for the cat.

But if she is already booked for the test, perhaps getting the results will offer some clarity and make sure you are making an informed decision.

I think it's worth doing the additional tests just to check that it is actually a heart issue not something else. Heart problems are very unpredictable in cats in terms of how they progress, some can survive for years living normally with the right medication. My old cat had heart issues and then lived another few years completely fine before passing away suddenly from a heart attack but he was a lot younger than yours.

My cat was diagnosed with heart failure 18 months ago and given less than a year to live (healthier than ever now!), he has 2 tablets twice a day and a 3rd every evening.

He doesn't like the 3rd - clopidogrel - as it's bitter & can't be crushed. I usually get it down him with a pill syringe & plenty of licky lix. The other tablets are flavoured and he doesn't mind eating them drowned in licky lix. They can be crushed if he's being fussy.

He always gets treats with the medication which helps. So, there are various ways to get meds into them without causing distress - I know how horrible it is when they get stressed!

In your shoes I'd want to know if treating the heart problem would make her better as its not clear from what you say that it would. Is the problem with her back legs definitely related?

If the bet is confident she could have a reasonable quality of life with treatment then I'd give it a chance, if she's still going to be left with difficulty walking then I think it's probably time to let her go.

Awful time for you op, I'm so sorry

I'm so sorry OP, you speak of Daisy so lovingly. I would try the blood test and enquire for medication options. Would there be a liquid form for example. Not to put pressure on you and you may already know what your husband and child don't want to accept yet.

He doesn't like the 3rd - clopidogrel - as it's bitter & can't be crushed.

Harry was on clopidogrel and we used to crush it in his food. The vet confirmed this was ok. God knows what his food must have tasted like with the amount of different flavours mixed in it.

I'm sorry to hear about this.
I would have the additional test if she was mine and then base the decision on the results of the test.
It's awful having to watch them suffer and if giving them medication is going to be tortuous and just cause distress with little hope of improvement it could be kinder to let her go.
However, I think you do need the extra information, especially as other family members don't agree with you.

I agree. My cat had heart issues and was on 8 pills a day. But she was very well in herself. And took her tablets well.