Anyone had a cat with a heart murmur?

[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.