Can anyone tell me anything about cat heart murmurs?

[LifeInTheSlowLane]

We got two rescue cats last week, they had been vet checked, neutered and vaccinated so we thought all was fine. One of them started scratching her ear the other day so I took them both to the vet thinking it could be ear mites or something. Anyway, the vet gave them a good check-up and says the younger one (about 1yr we think) has a heart murmur.

I am naturally a bit shocked and worried as wasn't expecting this! Vet was not overly concerned as the cat is otherwise very well, playful, eats well etc and just said he should be monitored regularly. I noticed the wrote Grade II on his computer notes and I think murmurs are graded I - VI depending on seriousness but I just wanted to see if there was anyone out there who could give me any advice as the vet was not v.forthcoming! Will my cat be ok? Will I have big problems and huge bills ahead? Any advice much appreciated

There are lots of different types of murmurs and it is difficult to generalise about them. However, in cats a large number of murmurs are 'innocent' that is never cause any problems. Really to know what is the cause of the problem you may need further investigations.
To help put your mind a rest a vet friend of mine adopted a cat with a grade 6 murmur due to a hole in the heart when she worked in Hong kong this cat is still very much alive over 9 years later it has moved from Hong Kong to Brazil, then to UK with 6 months in quarantine and now lives in Georgia (ex USSR).

Thanks Lizcat! I think I read about your friend in another post of yours when I was doing a search on this subject on MN yesterday. The cat seems otherwise really well, full of energy, eating plenty etc so it was a major shock to hear this from the vet.

My little girlcat was diagnosed with the same at about the same age. The vet told me not to be unduly worried, it could be treated but wouldn't affect her general health and well-being much. I decided that, as she's a very shy and nervous creature, the stress of being at the vet for treatment would have worse side-effects than just letting her get on with it.

She's now 4 and her favourite game is chasing my boycat round the house at high speed!

Great to hear that purple!

Our Kitten was apparently diagnosed with this when he was tiny, we had him as a "first refusal" from a big cat sanctuary after DD fell in love with him when she was given a special VIP tour of the nursery after raising funds for them with her Guy Fawkes, he was very young, so they wouldn't let us reserve him as such.

No heart murmur was mentioned then, but I kept in touch with them on his progress etc as we were hoping we could have him in time for Xmas....so you can imagine my shock on ringing 1 day, speaking to a different person & "his heart murmur suddenly being mentioned & when I questioned it, was told he was born with it, like you I was really worried as to what we were letting ourselves in for, especially as DD was already so excited:(

but turns out it is quite common, our Kitten has grown out of it, & we were shocked to find out our older girl who is another rescue cat...from the same sanctuary ALSO had it when youngr
er, & has also now grown out of it, she sounds a lot like your Cat in temperament purple, but our Tom is very different, he;s so laid back & rag doll like its unreal

So if my experience is anything to go by, seems more common than I realised, & they can grow out f it too

Not cats, but our old dog had a heart murmur...he went on till he was 15!

I don't think it's much to worry about...can you question the vet a little more?

I'd heard that kittens can grow out of it, but my cat is about 1yr we think - would he have grown out of it by now or would it be permanent? I'm wondering why the cat rescue didn't mention it - he was vet checked, neutered and given his vaccs in October so I'm not sure if it wasn't noticed or if it has come on since then. I don't really want to ring them up about it because we can't do anything about it now - we have all fallen in love with him!!

Hello LifeInTheSlowLane, both my cats have heart murmurs. One is nearly 17, the other just a year younger. They are both going strong and have never needed special treatment for this condition. The vet monitors it when I take them for their check-ups and I think if either cat's murmur changed dramatically we'd need to investigate further but so far so good...

Do get your cats insured though if you haven't already... I never got round to it and one of them developed digestive problems that have usually cost several hundred pounds a year to sort .

Thanks Maud, I have got them both insured but unfortunately since we took them to the vets for the ear mites within the first 14 days of the insurance I fear that they will not cover anything to do with the heart murmur in future as it will count as a "pre-existing condition". I am very reassured to hear from everyone that the heart murmur may not be a problem though, so I guess the insurance may be handy for any other accident or illness that comes along!!

My cat has a heart murmur....she is nearly 22!

My cat has a heart murmur, he's 14 and often seen hurtling around the garden at high speed chasing and killing poor mice. It has got worse over the years, and the other year the vet told me at that point I shouldn't expect him to live for much longer than a year given his age and murmur, that was 3 years ago so who knows!

You do have to keep an eye out for them suddenly becoming very lethargic, panting, and breathing that looks like they're using their stomach, that's an immediate vet trip for medication but otherwise it's not too big a deal (said she, quickly looking out the garden to make sure said cat is OK!)

Thanks Vivien, it's really reassuring to hear all these positive stories . My cat seems really well, he did have a sort of coughing fit once, but he'd just come out from under our bed so I think that dust is more likely the reason for that !!