I have juts had my 6 month old kitten neutered and her first lot of jabs, the vet did a general check, and has discovered she has a heart murmur, he thinks its probably a level 5.

Im devastated, shes only a baby!! The vet said he thought it was probably hiereditary and that she was born with it. He said she may be able to have tablets when shes older, but ive read stuff on the net about kittens with murmurs will only live about 3years. Is this true? How long does she have? Is there any way to make it better? Is she in pain? Should i be trying to stop her running about all the time?

Please reply urgently, i cant wait 3 weeks till shes due for her next lot of jabs. thank you

Hi, Liz,

It is unlikley that a grV murmer in a 6 mo kitten can be cured,and her life span will be affected.
Your vet has picked it up at an early stage, and will be able to help if and when signs of heartv failure arise, but do not expect a miracle!
W

If any veterinary cardiologists read this, I would welcome their comments.
WB

I have a seven year old, British Shorthair cross rescue cat. I took her to the vet today, and on examination was told by the vet that she has a grade 6 heart murmur.I was shocked to hear this. She is due to go for an opertion on Monday, 05.11.07 to have a four teeth extracted, and the vet stated that she will have a blood test pre-operatively in view of the murmur. I had no idea that my cat had this, as it has never been brought to my attention before on previous visits to the vet. What will be her life expectancy and what are the signs and syptoms?
Please could you reply urgently, as the op is so near. With thanks

Hi, Fiona,

Are you sure you did not mis-hear your vet - Grade VI !!! If it really is that severe I am surprised that there is any mention of giving her an anaesthetic at all.
I am not sure what a blood test will reveal that will help in the prognosis of response to an anaesthetic.
I would be inclined to ask for a referral to a veterinary cardiologist. If you live in the UK, there are several around, at the University veterinary Schools and in private referral centres.

W

Hi,

My kitten also has a heart murmur. She is a 3 month old purebread Persian. My vet did not tell me what grade her murmur is. Should I be taking steps to help her now? What signs should I be looking for that indicate heart failure? I read online that kittens sometimes grow out of murmurs. Is that true? When you say this will affect her lifespan, how much of an affect will it have? How long do kittens with heart murmurs usually live?

Thank you!

Amanda

Hi, Amanda,

Heart murmers are usually graded I to VI, according to their severity, and only then can assess how serious it is. A Grade I murmer is hardly detectable, and will have virtually no effect, whilst a Grade VI murmer cannot be missed, and will seriously affect the animals activity level and life span.
In some breeds Grade I or II mumers are so common as almost to be regarded as 'normal' and will have no prectical effects.

W

Hi there,

Could you please give me some advise, i tragically lost my 4mth old kitten to a terible accident with the tumble drier, on seeing how destraught my daughter and i were my parents went to the local cats protection and adopted two 5mth old sisters, i was told that there mother who has lived to the age of 9 and had upto 5 litter's has a heart murmur and that my two little girl's along with there 3 brother's also inherited the same problem. I have been advised that there murmur's are a gread 3-4. What are there chance's of surviving a anaesthetic when it come's to getting them spayed? Also reading some of your other note's should i ask my vet about Asprin?

Thank you for your time and i would greatly appreciate a speedy responce.
Rachel.

Hi, Rachel,

I think it is unlikely that an anaesthetic will be dangerouse for your kits when you get them spayed, so long as the the vet is aware of the problem.
Many cats enjoy long and happy lives despite having a heart murmur, and they do deserved good and loving homes.

W

PS how can a kitten 'have a terrible accident with a tumble drier'?

hi,
My cat is 12 years old and has swollen gums. the vet said he needs a teeth cleaning, in which he will have to have anaesthesia. I have heard that a cat with a heart mumur should not be put out with anaesthesia because they could die. 4 yrs. ago he was diagnosed with a grade 4 heart murmur, but when he went to the vet last week the vet didn't hear any heart murmur. they will be doing blood work before the surgery. is it safe to get his teeth clean, or too much of a risk??

Thanks!

Hi,

I would be much more inclined to go on the results of the blood tests before deciding to go ahead with a GA.

W

My vet just informed me that my one year old kitten has a stage 3 heart murmur. How severe is this? And what can I expect? How long of a life span do you think she will have? What can be done for her to extend her life? The vet said that they would check her yearly. However from what I've read here a stage 3 must be mid-way to bad.

Any help and/or advice will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Cheryl

Hi,
A Grade III heart mumer is quite serious in a kitten, and I think it proably will have a severe effect on her in later life.
The vet in charge of her is best placed to advise, but I think she should be checked at least once a year until signs of heart failure develop, if they do, and then checked more often once treatment has atarted.

W

Hello,

Having read the above, I've learned quite a bit about heart murmurs in cats! My 12mth old cat/kitten has just been diagnosed this morning with a probably congenital heart murmur (was not told the grade) but the vet was not hugely concerned - she said that many cats have heart murmurs and remain asymptomatic. Certainly I haven't noticed anything to worry about - she does tend to exhaust herself when dashing around after a new toy .. but then she always did! When she's very frightened she does tend to pant and cough a bit, but that's about it.

The complicating factor is that my cat is FiV positive - I wondered if this has any implications on her future management/care relating to the newly diagnosed heart murmur? She is perfectly healthy and has been an "inside" cat since birth (FiV was transmitted from her mother in the womb) so does not socialise with other cats. In fact the only time she comes into contact with them is when she boards at the cattery who have exceptional standards of cleanliness and ensure she's completely confined and away from the other cats. She has never had any infections or illnesses aside from the FiV.

I was wondering what the likely causes are of the heart murmur, for example in humans people with lower immune systems may be given prophylactics to prevent any possible infections or clots?

I have pet insurance so am not hugely worried about the costs but would like to find out a bit more about it - most sites I've found don't really go into any specifics - could anyone recommend somewhere with slightly more technical information? Please feel free to drop me an email if you can help

Many thanks!

Ruth

Hi,

Kittens born of FIV infected mothers frequently have congenital problems, and this may well be the case here. It may well not get worse as he gets older.
This is not the same as an acquired heart murmer resulting from an infection affecting the heart valves which is treated with antibiotics

W

Hi Walter,

Thanks for the information, I wasn't aware that it was commonplace amongst FiV kittens. It wasn't picked up at any earlier appointments but as others have mentioned I think she was particularly stressed this time (she would NOT get in her box when it came to take her!) and this might have made it more noticeable.

I'm pretty sure as you suggest it's congenital as she's not had any courses of antibiotics or known infections, so hopefully it should be a case of monitoring her for any symptoms and acting on it if she does start to show signs.

Thanks for the prompt info

Ruth

well i am amazed too at the fact hey even mention putting your cat under an anaesthetic!! i have 2 cats with a heart murmer, 1 is a 7 month old kitten and they have only just deteceted her's when they had her in to be spayed, of course they were very careful with her and it was 2 days before she could come home as they had to bring her back awake very slowly and carefully, her;s is not that severe but she will probably never be allowed to go under anaesthetic. My other cat is 5 years old, her haert murmer is progressivly getting worse, now it is a grade 4/5 and no way can she go under anaesthetic, she doesn't suffer with it too much other than i have to keep her really cool in summer.
Its upto your vet though at the end of the day i suppose!?!

I just wanted to tell you about my cat, who was diagnosed with a grade 3-4 heart murmur when she was a kitten. The vet told us that she would have approximately 6-12 months to live. The same cat lived to be 19 years old. We only lost her in may of this year. She lived a full and happy life and died of a liver tumour. Please don't think that a heart murmur is a definite death sentence. Some cats with heart murmurs go on to a ripe old age.
We have just homed a rescue cat this week - she is a 6 year old with a grade 4 heart murmur. Cats Protection were having trouble homing her because of her heart murmur - I think it scares people off. She is a beautiful and affectionate cat who is settling in very quickly. Lets hope she will live to be 19 too!

hi i took my 4 year old cat to the vet today and they have descovered that she has a heart murmur the vet told us that it is between a 1 and a 2, how can we tell if her symptomns get worse and what do we need to lok out for?
the vet did mention something about breathing through her mouth and collapsing y would this happen and how do cats at her age get a heart murmur?
many thanks katie

Hi, Katie,

A heart murmur 1-2 is not really of much significance. Do not worry about it, other than, maybe, getting it checked again in 6 months time to see if it gets any worse.

W

Very sadly I lost my cat to aortic thromboembolism 2 days ago. I had been told a few years ago on a routine annual check, at at several checks since, that he had a heart murmur ( he was 9 when he died), but no action was taken.

Should he have had an echo at diagnosis? The murmur was grad 3-4 on exam 2 days ago and echo showed a very large left atrium and a second clot. I keep wondering if he had had a scan we could have considered aspirin or something... I was also told it wasn't anything to worry about as he was so well, so didn't look out for any of the signs of heart failure.

I really feel I let him down and would be really grateful for your opinion. Please feel free to be honest; I don't think I could blame myself any more than I do already.

Thanks so much
H

Hi,

I am sorry to hear about the death or your cat from a thromboemblism. The heart murmer was presumably the result of the enlarged left atrium which would be connected with leftsided heart failure and atrio-ventricular valve deficiency.
I think it unlikely that any treatment could have helped. Long-term aspirin medication, as used in humans, would probably have killed him even earlier.

W

My cat is 11 years old and has had a level 5 heart murmur for years. It hasnt affected his health, and obviously not his life expectancy. He is still as bouncy as ever and has his made half hour as usual. If a dog has a heart murmumr its different but not as serious with cats becuase they are not runnin around perminately like a dog.
So dont worry

Thank you for that re-assuring contribution.

W

hi i was reading some of the questions and the answers you gave,
i just want to know for piece of mind really-

i have got a female kitten and i took for her first lot of jabs and the vet sed she had a heart murmur at level two will she be ok?

i value your reply.

thankyou

dave.

Hi,

A Grade II cardiac mumer in a kitten may well never have any adverse effects.

W

Hi
I had a cat with a heart murmur, he was diagnosed as a young cat and the murmur got progressively worse as he got older. He needed a thyroidectomy at 14, then became calcium deficient and diabetic, which I barely controlled, he had a late dental under anaesthetic with no adverse affects. I recently had him put to sleep aged 19 when his body failed he was struggling to walk and he stopped eating and I knew it was time. So his heart murmur didn't kill him.
However i have replaced him with a main coon kitten who has had a health check at 4 months and has been diagnosed with a grade 3 heart murmur, the breeder says it will go by 6 months, but i have noticed a slight sneeze/cough, when he is excited or energetic and am worried it may be something more sinister. I will take him back in 2 weeks and then 6 months to see if it has disappeared...my vet who is quiet new was a lot less reassuring than my old vet.
Time will tell, i suppose,
C xx

hi
we have a pet bengal that was diagnosed with a heart murmur grade 2 at 14 weeks old as i see from previous posts she should go on to live a normal life was wondering though are cats bourn with these murmurs or do they just appear ?

Hi,
This murmur will have been congenital and may well never cause your cat any problems.
However, it would be wise to ask the vet to check the heart for you whenever you go for its annual vaccination booster.

W

phew..glad i found this cos I found out today that my 9 week old kitten has a grade 3 heart murmur too. She gave me the impression that he could die at any moment. He's lively, playful, alert...absolutely lovely. I was devastated til finding this. Thanks everyone for the "positives".

hi

we have a kitten 6 months old diagnosed with heart sqeek , murmur , will this get worse for him are kittens bourn with this or is it something that just happens at anytime in life ?