There are a number of different heart diseases that can affect our cats in Stafford; however, cardiomyopathy in cats is the most common. But what is it and how do you know if your cat has it? We explore further below:<\/p>\n
What is cardiomyopathy?<\/strong><\/p>\n The term cardiomyopathy covers any disease that affects the heart muscle. There are different types of cardiomyopathies and they are classified according to the effect they have on the function of the heart muscle. The main ones are:<\/p>\n What are the signs a cat may have cardiomyopathy?<\/strong><\/p>\n Symptoms of heart disease may not display easily. Therefore, it is important to ensure that your cat has regular check-ups with us so that any early signs of heart disease can be detected and treated accordingly. We may be able to pick up on:<\/p>\n There may be other signs that could indicate the onset of heart disease in your cat, including:<\/p>\n If in any doubt, it is always best to get your cat seen by us. On detection of a heart murmur, there may be further tests required to confirm the diagnosis.<\/p>\n If you have any concerns about your cat, please\u00a0get in touch.\u00a0More information about cardiomyopathy can be found on the International Cat Care website,\u00a0here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n
\nmost common form caused by increased thickness of the heart\u2019s muscular wall, reducing blood volume and preventing heart muscle from relaxing between beats<\/li>\n
\nwhere the heart enlarges and the muscular wall becomes thinner, with the heart muscle unable to contract effectively<\/li>\n
\nheart chambers are unable to fill normally due to the inelastic and stiff nature of the heart\u2019s wall caused by fibrosis<\/li>\n
\n<\/em><\/strong>where there are changes that are consistent with more than one of the disease classifications \u2013 e.g, signs of both hypertrophic and dilatation exist.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n
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