To make a long story short, my beloved cat of seven years went into heart failure after running outside in a brutal snow storm. It was 13 degrees, and she is an indoor cat, so needless to say, by the time she came home she was in TERRIBLE shape. She collapsed in the doorway, and was SO weak!! My first impression was that she was experiencing hypothermia, so I blow dried her fur, warmed up several towels, warmed up a heating blanket and wrapped her in all of it. Well, she came in the house at 7am and even with all of the warmth she still was terribly weak by 2'oclock in the afternoon.
I called the vet, they told me to check her gums. If they are pink, than she was getting enough oxygen, but white gums is a terrible sign. So I ran to check her gums, and yep, they were white as a ghost. The vet told me to get her to a hospital ASAP! So, with all the snow and ice piled up by the time we made it to the vet, she had her mouth opened gasping for breath. She was put on oxygen all day long. And they didn't believe she would make it through the night. I prayed my heart out, and instructed everyone around me to please do the same.
Fast forward to today..... she's right beside me. She's very sleepy, and she's on meds. She was dying from heart failure, and she has pnumenioa (sp), but she looks so content, even though this just happened two days ago. The vet said she has an underlying heart condition, and the cold weather put her into a state of shock, thats why she was going into heart failure. Now he's suggesting that I take her to a cat heart specialist, which will cost alot, but that's not my main concern. If your cat has heart problems, is their hope? Is your cat okay? Please, please share your cats near death experiences followed by treatment, and/or recovery. I just feel so alone, and scared.



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I have cats and I know how you're feeling. A couple of years ago my cat Maxi died from kidney failure. It was one of the hardest things I've ever been through. I cried and cried and cried. You get so attached to them they're like members of your family. I hope you and your kitty feel better soon.
I needed a hug *sniffles*. She's feeling better, but I'm so nervous that I check to make sure she's breathing every hour! I'm afraid to leave her alone. Cats can be so darn fragile! Until I take her to the specialist, I have to make sure she's quiet, and not disturbed. That's easier said than done, I have two other cats and a dog, so I will have to keep her seperated from the gang so they won't over excite her. That has been tough. But again, thank you so much for the support ladies!! I need all of the reassurance that I can get, everyone around me dismisses my pain with "it's just a cat" attitude.

So, they put her on an IV for a couple days and she was much better. Hopefully your kitty is as stubborn and will recover easily!
I believe you Dottie and you have my support


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