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CAT HEART

CAT HEART is not just about the various heart diseases that can occur in cats. It also emphasizes the symptoms people associate with heart disease ....symptoms that can indicate other conditions. It is important to learn the difference.

Meghan from Mountain View, CA writes to ask about her young cat's gagging which occurs after exercise.

Dear Dr. Neely,

Recently I have started noticing that my 2 1/2 year old cat, Mariposa, has a strange reaction when playing chase the string on a stick. I like to run her (and her brother) up and down the hall as they play chase. I also find it amusing to start moving it around in circles, and back and forth, so fast that there little heads are going in circles. They love it, and little Mariposa is CONSTANLY begging to play. She has TONS of energy and a zest for stalking the string and running up and down.

However, I have noticed that after the running up and down, when there is the time she is just sitting, stalking and watching it as I quickly (I mean quickly, it has to make her dizzy) swirl it in circles, Mariposa has had this strange reaction where:

1) She starts licking her lips 2) her little tongue starts to come out of her mouth 3) She starts to gag, I can see it convulse up through her body. (she doesn't throw up though)

She seems undisturbed by this, the whole time her eyes are on her prey. However, it is strange to me, and upon investigation, one site suggested gagging is a sign of "hypertrophic cardiomyopathy." She does not display the other symptoms of difficulty breathing, increased respiratory rate or reluctance to move around (she is constantly running), I think her appetite is less than her brother who is twice her size, but she eats.

However, in this condition, it does seem that increased heart rate may lead to symptoms as there is less time to fill the heart with blood. I know when she was a kitty, the vet said she had a very mild heart murmur that I shouldn't worry about, so I hope this doesn't make her more susceptible to this condition.

I am happy to take her to the vet, however, I am also wondering if perhaps this is actually something more common place than heart disease. I am wondering if there are possibly more benign causes.

Thank you!!! Meghan

Several things need to be considered.
(1) Mariposa is very young (2)She is also female (3) She feels energetic, begs to play (4) She plays energetically, has tons of energy (5) she doesn't exhibit difficulty breathing (6) she doesn't tire easily

These are all facts that point away from cat heart disease as the cause. The most common form of heart disease occurs much more frequently in males, usually shows signs when the cat is a bit older, seems to make the cat slow down, gain weight, and be much less active. Also, difficulty breathing is often the first sign, and Mariposa is not having difficulty breathing.

On the other hand, she had a heart murmur detected. Cat heart disease most often includes a heart murmur. However, many young kittens have heart murmurs that are not significant and often go away.

What are her symptoms? (1) She starts licking her lips. (2) Her tongue comes out of her mouth. (3) she starts to gag.

Are these signs of cat heart disease? Generally not. When a cat licks its lips, it is usually due to nausea. If her tongue being out of her mouth is accompanied by open mouth breathing (difficulty breathing) then it can indicate heart disease, but that doesn't sound like what is happening here. The fact that she licks her lips and ends up gagging would seem to indicate that the tongue out of the mouth is just the middle stage of nausea leading to gagging.

Cat heart disease is most often silent until a clot forms in the aorta, blocking blood supply to the hind legs OR until the cat is having difficulty breathing from accumulation of fluid in the chest. Surprisingly, coughing is not a common sign of cat heart disease.

As odd as this seems, it really sounds like Mariposa is getting dizzy and then nauseous. To find out would be simple. Stop playing with her in that manner. Play in a more subdued manner for awhile and leave out the speed, circles and swirls. If she isn't having this symptom at any time other than play and if she stops having it when the method of play changes, you will have your answer.

Dizziness in people leads to nausea. That can happen to cats too. I would make the changes I suggest above and see what happens. Of course, if she, at any time, has difficulty breathing or loses sensation and movement in a limb, she should be rushed to the hospital immediately.

It also wouldn't, in general, be a bad idea to have that heart murmur listened to again if it hasn't been to see if it is still there and if so, if it has changed or other irregularities of the heart are noted.

Nausea and gagging in cats can be the result of many things, including licking something that tastes bad to them, eating bad food, certain medications, kidney disease, a reaction to something toxic that has been ingested, hair balls, and many other things. It is, however, not commonly a sign of heart disease.

Thank you for writing, Meghan, and sharing your story. I and I'm sure my other readers would like to hear back from you about Mariposa.

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