VetClick Discussion Forum

Hi Kate

For a kitten of 12 weeks old with a heart murmur I would certainly be adopting a wait and see approach to discover how bad this is. The grade of a heart murmur is an indication of the severity and your vet has placed a high grade on it. It is useful if you can afford a work up of the problem to diagnose it, but not all heart murmurs are life threatening, even when they sound bad so its not always vital. For me its a question of how does the kitten with a heart murmur grow and develop. So far she doesn't sound affected by it. If she grows normally in the next few months to adult size and weight and is always active and energetic then you can be very hopeful that her heart is coping with the abnormality, whatever the particular problem is. The condition is not painful so don't worry that she's suffering for having her heart murmur.

Certainly many cats can live a good quality, normal long life with a heart murmur, and heart problems. I have numbers of patients that do that, including young cats. Medication can be needed, it depends, so be guided by your vet on that. Hope this helps.

Cathy Wickenden BVet Med MRCVS
Barton Lodge Veterinary Centre
1 Midland Road, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 5BH
Tel: 01442 216048 24 hours
[www.bartonlodgevets.co.uk]

I've had my cat for 15 years now and the Vet stated that he has a heart murmur - I can't afford the blood work to determine the grade of the murmur. But my cat has been drinking a lot of water, he brings up a lot of hair balls and he keeps missing the litter tray - therefore peeling outside the litter tray. How long do you think he has to live. He is an indoor cat. I care about my cat but I can't take the peeing - it is damaging my wooden flooring. Is it time to put him down?

Hi

Sorry but I can't be the one who makes that call. The excess drinking and bringing up hair balls may be a symptoms of kidney failure or there may be another internal problem-you would need blood tests to diagnose that. He may be missing the litter tray because he is also becoming somewhat senile at 15 yrs old so a bigger litter tray or more litter trays around for easier access might help the peeing on the floor. With or without blood tests you still have to weigh up what to do. If he is becoming very poorly, losing weight, not eating well and not seeming to respond and enjoy quality life then maybe its time to consider the end.

Cathy Wickenden BVet Med MRCVS
Barton Lodge Veterinary Centre
1 Midland Road, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 5BH
Tel: 01442 216048 24 hours
[www.bartonlodgevets.co.uk]

I posted the original topic and wanted to say my Tigi is still going strong, she will be 7 in March this year. I have kept her as an indoor cat, and she plays withy he fishing rod toy for 5 mins a few time a week so her heart doesn't strain.
She has an amazing personality and is healthy as ever, we keep her weight minted so she sin good health, and having an amazing life.

Hi Liz

Thank you for the update on your cat. That's good to know.

Cathy Wickenden BVet Med MRCVS
Barton Lodge Veterinary Centre
1 Midland Road, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 5BH
Tel: 01442 216048 24 hours
[www.bartonlodgevets.co.uk]

The short little life of my little man, Rufus:

Yesterday I lost my 7 month old Rufus - he was a Birman Ragdoll cross - an absolute beauty. I also have his sister Martha, who seems fine and does not appear to have a murmer. Rufus was castrated just before Christmas (I think the11th Dec). He became a lot more sedate and I noticed around New Years he was breathing very fast. I took him to the emergency out of hours vets on New years day. It turned out he was in congestive heart failure and they had to drain the fluid off his lungs. He had been on Fortekor (ACE inhibitor) and a subesquent trip to the cardiologist concluded that he had HCM and mitral valve insufficiency. A murmer grade 4. The cardiologist actually recommended that little Rufus did not need any treatment for it at this stage. I, however, was not comfortable with his breathing rate which became louder to the extent that he was making very loud grunts during the morning he died (yesterday). They decided to take another x-ray which involved anesthetic. This would have precipitated the end of his life, the x-rays showed lungs full of fluid, he stopped breathing, he didnt respond the intravenous diuretics, he crashed several times on the operating table, I watched this first hand and had to make the call as to whether or not to resuscitate him when his heart stopped. At this point I decided his struggle for life should be over and elected to let him go as what he had been going through in the last 3 hours with tubes down into his lungs, pulling them out when he started breathing , expelling the fluid and getting the tubes back in when he stopped breathing was an image that will haunt me for the rest of my life. I watched my little Kitty Kat lose his battle for life in the saddest possible way. His deterioration happed so fast and he was gone within three weeks of diagnosis. I prayed to have at least a couple of years with him every day but those three weeks had eaten away at me and I have been full of anguish for my little brave man. I am pleased he is now no longer suffering and despite the cardiologists advice of stopping medication, I continued to give him the Fortekor which the vet agreed was OK - I think it may have given him some extra time, but the vet thinks he most likely developed a clot which travelled to his lungs. In the last few days I believed he also had abdominal pain and diaorhea. It is so, so sad - I will never get over this and I now feel so upset for his sister Martha who is wondering where her best friend is. There is no definitive answer as to how long your cat will have if they have a murmer and/or HCM. However, if I could go back I would still have had him as his little life was already pre-determined and I just feel honoured to have given him the best little time with his sister that he could have had. It's better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all. God Bless all the little kitty kats. xxx

Hello. I'm due to pick up a male Maine coon kitten in 2 days time. The breeder phoned today and said her vet detected a heart murmur - very slight - in him and his sister.
I have to decide whether to take a chance and hope he grows out of it when he matures - the breeder has been wonderful in saying she will either keep him for a few weeks longer, or permanently and give us our money back.
My vet said to be purely pragmatic we should never take a kitten which isn't completely healthy.
I really don't know what to do! Apparently it's impossible to tell at this stage whether the murmur is physiological or pathological.
Would we be very silly and potentially heart broken if we decide to take him?
Thank you!

Hi Lauren

All I can say is that I am very sorry to hear this very sad story. You are quite right to say there is no definitive answer to how long a cat with a heart murmur will live. Your cat was sadly one of the unlucky cats whose heart murmur was obviously causing severe life-threatening and ultimately fatal symptoms. I send you my sympathy.

Cathy Wickenden BVet Med MRCVS
Barton Lodge Veterinary Centre
1 Midland Road, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 5BH
Tel: 01442 216048 24 hours
[www.bartonlodgevets.co.uk]

Hi Alison

I guess you probably have made your choice by now. Yes its difficult to know in young cats if the heart murmur will affect them in the future or not. There are happy and sad experiences discussed on this list. I wouldnt have been able to tell you which yours will be. Your vet is right but a lot of people find themselves in your position, trying to decide what to do in these circumstances. I agree that the breeder has been very reasonable and fair too.

Cathy Wickenden BVet Med MRCVS
Barton Lodge Veterinary Centre
1 Midland Road, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 5BH
Tel: 01442 216048 24 hours
[www.bartonlodgevets.co.uk]

I have a 4 month old bengal kitten. When we first got her from the breeder we were told that she had a grade 1 heart murmur but that it was nothing to worry about. She was spayed at 3 months and when we went to get her stitches taken out I asked the vet the check her heart. The murmur had gone up to grade 4 and we were advised to get an ultrasound done immediately. The ultrasound results determined that the murmur was secondary to severe left ventricular outflow tract obstruction due to systolic anterior motion of the mitral valve. This is suspected to be due to congenital mitral valve dysplasia. There is no history of this in her line. I advised the breeder who offered us another kitten but we just love her too much to give her up. The cardiologist prescribed Atenolol for 2 weeks and told us to go back to the vet to have her checked. We went back last week and the vet confirmed the murmur was still grade 4. He also said that our kittens condition will never improve. We will have to continue on the Atenolol twice a day for the rest of her life. The vet could not however give us any indication of how long she would live. Our kitten doesn't display any signs or symptoms of illness. She is as playful and happy as can be. It breaks my hear to know she is sick and I'm now constantly worried she is going to die.

Does anybody how what the prognosis for a kitten with this disease is? Is she more likely to die suddenly or will she suffer a gradual onset of symptoms? Are there any other treatment options other than the continued Atenolol?

Anything helps.

Thanks

I just thought I'd follow up, and thank you for responding to my initial question (back on page 3).
I got the echo cardiogram done for my cat, and the vet said that the heart murmur is purely physiological and not at all a concern, which I'm very happy to hear! Also, his weight has improved and been stable for a while now, so the loss and fluctuations were probably just due to the switch from adult to senior to dental food.
Plus, as an added bonus to the good news, my long-haired cat had his chest shaved for the echo (which he didn't mind, oddly enough), and which made for some super soft and velvety belly-rubs.

Hi Joanna,

Thanks for this update on your cat. Good to know that he's doing well.

Cathy Wickenden BVet Med MRCVS
Barton Lodge Veterinary Centre
1 Midland Road, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 5BH
Tel: 01442 216048 24 hours
[www.bartonlodgevets.co.uk]

Hi

Sorry but the prognosis unfortunately has to be uncertain for a long life. Your Bengal kitten is still very young, despite the serious nature of the heart defect. If she makes it to adult size and weight with no ill health that's the first target. You should ask your vet and cardiologist to reassess her again once she reaches adulthood. Discuss your fears about her condition with them and ask for any further treatment options. If she's remaining happy and playful so far then she's certainly enjoying her life. I believe that even if she has a shorter but happy life, that's the important thing and you have clearly committed to looking after her as well as possible.

Cathy Wickenden BVet Med MRCVS
Barton Lodge Veterinary Centre
1 Midland Road, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 5BH
Tel: 01442 216048 24 hours
[www.bartonlodgevets.co.uk]

Hi , I just came across this page and thought I'd give you my experience. I found my cat Eliza online 5 1/2 years ago from a Cat home that was informing that her owner was looking to have her put to sleep as her work commitments meant she couldn't be home as often and as Eliza was born blind she thought it best to have her put to sleep as she thought finding her a new home wouldn't be easy. Anyway... I contacted them and the next day I drove home with Eliza a wee tortie bringing her to her new home with me. On getting a check up at my local vet, he diagnosed she had a serious heart murmur. So bad that he was a bit taken a back by how loud it was. He told me about how things could go from being good one day to life threatening the next, as the heart is so unpredictable. So I went home thinking that every day was a blessing with her. She has been saved from being put to sleep by her previous owner, so every day she was with us is a blessing. So 5 1/2 years ago I have lived everyday blessed with each day she is here and despite a few close calls with 3 seizure like episodes where she collapsed, but recovered an hour or two later (believed to be possibly small bloods clots) she is still with us and as happy and active as she always has been. Despite being blind she carries on life as though she is fully sighted. I take her out in the back garden and live each day as it comes. So I hope this gives some people hope that there can be hope of your cat having a good life if diagnosed with a heart murmur. This year after Eliza had a seizure I took her to a cardiologist who done a scan and diagnosed a hole in the heart. For the last 5 1/2 years Eliza has been on daily tablets for beta blockers to slow the heart and also tablets to help shift any fluid build up caused by her heart not functioning as it should. The cardiologist has now added a weekly dose of asprin and another tablet to help the heart function. And thankfully she has been pretty stable and is lying next to me sleeping right now as I type this. So I hope this gives you some positive feedback as the internet doesn't have much information on this subject. So Eliza is now 9 1/2 years, blind, a whole in her heart (that she was born with ) and huge heart murmur and still here happy and living life to the full.

Hi Andy

Wow, that's what I call commitment. Well done to you, Eliza and to her cardiologist. Great story.

Cathy Wickenden BVet Med MRCVS
Barton Lodge Veterinary Centre
1 Midland Road, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 5BH
Tel: 01442 216048 24 hours
[www.bartonlodgevets.co.uk]

Hello there, I was hoping for a little advice.

I have a female cat who is now about 18 months old. When she was about 6 months she started to develop problems with chronic vomiting. She was very unwell over a long period, but with IV fluids and a low dose of steroids she recovered well. She had a full work up (no ECG though) and nothing of note found. Foolishly never insured her or her brother and couldn't afford diagnostic tests to get to the bottom of the vomiting. Since the steroids, she's been fine. She occasionally needs a very small dose of steroids for a couple of days to manage symptoms (I've had to do this twice). She is other wise very fit and well.

At 11months (whilst all this was going on) the vet picked up a IV murmur. I've even felt it on occasion when she's sleeping on me. We decided on watchful waiting and 6 months later she still has a lvl IV murmur. No breathing difficulties, she's petite but her growth isn't stunted and has grown well since picking up the murmur. Not anaemic and very energetic.

I'm looking at another 600 in vet bills to refer her to a cardiologist. I suppose what I'm asking is whether doing an ECG is going to reveal anything that will particularly add value to her life in the long run. Is it likely to reveal something we can treat or am I just going to have to watch out for deterioration in her health anyway. If she does go into, say, congestive heart failure am I still going to have to refer her to cardiology anyway?

Thanks for any advice

Hi Hannah

Unfortunately its not possible for me to predict if further tests will add benefit. She's got to adulthood despite the heart murmur and after the other problem you describe. I wish it was easier to predict the outcome for cat's like yours and if they will live normal healthy lives, but it isn't. With her history and a significant heart murmur yes you are going to have to watch out and react to any deterioration in her health. If she goes into heart failure she would benefit from the expertise of a cardiologist for her treatment.

Cathy Wickenden BVet Med MRCVS
Barton Lodge Veterinary Centre
1 Midland Road, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 5BH
Tel: 01442 216048 24 hours
[www.bartonlodgevets.co.uk]

Hi
My 15 year old cat has just been diagnosed with a murmur and she has lost a lot of weight recently. Should I be concerned (or will weight loss help her?) & what should I do to care for her/help the condition improve?