Gălbenuș (Yolk) came here on 1st February 2021 from Moreni, a small Romanian town. He was in such a bad condition, that we didn’t know if he would survive. The lady who asked Eugenia for help told her that Gălbenuș was hit by a car, being in that condition for 2 weeks. But after he was seen by our vets, the conclusion was completely different.
When he came here he was really unwell, he had rapid breathing and lethargy. He was taken directly to a vet clinic, where he was staying for the following two days. The vet was able to stabilize him and he did an X-ray. Luckily there was nothing wrong with his bones, he had no fractures or internal bleeding and the blood chemistry showed only mild anemia.
But the ultrasound showed something strange in his abdomen and the vet couldn’t tell for sure what it was. He received medications and IV fluids and after 3 days he was discharged, with the recommendation to be seen by a cardiologist vet.
He also had blood tests for hyperthyroidism, to rule it out before the cardiac exam. The TSH and T4 were within normal limits.
So, on 9th February he had the cardiac examination and he was diagnosed with stage B1 dilated cardiomyopathy and a slightly enlarged heart. Cardiomyopathy means disease of the heart muscle and stage B1 means that he’s at low risk of imminent congestive heart failure or arterial thromboembolism.
This type of cardiomyopathy is relatively rare in cats these days and that’s because the main cause it’s the taurine deficiency in cat food (nowadays most commercial cat food already has added taurine). The vet prescribed Taurine and Vetmedin, which seemed to have helped Gălbenuș.
Then he also had a cardiac troponin test to assess the degree of myocardial damage (to see if he will be able to safely undergo anesthesia). Luckily the results were within normal limits and on 10th June he was neutered safely. There was a risk involved, of course, but luckily there were no complications during the surgery.
Unfortunately, there is no medical cure for cardiomyopathy. It is a serious condition, but cats can still live long happy lives with lifestyle management and medications that are focused on reducing symptoms and supporting quality of life.
We know that not all kitties we rescue will be “highly adoptable”, but that doesn’t mean that kitties like Gălbenuș deserve their second chances any less. He has a medical issue, but he deserves the best you have to offer. It’s impossible to know how much time he has left, but in the end, that’s the same for any other cat. You never know how much time any of them has left.
Overall, Gălbenuș is feeling great, but he may occasionally need medication in the future (which we will provide). As we said, you never know what tomorrow brings for him. But one thing we know for sure: if you chose to adopt him, you know you’re doing the right thing. Just picture Gălbenuș sharing his current foster home with other 90 cats. He is not happy living among so many cats and we’re sure you can offer him so much more than this.
And imagine it’s like adopting an old cat. You don’t expect them to live for many years and you know they all have medical issues at some point. But you just want to give them a comfortable home and lots of love for the remaining years. You don’t have to grieve a loss that hasn’t happened yet, you just take it one day at a time and be grateful if today is a good day