My cat died yesterday of this disease. I'm just sad, so I figured I'd write about it. Maybe others have dealt with it.
Barnaby was 5 years old. I had adopted him 4 years ago. He was overweight.
I found him stretched out in his favorite spot. I called the vet as soon as they opened and took him in for private cremation. I didn't have the money for a full necropsy. But I asked my vet to open him up and see if he could find anything visibly. He said his heart was like a rock. And that he had died almost instantly.
Barnaby never showed any signs of illness. He was never disoriented, lethargic, vomiting...and his behavior never changed. In fact a few hours prior to his death, I had cracked the back door and he made a dash for it like he always did...but he was an indoor cat. And I think he mostly just liked sitting next to the cracked door taking in the fresh night air.
My vet told me that there is a lot of speculation out there as to what causes this disease. But no one really knows for sure, be it diet related, genetic defect, etc. My vet had spoken to a cardiologist and was told that, in dogs, taurine deficiency is ALWAYS the cause of any of the cardiomyopathies. But only dilated cardiomyopathy is linked to taurine deficiency in cats.
I just feel so empty without Barnaby. Everytime I walk by his favorite cat post, I know he ought to be there. He used to lay on the couch with me and clean the younger cats. That seemed to be the duty that he appointed himself to. Anytime there was a visitor who stopped near the cat tree, he would reach out and "pet" them on the head. He never used his claws.
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