off to the vet with Winton

Well i just got back from the vet with Winton. He was not happy to be there today. He's was growling from the moment we walked in the door-great! Once we got in the room he was weighed, 10 lbs 10oz and his temp was taken-98.8-the first thing I asked was what did he weigh the last time he was in (which was around the 17th Decemebr) and I was told 11 lbs 5 oz. YIKES he's dropping weight so fast!!! It's scaring me! When he was last in in march 2007 he weighed about 12 lbs 10oz.

Dr Evans ,whose is my vet from All Pets Vet Hospital, came in and we talked. She asked what had changed and I mentioned the howling in the middle of the night and that the food right before bed seemed to be helping. She thought he might have kitty alzheimers or might get a little confused at night-which kinda makes sense since he comes running when I call him and settles down.

We talked for awhile as Winton cruised around the room-he tends to growl less if he's given the chance to explore and smell. Then Dr. Evans said she wanted to take his blood pressure first before she started examining him-so the vet tech came into take him back and he immediately started hissing and growling. SO we kept him in the room and they sprayed some calming spray and let him wander for a little bit. Then she came back in and took him back for his BP and his exam which included taking blood and urine, FUN TIMES! The good part-I didn't hear a thing so he couldn't have been too bad!!

When Winton came back into the room he had a bandage on his foot, growling and hissing and all he wanted to do was go in his carrier. So I put him in and Dr. Evans and I talked.

His blood pressure was about the same as in december, about 170. And it seems she heard a heart murmur for the very first time. It could be fear, it could be thyroid related-which we'll find out when we get the blood work back on tuesday or Dr Evans says it could be one of two types of heart disease:

• Restrictive Cardiomyopathy, RCM-there is scarring of the heart muscles that prevents normal pumping action.
  

• Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, HCM-the heart retains it's classic shape but the walls of the heart thicken, reducing this muscle's ability to pump blood.

There isn't anything we can do until the blood work comes back. Once she has a bit more info ie thyroid levels etc we can then figure out the next approach-he might need an echocardiogram and also he might need an ultrasound on his stomach to see if we can find out what, if anything, might be causing the rapid weight loss. So I sit and wait until tuesday....scouring the internet on feline heart disease now.