My cat's brother died from heart disease. Is it genetic? What can I do?

Question

A few days ago, Gwendolyn's brother and litter mate, Theodore, died due to a saddle thrombus. The vet said it was likely a sign that he had underlying heart disease but she couldn't be sure. My question is, can this be genetic and do I need to worry about Gwendolyn, too? If so, is there anything I can do to prevent this happening to her, as well? Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed | 3 years and 10 months old | 7 lbs

Megan, DVM, CVA · Accepted Answer

I am so sorry for you loss! This can be genetic. I would have an echo done on her heart to look at her heart walls and chamber sizes. I would also have your vet do a proBNP (idexx) on her to get a baseline number. ProBNP is an heart muscle enzyme that increases with heart muscle damage or stretching. This and the echo together would give you a good idea on what the heart is looking like. I would recommend to do this once a year to keep a close eye on it since we know her heart could be genetically prone to issues. I hope this helps!

My cat's brother died from heart disease. Is it genetic? What can I do?

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