My 2 year old cat is at the emergency vet because she has some internal problems...?

I can't tell you how much it has cost me, but it is well over that, and its still on-going. Altho mine is not all in one shot, and sometimes I have the $ and sometimes my vet allows me to make payments, because he is a special needs cat, and she knows how I feel about him. She knows I am extremely overly pickey and protective of him, and she has gone the extra mile, so many times, that other vets may not.

His mother is reg Maine Coon, his father is reg Rag Doll. I got him when he was 8 weeks old. At 10 months old, he was diagnosed with HCM (Hypertropic Cardiomyopathy). The cardiologist at Wisconsin State University gave him 1 yr. The cardiologist at UC Davis gave him 1 yr. He is now 21 months old, and every month I celebrate his birthday and its one month more that he is alive and doing well.

He has had numerous chest x-rays, ultra sounds, and many other tests. He is on special food, supplements, vitamins, etc.

His DNA was sent to Washington State University for the MC test and the RD test. I keep up on the research WSU is doing. I even sent his info to the Winn Foundation for Dr Susan Little to look at.

I could go on and on, regarding the tests that have been done, the research I have done, the research my vet has done for me, the people I bug for information.

He is a special needs cat, and any little thing, that is not normal, he goes to the vet for it, as it may be related to his disease, or a sign of a change. His care and vet bills are on-going. He is my baby boy, and a very good boy, and I will continue to spend the $ on him.

The very sad part of this story, is, he should never had been born, this should not have happened to him, but it did, because of an irresponsible breeder, who now wants to know nothing. Too many people have told me, by this person, breeding a MC to a RD, was like throwing gasoline on a fire. MC and RD are both very prone to HCM, its a genetic defect. I never even heard of HCM, until this happened to him. Granted a negative is no guarantee, but no responsible breeder would breed a positive.

The even sadder part is, his mother was given to this person, with the condition she be spayed. Not only was she not spayed, she was bred, and that where my baby boy came from, and it came from his mothers side.

I know this, because the many breeders on her side, were kind enough to help me, and test their cats, some came up positive, and they were spayed/neutered. One whole line got shut down, of championship cats.

Right now he is doing fine, my vet and I are very pro active in his care, and I know all the signs, of what to look for, to know when he needs to be rushed to the vet.

Sorry this got so long, I was even going to skip this post, as it hit home, of what $ to spend and how much on a cat you love very much.

My answer, as long as he is not suffering, I will continue to do the research, the tests, and spend the money on him and hope WSU finds out more about this horrible horrible disease.

Best of luck to you and your kitty, and whatever you decide to do, you and your kitty are in my prayers.

What you are doing is commendable. But the question to you and to your vet would be, after you pay all this money what is the life expectancy and quality of life for this cat. I know you love this cat but is this cat going to be sick all the time. 10-18 years is a long time to be sick. I know this sounds mean but if you have already paid $2000 does that mean that your cat still has more internal problems and if so they sound pretty profound. I have had to put a cat down because it ate a spool of thread and damaged the cat's intestines. This cat was my baby. I do feel for you. My thoughts are with you.