A bit of a scare.

Tree and I were only saying on Thursday night how we were coping quite well with the credit crunch and that as long as the cats, or the car, stayed okay we would be alright. We then heard a chilling sound as Herbie lay on the floor, eyes glazed and made a low wailing sound. This sound was one of the most distressing things I have ever heard and we were both sure that he was dying right in front of us. His tongue lolled out and he was panting for breath. I fetched the cat box and he was as limp as a ragdoll when I scooped him up.However, on arrival at the vets, he soon seemed to recover enough to be examined. The vet checked him all over and couldn't find any immediate damage. He instructed us to take him home and monitor his condition. As soon as we got him home, Herbie had another episode as bad as the first. The following day we returned to the vets and this time we saw a different vet called Isobelle. She said they would take him in for observation. By the afternoon we had a call to say to come and collect him as he showed no ill effects. This was followed by another call to say he had had an episode and they would like to speak to us. I feared the worst and was relieved to see him alive on the night-time visit. She recommended blood tests and a heart scan thinking that poisoning could be a factor. The next day we got the bad news. Herbie has a serious heart condition called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. This is a thickening of the heart walls that constricts the amount of blood going through the heart (detailed information can be found here). This is known as the silent killer and we accepted the worst. We were also told he had fluid on the lungs. We were given tablets and told he would be lucky to live the weekend. The next few days and nights I stayed with him and comforted him as he had several episodes, or mini heart attacks, each time thinking this would be it. All he could manage to do was lay still and labour his breathing. Our main concern was that he was not eating and this would be the death of him. By Saturday night he was responding to the tablets and the episodes stopped, however, he still had no energy. Our spirits raised though when he ate for the first time later on Saturday night. It is now Sunday and he has perked up no end. His breathing is normal and he even jumped up on the bed for a cuddle this morning. I managed the first few hours of sleep in days and feel better to cope with it all as well. We are not out of the woods though and he could still go at any time. The main thing is to accept that every day is now a bonus for Herbie and to keep his quality of life at the forefront of our minds. He has eaten several times and even got grumpy with me when he had to have his morning tablets! A good sign!!

Special thanks go out to Isobelle the vet who has asked for daily updates on his health and to Tree's mum who lent us the small mortgage to pay for his treatment, running at about £400 so far.

Isobelle now says that he could live two days or two years, no-one knows. Some even live for five or more.I will keep you updated!!