Anyone had a cat with a heart murmur?

[Freedom]

I am posting this for a friend, will send her the link to this thread.

Henry is age 7. He had his annual check up last week, and has a heart murmur, grade 3 or 4. Vet says that left as is, he has at most 2 years to live.

Vet suggested a range of tests, starting with an ultra sound, to see what the heart looks like. In discussion, the vet mentioned that depending on what they find with all the tests, meds could be a little as $20 per month, or as much as $100 per month, or even more.

Does anyone has any experience with this sort of issue? Ideas, suggestions? Thanks!

[phesina]

My Sydney has had a heart murmur all his life. He is 16 years old now, still going strong. I don't know anything about this Grade 3 or 4.. I've never been told anything about a grade of Sydney's murmur. He has never had any special medication or treatment for it. Maybe his is a real mild level of one. I don't know anything more about heart murmurs in cats in general.

Perhaps your friend might want to take Henry to another vet for a second opinion, before putting him through all these tests?

[Grace]

Duffy is 13 now - diagnosed with a murmur when he was 5. He had an ultrasound then, the murmur was an "innocent" murmur. When he went to the Vet, he got in a twit and the murmur was noticeable. No meds needed.

Last year, he had another ultrasound as the Vet thought the murmur was louder, and supposedly innocent murmurs don't change. Same Cardiologist did the test. Results - the same. No meds needed.

If it were my cat, I would opt for the ultrasound - that will be definitive.

[mrspunkysmom]

JMHO

Murmurs seem to be the illness du jour of vets these days. I've heard a lot of people say their pet was recently diagnosed.

A second opinion and an ultrasound for peace of mind is a good idea.

Spunky supposedly has a grade 1 murmur. It doesn't affect his "spunkiness". He's always had mild asthma and allergies and I am suspicious of the murmur. It was the second vet that heard the murmur. Her bedside manner needs work. His primary and my favorite never heard the murmur. Of course, Spunky likes him so much, he couldn't hear much past his purring.

I supposedly have a heart murmur, too. I am wondering as we age if we all aren't susceptible to a little bit of slosh in our valves.

I wish your friend and her cat good luck with this.

[Grace]

I supposedly have a heart murmur, too. I am wondering as we age if we all aren't susceptible to a little bit of slosh in our valves.

I wish your friend and her cat good luck with this.

I, also, have a murmur. Have known about it since I was 21 - a long time ago. Mine is called a "functional" murmur - that's a murmur present without the presence of cardiac disease. Sometimes the doctors hear it - sometimes not.

[maerlyn]

Mordred was given to me by a vet (not my usual one), so I kept taking him to her. Last year, when Mordred was 9, I took him for a second opinion (to my usual vet) about his teeth. His teeth were fine, but the doctor detected a heart murmur, which he said was a grade 4 (out of 6). Now, since Mordred had been seen the previous week by the first vet, I can conclude only that he'd had the murmur for some time - but who knows how long, since she couldn't hear it? The (usual) vet did an x-ray and saw no sign of disease. I made an appointment with a cardiologist, and Mordred had an ultrasound; the cardiologist's findings: no sign of disease. His only recommendation was that Mordred be checked by his regular doctor every 6 months and return for another ultrasound in two years.

In your situation, I'd definitely be getting a second opinion; I think it was crude of the doctor to tell you that your Henry, at only 7, might be here only another 2 years. Sorry, but that's the way I feel. There's plenty of proof in this thread that a heart murmur is *not* a death sentence! You need to find out what's causing the murmur; true, there might be an underlying disease, but it might be something merely genetic. The cardiologist will be able to give you much more precise information - that's the route to go. Best of luck to you - I hope all the news is good!!

[Pebsnhens Mom]

I'm Henry's mom. Thank you for your comments and suggestions. I am not as concerned. Henry has shown no change in energy over the last few years I've had him. He was adopted from a shelter about 4 years ago and he didn't have a heart murmur then. I will get a second opinion. I really don't want to put him through any extra stress. He tends to be uptight for a cat. Thanks, Sandie for posting the original question.

[Freedom]

Glad to help!

[kuhio98]

I'm glad to hear you're not too concerned. I wouldn't worry too much either. But, I would get a second opinion -- and hopefully find a vet who didn't think he could predict the future.

Several adoptions fell through for our Pepper before she adopted us. Her heart mumur is a 6 on a scale of 1-6. Hers is ranked as one of the worst. There is no treatment. No medication will help.

Our vet told us to just take the poor thing home and love her because she wouldn't live long. Ummm, that was 2004. Evidently, Pepper didn't get the memo because she's never been sick a day in her life. Except for the time she broke her toe climbing a 8-foot fence............And the time she had most of her tail chopped off........ Yesseree, she sure is a delicate thing.

Seriously, her heart has never given her any problems at all. But, Pepper does have a way of getting into trouble since she insists on living life on the edge. Whenever she's needed surgery for one of her death-defying stunts, we always make sure the surgeon knows of her profound heart mumur. They make sure to give her a light anesthesia and monitor her closely when she's waking up.

[smokey the elder]

Cardiac ultrasound is a definitive test which actually images the heart and shows how well it works. If it is within your means, this can provide additional information. The meds typically used are beta-blockers, which are often available as generics (read: cheap.) Good luck!

[Lizzie]

Cardiac ultrasound is a definitive test which actually images the heart and shows how well it works. If it is within your means, this can provide additional information. The meds typically used are beta-blockers, which are often available as generics (read: cheap.) Good luck!

Yes, it's not at all expensive. Zazesh is on Altenolol for Cardiomyopathy and it costs less than $5 a month (generic from Costco pharmacy.)

[DriftyAlison0]

Tigger had a small murmer when he was a kitten and we didn't worry about it and forgot about it till the flood of 2008 happened and the stress had him nearly dying from heart failure. He was dianosed with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy and was put on lasix was around 20 dollars a month so it wasn't so bad. He was doing well on the meds and it was his liver/kidneys that killed him at the age of five after a diet change (it was ether that the food was bad, or since he didn't like it, he didn't eat it much and it caused his liver to go out).

Tigger was doing so well that if it wasn't for his liver, he would have lived for years.