Heart disease in young cats seem to be increasing, at least based on anecdotal reports I’m receiving. I’ve heard of several instances of seemingly healthy cats between the ages of 2 and 5 dying suddenly, or requiring euthanasia, from heart attacks or related conditions. Is this a recognized trend, and do we know what causes heart disease in cats, especially in cats so young? How can we protect our cats from heart disease?

Melanie
North CA

Heart disease in cats generally is caused by a syndrome called cardiomyopathy. The muscle of the heart does not function properly in cats with the syndrome. This can lead to heart failure or other serious complications including sudden death.

Feline heart disease is much less common now than several decades ago. That is because one of the causes of heart disease in cats was discovered to be a dietary insufficiency of an amino acid called taurine. Taurine is now routinely added to most feline diets.

Hereditary causes are involved in most cases of feline heart disease in current times. Breeds such as Maine Coons and Persians have known predispositions to cardiomyopathy. However, the syndrome can strike any breed of cat. It also affects non-purebred individuals.

Modern genetics hopefully will dramatically reduce the incidence of feline cardiomyopathy in the near future. I, for one, would be very happy never to see another case of it. The disease is not highly treatable and it frequently strikes young cats who otherwise would have most of their lives ahead of them.

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Hey Dr. Barchas, I have a Maine Coon cat and he is
22 pounds. Is this normal?

Madison
Abbotsford, BC, Canada

Maine Coons are known for being large. I have known plenty of healthy Maine Coons who weighed in at 15 pounds or more. And, in the course of my career, I have met two healthy cats who weighed more than 20 pounds. They were both Maine Coons.

To answer your question, a 22 pound cat is not normal. It is exceptional. Very few cats weigh that much.

However, it does not matter whether your cat is normal. What matters is whether his weight is healthy.

A 22 pound cat is roughly equivalent to a 250 pound person. Most 22 pound cats, and most 250 pound people, are overweight. But there are exceptions. For a very tall person, 250 pounds could be a healthy weight. And for a very large-framed cat, 22 pounds could be fine.

Remember that obesity in cats is linked to a number of serious medical conditions such as diabetes, kidney failure and bladder inflammation. I recommend that you have a vet assess your cat’s weight. If his weight is fine, then don’t worry. If he is overweight, discuss weight control measures with your vet.

Photo: Chloe’s weight looks fine to me.

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Me and my husband are in Foreign Service and
living currently in a developing
country. We own 3 pets and one of them- our Maine
Coon cat has since months a staph infection in
his eye. We tried a few treatments but the
doctor here is not sure what to do. Infection
since yesterday is spreading to the second eye(!).
Please if you can advise us what are the
treatments of this type of infection so we may be
able to finally help our pet.
Regards,

Anna
Manila, Philippines

My first recommendation is to find a better vet. Although Manila is in a developing country, it is a major metropolitan area. There may be a more knowledgeable vet somewhere in town. If you are American, I’d recommend that you contact the US embassy for a recommendation. My understanding is that embassies develop lists of good vets for staff members who have brought pets with them on overseas assignments.

Although I absolutely can’t diagnose your cat’s problem without examining him or her, I do have some thoughts about your situation. First, Staph infections are common causes of skin problems in cats and dogs (and people). However, they rarely cause eye infections. Several viruses and other types of bacteria are more likely culprits.

The first choice medication for feline eye infections is called Terramycin ophthalmic ointment. I doubt it is available in Manila, but you should still look for it or try to get it over the internet. It is usually applied to the affected eye or eyes two to four times daily. It is a veterinary product and it should not be available in human pharmacies.

If you can’t find Terramycin, then you can consider applying a different antibiotic ophthalmic ointment (such as gentamicin) to the affected eye or eyes three or four times daily. Confirm that any ointment you use is designed for the eye and does not contain hydrocortisone, dexamethasone, or any other steroid (steroids could make the problem much worse). Human pharmacies carry a variety of antibiotic ophthalmic ointments.

Remember that medicating your cat’s eye without first visiting a good veterinarian is generally a bad idea and should be done only as a last resort.

Many eye infections are related to weak immune systems. Good husbandry practices, including proper diet, low stress levels, and prevention of parasites may help the problem.

Finally, remember that many feline eye infections are viral. The most common virus may be inhibited by dietary supplementation with the amino acid L-lysine. Talk to your vet and local pharmacist to see if you can obtain this product.

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I have an eight-year-old blue silver Maine Coon,
Sterling, who for the past several years has had
problems with recurring gingivitis of the upper
left side of his mouth. Our vet has tried several
rounds of antibiotics, and several rounds of
monthly cortisone shots. The gingivitis clears up
for a few weeks or a couple of months, and then
comes back. Now he’s talking about possibly
having to remove all of the teeth from the upper
jaw. Do you know of anything else that we can try
before making such a drastic decision?

Carol
Albany, IN

Severe, recurrent, refractory gingivitis in cats can progress to a syndrome called stomatitis. In feline stomatitis the mouth becomes severely inflamed (irritated). Feline AIDS and feline leukemia virus may trigger stomatitis, but most cases occur for unknown reasons.

Cats with stomatitis have immune systems that reject their own teeth. For this reason, extracting multiple teeth may cause the inflammation to go away. In my experience, this sort of procedure is effective about 85% of the time.

Some mild cases of stomatitis can be managed with medicines that modulate the immune system. Prednisone and cyclosporine are the most commonly used. Prednisone, in particular, may cause unpleasant side effects.

Although extracting multiple teeth sounds extreme, remember that if the gums around the teeth are severely inflamed the teeth are painful and aren’t being used. In my patients, one complication of multiple tooth extraction procedures is weight gain. After the painful teeth are removed, some cats begin to over eat!

You can read much more about stomatitis here:

http://drbarchas.com/stomatitis

And you can read about milder gingivitis and dental disease here:

http://drbarchas.com/dental_disease

About the photo: Sylvester is showing off his dental arcades. There is no sign of stomatitis!

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