What Are the Symptoms of Cat Cardiomyopathy?

Cardiomyopathy literally means heart muscle disease. Feline cardiomyopathy is when the cat's heart muscle thickens or stretches to the point where it becomes unhealthy. Cat cardiomyopathy is a serious feline disease that can be fatal. In some situations, depending on the cause, cats can recover and live a normal and healthy life.

  1. Taurine Deficiency

    • Cat eating

      Taurine is an essential amino acid in your cat's diet. Without this amino acid, your cat could develop cardiomyopathy. According to Dr. Jeff Feinman VMD, CVH, of homevet.com, this used to be an issue in the past because commercial cat food lacked taurine. This cause is now rare, according to all-about-cats.com, because commercial cat foods are supplemented with the correct amount of taurine. If you do not feed your cat commercial cat food, make sure you learn ways to supplement taurine and provide the proper amount of this significant ingredient to your cat's diet. If you do feed your cat commercial cat food, then you most likely will not have to worry about a taurine deficiency causing cardiomyopathy.

    Hyperthyroidism

    • Hyperthyroidism is a benign growth on the thyroid gland. Hyperthyroidism can cause thickening of the heart muscle, which can then cause cardiomyopathy. According to all-about-cats.com, hyperthyroidism is the most common cause of cardiomyopathy in cats, especially in older cats. According to Dr. Feinman, if your cat develops cardiomyopathy due to hyperthyroidism and is successfully treated, his heart should return to normal and he will no longer need treatment for cardiomyopathy.

    Genetics

    • According to vetinfo.com, genetics is another possible cause of cardiomyopathy.

    Kidney Failure

    • In some cases, it is possible that kidney failure can cause cardiomyopathy, according to all-about-cats.com.

    Unknown Causes

    • Many times vets will not know the cause of cardiomyopathy. Not much has been studied or discovered about the subject. Dr. Feinman says that unfortunately, when the cause is unknown, this disease is hard to treat and is more likely to soon become fatal. If this is the case, take heart, and try to give your cat the best life he can have, no matter how short.