Cat has a heart murmur - Answered by Dr. Slome

[Shannon83]

We took Mini-Ti to get his vaccinations tonight, the vet mentioned to us the fact that Mini-Ti has a very strong heart murmur which may lead to future health problems or possibly even an early passing. He said that with such a loud heart mumur, there's a chance that he'll be a special needs cat, meaning that he may need a lot of extra attention. He may just have shortness of breath after running around and playing, or unfortunately, he may not live a very long life. Then again, the vet also mentioned that there's a possibility that Mini-Ti will live a great life with no medical problems. We will be taking him to another vet to have a second opinion. has anyone ever been through this with their pet, it will be up to the family who wish to adopt him if they want to go throw with it but if not will try to find him a new family by 6months and if now one wish to then we will place him in foster care.

[Copper'sMom]

How old is the cat?? My dog had a severe heart murmur as a pup and my vet told me he wouldn't live past two or three years old! I was heart broken as this is what she told me at his FIRST vet appointment. Luckily for me he has outgrown it and is doing great today at almost 4 years old. We also have elderly cats with heart murmurs and they have no symptoms as of yet. They are getting up there in age and if their heart starts to fail then we'll deal with it when it happens.

[mastifflover]

Coppers mom is right heart murmurs can disappear as they get older. My Puli was from a breeder that I had contacted when I was looking to buy a Puli pup she told me that she had a 2 year waiting list. She put me on the list after the usual interogation and interviews. When I met them I told them I was not interested in breeding or showing and did not need a perfect pup. She called me about 2 months later and told me about a litter and one had a heart murmur so she could not sell this pup to any of the people on her list but if I would have her spayed and utd on shots I could have her as long as I promised to take very good care of her health needs. Well at the age of 2 she was given a clean bill of health not even a trace of the murmur. So do not look at it as death sentence or a disability.

[chico2]

Shannon,I would not even look at her as a special needs cat,unless she is on meds,a second opinion would be good...
My Cookie lived to be 18yrs old,she had a heart-murmur as a young cat,it somehow corrected itself.
Mini-ti is just beautiful and I think she'll be fine :love:

[Shannon83]

I don't think he'll need meds and so we have ruled that out putting him as special, his olny 3months and he's new family has decide that they will take him and so he leaves tonight. he will see the vet again next month. also Thank-You for seeing hope in what's wrong with him.

[CyberKitten]

Heart murmurs are more a symptom than a condition and since he is so little, he may have none in just a few months. He should be monitored by the vet tho to make sure he's OK but I bet he'll be fine!! (I myself have had a heart murmur all my life - and while it's not good to cite anecdotal evidence, it has not bothered me that much). (In pets, heart murmurs can be much the same).

[ThatBekyGirl]

New to this! Just took my 10 y/o kitty for her routine check up for her vet to tell me she found a loud heart murmur she didn't hear last year. I approved for her to run a complete blood/urine panel and x-rays to rule out potential other causes for the heart murmur. She told me that if she didn't find anything, then I was to visit a cardiologist and have an ultrasound. Besides that and what I've learned online, that's all I know to do until she gets the results.
A few years back, my cat tweaked her back due to being overweight. I IMMEDIATELY put her on a diet, bought only the cat food sold directly from my vet. Since then, she has lost about a pound a year and is almost at a perfect weight...I thought we were home free, now this.
It's the first time my baby has ever had anything wrong and after all I have read, I'm really scared. I get that it's not curable, but since she's been symptom-free and it seems that we've caught it early enough, will meds help no matter the severity? Seeing a specialist is a no-brainer for me, but also don't even know what to expect cost-wise for an ultrasound.
Does anyone know more about murmurs in aging cats?!? What are our options and success of treatment? Please help! I'm a mess!

[kittymomma]

I just found out this weekend that my older female has a heart murmur on top of her kidney insuffiencies.... As I write this, she is with the vet getting an ultrasound-$400!!! to determine the severity and if treatment is needed. Although I am one of those pet parents that can NEVER get a break, so I have both kitties on Pet Insurance programs, and highly recommend it!!

[PacificBlue]

Hi,

Hope the tests went well and that it wasn't a severe diagnosis. I didn't have an ultrasound done on Chelsea, but here it is, 2 years later and she is as healthy and happy as can be. She went through a lot of illnesses since I got her from the rescue, and I was scared she wasn't going to make it. I was going to get pet insurance but they said she had pre-existing conditions so they wouldn't have covered her. I just make sure she doesn't get overweight because that would be stress on her heart. (She likes Felidae dry food.) She is an indoor cat also.

Best wishes for you both!

[Trixie's_Mum]

My adorable 12 year old black cat, Trixie, was diagnosed with a slight heart murmur back in Feb 2008, I hate to say it but a week later she had a fit and died in my Mum's arms - just as they were on their way to the vet to see if they could give Trixie something as she had been breathing quite heavily. All you guys out there with cats who have lived passed their heart murmurs is great - you're very lucky. Shame my beautiful Trixie was one of the unfortunate ones.
RIP baby xx

[smystic]

I just found out my cat 12y now have heart murmur, she lost a lot of weight and she is sleeping a lot. she was having problem with her back right leg, the vet told me she had a small heart attack and that affect her back leg. he suggested 1/4 baby aspirin 2 X wk. Mystic is a cat that does not like to be handle, I had the vet come to the house because the travel will be to hard on her and he agreed with me. Because she is the way she is, we decided to make her as comfortable as possible. I move her in the house, she is an outdoor/garage cat.

[MaxaLisa]

Originally Posted by smystic

I just found out my cat 12y now have heart murmur, she lost a lot of weight and she is sleeping a lot. she was having problem with her back right leg, the vet told me she had a small heart attack and that affect her back leg. he suggested 1/4 baby aspirin 2 X wk. Mystic is a cat that does not like to be handle, I had the vet come to the house because the travel will be to hard on her and he agreed with me. Because she is the way she is, we decided to make her as comfortable as possible. I move her in the house, she is an outdoor/garage cat.

This is an old thread, and the forums are changed, so now this is the dog forum.

I would repost in the cat forum, a new thread.

I don"t know about the aspirin, but you might be able to use fish oil therapy?