Hello, so about 3 months ago we bought a Bengal from a breeder. He is now 6 months old... About a week ago we took him to the vets because he was not peeing/pooping or drinking/eating, so the vet did a x-ray to see if there was a blockage, they found his stomache and intestines were full of fluid, however the vet stumbled upon an enlarged heart... So after dealing with his current sickness (IV fluids for 3 days, and antibiotics, and still no answer to what it was) he recommended we do an echo-doppler for the unrelated heart problem, the results came back and the vet said they found "thickening of the heart consistent with HCM"......

The cat is not showing any signs of HCM, and it's just a coincidence that we stumbled upon this problem. However, the vet will not neuter the cat because of the risks of him not responding well..... They said we could take him to a cardiologist in Toronto to see how severe it was, and what we could do.....


Here are my questions.

1. Does thickening of the heart at such a young age mean it's a serious case of HCM?

2. What do you recommend us to do?

HCM is a serious problem. I would consult with a vet specializing in cardiology and get his opinion. If you surf the web, you can find out all you need to know about it. Here is something I found interesting:

"Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy tends to affect cats 1 to 5 years of age. It has been detected in kittens as young as 3 months, however, and in cats as old as 10 years. Maine Coon Cats, Ragdolls, British Shorthairs, American Shorthairs, and Devon Rexes show a familial inheritance.

Treatment: Cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy require drugs that relax the heart and increase its efficiency. Most of the drugs used to treat heart disease in people are used for similar purposes in small animals. The specific drug chosen depends on the stage of illness and presence or absence of complicating factors, such as arrhythmia. Drug choices include diuretics, calcium channel blockers, beta blockers, and ACE inhibitors. Most of these medications are not approved for cats and should only be used directly under your veterinarian’s guidance.

Aspirin may be used to try to prevent clot formation, and low-salt diets such as Hill’s Prescription Diet Feline h/d or Purina’s CV Cardiovascular for cats, are recommended. Cats metabolize aspirin very slowly and the dose and frequency must be prescribed by your veterinarian.

Restricting the cat’s activity reduces the strain on the heart. Your veterinarian may prescribe a period of cage rest."

It appears there is treatment for this but only the vet specialist will be able to guide you in that direction. I'm so sorry you're having to deal with this. Good luck!

Can anyone expand on this a bit? Like stated above, we only stumbled across it when they did an x-ray to see if he had swallowed something when he was sick...

Does early detection mean it is a more severe case? He still shows no signs or anything of concern, but he does have an appointment with a cardiologist this month.

You can google and find out more information. Since you're planning on having a cardiologist check out your kitty, have questions ready and follow the vet's advice.

HCM is a difficult one. It is thought the younger detected that the possibility is both parents carry/or are affected by it. To put it into a bit of perspective for you though just to ease your mind a little. The average life span for a cat with HCM is 10 years, if there are symptoms of HCM then this does go down, but your cat atm is not showing symptoms.

Were you given the wall measurements for your cat? In the UK anything above 6mm is classed as HCM, then it will be graded as mild, moderate or severe. There are also other factors the cardio will look at in the heart to get a better picture of what is going on.

One thing I will say is that although vets can look at hearts and will diagnose HCm it's really important that you wait for the referral to the cardio. The machine used needs to be extremely accurate as does the person using it and taking measurements. Often there can be what are called false tendons in the heart that can appear to be wall thickening when in fact they aren't....but it really needs a qualified cardio to ECG screen and look thoroughly to determine things like this.

Once you have a diagnosis the cardio will advise on the next steps, it could be there is no treatment at the moment, and they will recommend a re screen yearly to see if the condition progresses, if it does then medication may be prescribed. I know this is a scary time for you atm but wait and see what is said when you get the referral.

All the best x