@msolga,
Just back from vet.
Not the dread news expected. She has high blood pressure and an enlarged left side of the heart...possibly because a valve is compromised. She already has fluid on the lungs. Vet thinks it is either an inborn defect, or that she had an infection as a kitten that led to peri-carditis, that has affected her heart.
NOT the cardiomyopathy, she thinks, that we were both expecting from the symptoms. The ECG does not support this, and her pulmonary artery appears normal (cardiomyopathy is often a consequence of primary pulmonary hypertension...a deadly problem).
Prognosis depends upon how she responds to medication. She could live a long and happy life....or not. Vet says "We won't let her get so sick that she has to be put down while she is young!"
This is cute and very supportive, but not necessarily practical....however I intend to go with that thought.
She is on the same med as Miranda! In Viola's case it is hoped to control the hypertension and stop the heart from straining unnecessarily to compensate for the valve, which it apparently does not need to do, and thus becoming enlarged and compromised.
She's to be re-asessed in six months, unless she becomes ill prior to that.
Another cat with expensive meds! Oh well.
I am having a glass of sauvignon blanc to celebrate and calm down.
Now to get the pill down the cat. I am going to try pulverised in yoghurt.
