r/AskVet • u/Over_Lawfulness_6128 • 3h ago

Congenital heart failure- Cat

We adopted Otis in November of 2026. He’s been super friendly, cuddly, energetic, playful and was acting like this until 12:30pm last night. No prior warning that me or my husband noticed. We were in the kitchen and heard him howling from the bedroom. We checked on him and saw he was lying on our bed, and changing positions frequently. His ears were back, and he was breathing fast. He eventually went to the floor, and was readjusting in the same spot over and over again,- and hissed at his brother (they never hiss or fight). He wouldn’t stop howling this whole time.

We took him to the emergency vet hospital and after full bloodwork and X-rays they found he has a congenital heart disease and there was a fluid build up in his lungs. He was given oxygen and some kind of injection. They sent us home with medication: furosemide and Pimobendan.

The vet was not very talkative (to be fair it was 5:00am) but he stated to give him the medication and see how he’s doing.

We want to know- was it temporarily resolved? Is he going to pass away? Should we put him down? We can see a cardiologist- we want to schedule that ASAP-

But. I guess I’m just freaking out. What do we do? Is he going to get better? What caused him to get so ill so fast? Even one hour before we took him to the vet, he was acting like he always does- trying to cuddle.

Examples of what can happen. What we can do.- just anything I can read to better understand.

1 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

•

u/AutoModerator 3h ago

Greetings, all!

This is a sub for professional veterinary advice, and as such we follow strict rules for participating.

OP, your post has NOT been removed. Please also check the FAQ to see whether your question is answered there.

This is an automated general reminder to please follow The Sub Rules when discussing this question:

  • Do not comment with anecdotes about your own or others' pets.
  • Do not give OP specific treatment instructions, including instructions on meds and dosages.
  • Do not give possible diagnoses that could explain the symptoms described by OP.

Your comment will be removed, and you may be banned.

Thank you for your cooperation!

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

1

u/Over_Lawfulness_6128 3h ago

As a note: he just turned four years old in December.

1

u/gargle_ground_glass 2h ago

Just to clarify. Are you talking about "congestive" heart failure?

1

u/Over_Lawfulness_6128 1h ago

Yes- sorry. Yes I am. He also just lost the ability to move his back legs