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It has been one month since we lost our boy due to congestive heart failure. Not a day goes by that we don’t think about him and miss him dearly. Bubby, (aka Juggie, aka Jughead, aka JubBubby) was such a sweet little boy. His mother was a stray snowshoe Siamese who gave birth to him and his sisters outside my prior home in North Carolina eleven years ago. He was born April 1, 2009. I was there when he was born, and I promised to be there when he passed.

I was able to rescue his mother to get her spayed. Bubby had three brothers and two sisters. I kept Bubby and his sister, Brownie. His brothers and sisters, along with his mother, were adopted out. Three years later, I moved to New Hampshire taking Bubby and Brownie with me. They did not enjoy that car ride at all, but that didn’t compare to the move from there to Bradenton, Florida four years ago.

Bubby always had a huge appetite and seemed to stay hungry. At night, he would meow two or three hours before bedtime begging for his evening snack. Last year, something happened and he started to get very territorial and aggressive towards Brownie for no apparent reason. We ended up having to separate them a few times, and we had to keep them separated at night to prevent fights. For some reason, he would be fine during the day for the most part, but at night he didn’t want Brownie anywhere near his space and he would guard it. His space, being wherever he was at the time.

Last year, August 18, 2019, he began to act lethargic, became constipated, ate very slow (which was unusual for him). We watched him over the next two days thinking it was an upset stomach. However, he began to vomit and hide, not wanting to play or come out for attention. We noticed his breathing was rapid and becoming more forced, and we got him to the vet that day.

August 21, he was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy and pleural effusion with likely congestive heart failure. Basically, his heart was failing, which caused fluid to develop around his lungs making it hard for him to breathe. The vet gave him Lasix and an appetite stimulant as well as a medication for his nausea. She gave us furosemide pills to help get rid of some of the fluid surrounding his lungs. Unfortunately, he completely refused the pills no matter what we tried and we didn’t want to force it and stress his heart even more. The next day, he finally cooperated and took the pills after his appetite came back.

Two weeks later, he had an ultrasound of his heart and had to have a tap to remove the huge accumulation of fluid remaining around his lungs. His congestive heart failure was confirmed. He was started on clopidogrel, spironolactone, and benazepril in addition to the furosemide. We were finally able to get him in to see a cardiologist in October. I spent my birthday at Blue Pearl in Tampa where they performed more diagnostic studies including ruling him out for hyperthyroidism, which can also induce cardiomyopathy. We hoped he had hyperthyroidism because if he did there was a good chance once treated, the cardiomyopathy would resolve, but he was ruled out for hyperthyroidism.

We did receive good news. He had some remaining fluid, but not enough to tap so we were went home with additional meds to give him and a follow-up appointment in three months. We were cautiously optimistic and happy over those three months. We made sure he was never left alone. One of us was always here with him. He regained his appetite and some of his playfulness. We had our little boy back. We knew it was borrowed time, but we cherished it.

His three-month checkup January 30^th came, and once again he did not need a tap. We were sent home with an increase in his furosemide and an advised one-month checkup with his regular vet for bloodwork and x-rays. We continued to be happy, but worried at the same time. Even though our boy was happy and acting “normal” on this myriad of pills, his prognosis was terminal. This wasn’t something that could be cured, and we knew with each passing day we were getting closer to having to make that difficult decision soon.

Our boy was perfectly healthy on all his yearly checkups until last year. We are still amazed how this disease can come on silently. By the time they start showing symptoms, it has progressed pretty far. Oftentimes, the first symptom is respiratory distress, which is what prompted his visit with the vet in August.

March 5^th, we had to rush Bubby to Blue Pearl Emergency Hospital in Sarasota. He was struggling to breathe. We weren’t sure if he would make it to the hospital. He was urgently rushed back and admitted. He had to have another tap and stay overnight with oxygen and monitoring. We were terrified, but he was doing better they told us that evening. The next morning, we received a call telling us he may not make it. We rushed to the hospital upset and knowing that awful decision was going to have to be made if he didn’t let go before we got there. He was a DNR at admission. We drove to the hospital preparing to say goodbye to our baby.

Upon arriving, they told us he had made a turn around and was maintaining his oxygen saturation levels on room air. He had perked up and seemed to be thriving. They made us wait a few more hours to make sure he was okay before discharging him home. They were concerned he was throwing clots and prescribed Xarelto, which is extremely expensive and had to be picked up at a pharmacy.

We brought our boy home. We went thinking we had to say goodbye, but thankfully it wasn’t his time. The next day, he had an episode where he seemed unsteady and collapsed in our hallway. I thought it was the end. I laid down beside him and loved on him and talked to him. I wasn’t going to take him back to the hospital to die on the way. If it was his time, he was going to go at home. He was peaceful and didn’t seem to be in pain. Within a few minutes, he was up and walking. The cardiologist said he possibly threw a small clot.

The next two months went by uneventfully. He remained happy and back to normal. He saw the cardiologist every two to three weeks for an ultrasound and bloodwork. His last appointment was May 11^th. He had some fluid that needed tapping, which we thought he might because his respirations had increased as well as the effort. That would be his fourth tap. We had said no more taps, but the cardiologist said his bloodwork had actually improved including his kidney values and he was happy at home, so we caved and agreed to another tap.

The tap was uneventful, and we brought him home on that Monday. This time he seemed different. It was like the sedative wasn’t wearing off from the tap. He didn’t want to eat. He was extra loving and wanted constant attention. He didn’t want to be left alone at all. By that evening, his breathing rate was increasing. The next morning, it was obvious he was in distress. It was time. In a matter of days, our sweet, happy, innocent little boy was in respiratory distress and soon to be in respiratory failure.

We called his local vet to see if she would come to our home to help him pass. Due to Covid-19, she said we would not be allowed in her mobile clinic, and she would not be entering our house. That was unacceptable to us. We did not want to put him under extra stress and duress causing his heart and lungs further stress before passing. We called several other mobile vets only to hear the same.

Fortunately when he was diagnosed, I had researched available resources to reach out to when this time came. I had found Lap of Love. They are a team of vets who come to your home to help your pet peacefully pass. The vet agreed to come into our house with a mask and asked that we open a window for air circulation to prevent any possible asymptomatic Covid spread. We were so grateful they agreed to help us. However, it was Tuesday and their first available appointment was Thursday. We didn’t think Bubby had that long so we didn’t make the appointment. We called around to more places, only to find out no other vets would come to our home. So, we decided we would do whatever we could just to make him as comfortable as possible until it was his time.

We were already staying up day and night with him, each of us taking shifts. Wednesday morning he was even more lethargic. He hadn’t eaten anything since Monday morning. He hadn’t used the litter box since Monday around noon. His respirations were becoming even more forced. Our baby was dying, but he needed help.

We called Lap of Love again hoping we could get our Thursday appointment back. Of course, it was gone. We had to make an appointment for Friday. We prepared ourselves and promised we wouldn’t back out of that Friday appointment. Neither one of us had ever had to make this decision before.

We planned to spend the rest of Wednesday loving on Bubby. We knew Thursday was going to be difficult and would go by so fast. What we didn’t expect was getting a call Thursday morning saying they could do it that afternoon between 1 and 2. We said yes and cried and loved on Bubby even more.

Thirty minutes later, the vet who would be coming called us and said she could move some appointments around and be there between 11 and 12, which was only an hour away. It was like a punch in the stomach. It took my breath away, but I knew it was a blessing. Our baby was struggling by this point. It was time and it needed to be done. We owed it to him to make him as comfortable as possible and to finally be at peace.

We said our final goodbye to our baby May 14, 2020.

We would definitely call Lap of Love if we ever have to face that difficult situation again.

Cardiomyopathy in cats comes on without warning. A normal resting cat’s respiratory rate is between mid-teens to mid-20s. Keep an eye on your kitty’s respiratory rate so you can catch any respiratory difficulty before it becomes full-blown respiratory distress. When Bubby was first diagnosed his respirations were at 26. Later, they climbed into the 30s and eventually into the 40s between taps.

Not a day goes by that we don’t mention Bubby’s name. We miss him so much, and we hate that he was taken from us so soon. We miss you big guy.

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