Please help me to understand what is happening to my cat.

[Keepingthefaith21]

This weekend my veterinarian told me that my 10 month old kitten has a heart murmur

. He’s healthy in all other regards: full of energy, good appetite, good skin and no other medical problems that the vet could detect.

I have him scheduled for an echocardiogram on June 30th so we can get a clearer picture of what is going on with him. On a scale of 1 to 6 the vet has rated his murmur at a 2. He did not have this murmur at his initial visit with the vet in December.

I know getting him the echocardiogram is the ONLY way to determine what is going on but I feel really lost trying to figure out if cats with murmurs live somewhat ordinary lives. Do any of you have cats who have survived with heart murmurs?

I just want to know any experiences of any one else and what I can possibly expect. I love this little furball and will do anything to help him.

 

[zoebartlett]

Hi KTF!

I just went through this, actually, with one of our cats (both are over a year old, almost 2). Our male cat also has a heart murmur, and we only discovered it when he was getting examined after breaking his hip (the vet needed to make sure his heart could withstand sugery, and a routine ultrasound found the murmur). I guess one of his valves isn''t doing well ("mitral valve...something" -- sorry, I forget the name). Anyway, he needs to be on two different medications for the rest of his life, but he''s doing fine. He''s now recovering from surgery and doing well. He takes his pills with his food, both in the morning and at night. I asked the vet why they don''t do surgery on his valve, but I guess it could be risky. As long as he responds to the medication and continues to be checked routinely, he''ll be fine.

This kitty is the same as yours -- full of energy, etc., and he''s doing well. This is still new for us, but as long as we keep up with giving him his medicine, we''re confident that he''ll live a long and happy life. I''d talk to the vet and ask any and all questions and see what they say after the test. Cats are very resilient!

 

[gwendolyn]

My mom''s youngest cat is now almost 3, and the vet discovered that he had a heart murmur before she got him from the breeder when he was about 8 weeks old. The vet said the same, that it was just a level 1 or 2 heart murmur and that it was entirely possible he would grow out of it by the time he turned 2 years old. Sure enough, it''s gone now, so don''t despair, sweetie. It might turn out to be just a temporary thing!

 

[kcoursolle]

My cat has HCM (read more about it here if you are interested: http://members.aol.com/jchinitz/hcm/). We found it when I got a routine check up with her and they heard a grade 2 murmur. It basically means that the large artery connecting the heart is thicker than it should be and this causes blockage of the bloodflow. She has to be on a bloodpressure pill for the rest of her life to make the flow of blood slower. She is fine and always acts very active and playful. We were as surprised as you were to hear that she had a heart issue.

I was really scared when we found out about the murmur as well. It was a stressful time because we didn''t know what it meant for her life expectancy or vet bills. Besides the initial check up, the pills are inexpensive and it''s nice to know now what she has. We still don''t know how long she will live, it really depends on how much her condition progresses over time. It could progress quickly (and she could die in a year or two) or she could live a decade or longer...hard to say.

It''s hard to say what will happen with your cat, but I think you are doing the right thing by bringing her in for a check up and ultrasound. If they caught it at 10months, there is a good chance that they may be able to do some preventative care depending on what it is versus if you caught it after years from now.

 

[wishful]

One of my cats who is 8yrs has a heart murmur. The vet was able to notice it just from the stethescope. They said it was only a 1-2 which is not really anything to worry about.
Mainly they said to bring him in for yearly exams so they can monitor it and see if it gets worse. He lives a completely normal (and completely spoiled

) life.

Honestly I am not sure what happens if it starts to get worse. Seeing as he''s middle aged we''d have to assess how bad it was and how old he was at that time before we made any "decisions".

 

[Lorelei]

I seem to recall Lynn B''s Boo has a heart murmur, and he is fine and lives a full and healthy life! Maybe she will see this and chime in.

 

[Keepingthefaith21]

Thank you all very much for calming my nerves! I was taken aback by the situation but have heard lots of positive stories so I am sure that he will continue to live a very happy life!

 

[Madam Bijoux]

Sorry to be late with a reply. One of my cats had a heart murmur and she lived to be 19 years old. As long as you take your cat for regular checkups, a heart murmur can be kept under control. Best of luck.

 

[isaku5]

Our nine year old Sammy has had a heart murmur since he was two, but he''s so determined not to go to the vet (via pet carrier) that the vet had to make a housecall exception to give him his annual shot this year. Due to Sammy''s fierce nature in the vet''s presence, he did not have his murmur monitored.

It was a tough call because trying to be a responsible pet owner, I know he needs monitoring, but the vet advised no tranquilizer as he couldn''t get an accurate reading on his heart.

It''s a real Catch 22.

So far, all is well with Sammy

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Our male cat had one too but luckily he outgrew it. Is your vet worried?

 

[Keepingthefaith21]

Date: 6/17/2008 12:09:22 PM
Author: Tacori E-ring
Our male cat had one too but luckily he outgrew it. Is your vet worried?

My vet encouraged me to have the echocardiogram done because she is a very big believer in early intervention. She seemed a little concerned that the murmur was not heard back in December when I brough him in. She told me there is a possibility it will turn out to be something he can out grow or it could be a defect in his heart that he was born with that is just beginning to rear its head.

I am not a risk taker when it comes to my animals health so I would much rather have the test done and know what I am dealing with. Both of my kitties are insured so the costs associated with the testing do not bother me. My vet doesn''t know that I have the cats insured as I submit all the claims myself so I do not feel like she is trying to take advantage of me.