My heart...

Me at the vet

I love life and I really appreciate everything life has given me, but I am sorry, I really hate the vet. The actual veterinarian is nice, but the actual place is just scary. They smell weird, they do weird things... there is just nothing that doesn't scream "traumatizing" when you step in there. This past August I went in for my check up. The vet said I looked perfect, teeth were perfect, ears, eyes, etc.

Then she listened to my heart and heard a murmur. There was a cardiologist there that day and she had him listen to my heart too (for free because I am so cute) and he heard it too. So, I had my blood tested, urine tested, and had an x-ray, but I still needed an ultra sound. So, they had my Mommy set up an appointment with the ultrasound guy. She did and about a week later I was off to the vet again, but this time my Auntie Lindsey came and she had to drive us there because my Mommy was so nervous.

So, I had to be taken to the back to get the Ultrasound- and I cried for my Mommy the whole time. Then when they looked at the ultrasound they found out I have early HCM- Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. My Mommy started to cry and Auntie Lindsey had to ask all the questions my Mommy wanted to know. I can't stand when my Mommy gets upset. For some reason, it annoys me, but I was so stressed from the vet I didn't mind. Soon enough we went home and as soon as I got inside, I ran under my bed and cleaned off the wet spot where they put some sort of gel on me. They had tried to clean it off, but I'm a clean freak (which I obviously did not inherit from my Mommy) so I had to clean it again.

So, here is some info on HCM. I also need to go back in February and get another ultrasound to see if I need to start medication... I'll probably need to go every 6 months or so now for the rest of my life... I plan to live to be 22 human years so that's a lot of visits!



My heart


Some good websites:

http://www.manhattancats.com/Articles/Hypertrophic_Cardiomyopathy.html

http://maxshouse.com/hypertrophic_cardiomyopathy.htm

http://www.petplace.com/cats/hypertrophic-cardiomyopathy-in-cats/page1.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertrophic_cardiomyopathy (about human HCM, but still good info)

http://cats.about.com/cs/healthissues/p/HCM.htm