Firefighters and cats rescued from wildfires can suffer from the same disease

Rescued cat from fire

I researched this some time ago but another study has been recently published (July 14, 2022) on the subject. The study itself is very technical but essentially what it is saying is that domestic cats and firefighters can suffer from blood clots and cardiovascular disease as a result of burns and smoke inhalation from …

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Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) affects 10% of British Shorthairs

Sadly, there are studies, one of which I am reading right now, which confirm that this very popular cat breed (particularly the blue) suffers from a high prevalence of HCM, often of early onset and with a significant male sex predisposition. In other words, male cats are predisposed to get it at a young …

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I can feel my cat’s heartbeat

Loving a cat

It is quite normal to be able to feel your cat’s heartbeat by placing your hand at the right spot. If the heart rate is very slow it is called bradycardia and if it is too fast it is called trachycardia. When it’s too fast it may disturb the normal sequence of contraction and …

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Domestic cats that survive fires are more likely to die of a heart attack

Cats suffered burnt paws and smoke inhalation in Calif wild fires

I have come to the conclusion that domestic cats that survive fires are more likely to die of a heart attack. I think you have to come to this conclusion based on two sources. The first is that firefighters are at a higher risk of heart attack. There are several contributing factors such as …

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California’s wildfires that burnt domestic cats also damaged their hearts and caused blood clots

Singed tabby cat rescued from California fires

I was surprised to read a study published on 14 February 2020 on the nature.com website which concluded that domestic cats with thermal burn injuries from the California wildfires showed that they had heart disease and blood clots as well. The technical term is that they suffered with myocardial thickening (thickened heart muscle) as …

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About the heart condition that killed Leo of Pet Sematary fame

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the commonest form of heart disease in cats and it is very common in Maine Coons.  Universities Federation for Animal Welfare Elisa in her article wrote that Leo died of a saddle thrombus. This is a blood clot at the point where the aorta splits into 2 arteries; hence the …

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Cat breeds prone to HCM

Bengal cat HCM

Cat breeds prone to HCM are: Maine Coon, Ragdolls, British Shorthairs, American Shorthairs, Devon Rexes and Bengals. All these breeds are extensively discussed on this website. Please start by clicking on this page. Update: see comment below. Gail tells us that the relatively rare Ocicat is also predisposed to developing HCM. All, but the …

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Is Feline Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy More Common Than Human Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy?

Yes, is the answer to the above question based upon my research but I will make a caveat by saying that it is quite difficult to find definitive information. The weakness in making a comparison is because although there is a considerable amount of research on cats, it is far less than the amount …

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