Funny Duma

I took this picture while Duma and I played with his little furry mouse toy. He was being his usual goofball self. The big pink swath on his chest is from being shaved for his ultrasound yesterday. We dropped him off at 9:30 am and hung around Fairhaven until noon when he was ready to be picked up.

We were very relieved to find out he doesn't have a hole in his heart. He does have idiopathic hypertrophic cardiomyopathy causing his septum and left atrium walls to have much thicker muscle than they should. This means that the chamber is too small so his heart has been compensating by beating too fast. His heart rate while sedated was 248. Normal for a cat at rest is 160-180. The result of the high heart rate is increased muscle growth, exactly what his heart does not need.

The good news is that beta blockers can help slow down the heart and let it stop building too much muscle mass. The vet said that sometimes the muscle mass actually shrinks a bit. We are also giving him low dose aspirin to help thin the blood and prevent clots. Both our regular vet and Dr. Day who did the ultrasound say that with proper care Duma could have a long full life. We are so relieved and happy to hear this. He is a very special cat.