May 8, 2016 - Chewbacca's Last Day With Us. :( Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (Enlarged Heart) in Maine Coon Cat. WARNING: SAD VIDEO! DO NOT WATCH IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE! VIDEO FOR REFERENCE ONLY SO OTHERS CAN SEE WHAT FELINE HYPERTROPHIC CARDIOMYOPATHY LOOKS LIKE IN REAL LIFE. Our 8 year old mixed Maine Coon cat had Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, aka enlarged heart with heart failure. On January 24th the vet gave him a few days to "maybe" a week to live. My son and I took him home with determination to help him heal and be well again. We got him back to about 85% wellness within a few weeks, but then about three days prior to this video he took a drastic downturn. :( He suddenly began to fail fast - this was so heartbreaking to both my son and I as well as Chewbacca's best friend Bezhik. He was having trouble breathing when I woke up and I knew it would be his last day with us so I let Bezhik and him lie together in their favorite spot one last time and took this video for others to see what the breathing of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in a cat looks like, since I could find no videos on this anywhere on YouTube. This is heartbreaking to watch. :( Shortly after this I called around to find a vet who could get him in right away to put him to sleep. As soon as I found a vet to take him, I prepared my son with the news (which he expected anyhow) and found a box to bring our buddy to the vet in. I gently laid him in the box and went to grab my purse and keys, and when I turned around to pick up the box to leave for the vet Chewbacca had passed away!! We were in complete shock! It was such a sad day for everyone. We loved Chewbacca so much. :( :( At least he is at peace now. RIP Sweet Bacca Boy. :( :(
