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Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

Been told our 4 year old cat has a heart murmur...any advice

23 replies

flowerpot1000000 · 06/06/2018 21:02

Only toom him for his annual injections. They gave him a check over and the vet said he's got a heart murmur did you know. Never been mentioned before vet just said if we notice irratic breathing or him struggling to bring him back.

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Justmuddlingalong · 06/06/2018 21:04

My old tom cat had a heart murmur diagnosed at his annual check up aged about 2. He had no side effects and lived to a ripe old age. Try not to worry.

chemenger · 06/06/2018 21:05

Did they say what grade it was?

Littletreefrog · 06/06/2018 21:06

Not a cat but our dog had a heart murmur and lived a happy life dying of old age.

Original poster
flowerpot1000000 · 06/06/2018 21:08

Nope just said it was unusal at such a young age. He is 4 and does sleep all day! Other than that a happy chappy

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KarmaStar · 06/06/2018 21:08

My cat has had one since a tiny bundle of fluff(born at home)he is now six and a half and fine.🐈

LilacIris · 06/06/2018 21:09

Odd your vet said it was unusual at such a young age as many cats are born with them. Both of mine are still going strong.

Toddlerteaplease · 06/06/2018 21:12

I was told my 5 year old Rescue Persian has a heart murmur, but no one told me what grade it was. So I decided it probably wasn't serious and didn't do anything about it. Until she went for a dental last October and I saw the vets notes and it turns out it was a grade 4. So I had her scanned and she turned out to be on the verge of heart failure and had cardiomyopathy.
She's now on diuretics, anti coagulation and beta blockers and doing very well. Apart from occasional laboured breathing you'd have no idea she's so ill!
This is her!
I would get your cat scanned for peace of mind.

Been told our 4 year old cat has a heart murmur...any advice
littlecabbage · 06/06/2018 21:14

Vet here. Having a murmur does not give an indication of life expectancy by itself. A murmur is a sound caused by blood flowing around the heart in a different direction to usual (i.e. if one of the valves is not closing properly, and some blood is flowing back the way it came, instead of onwards).

There are different conditions which may have a murmur associated with them. The best way to investigate this further, is to perform an ultrasound scan of the heart (echocardiography). Your vet practice may be able to offer this, or may need to refer you to a cardiac specialist.

One of the most common reasons for a cat to develop a heart murmur, is a disease called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which can shorten lifespan. But I wouldn’t want to speculate what is wrong and definitely recommend that you ask your vet about further investigation, especially if you are insured. Hope that helps.

Toddlerteaplease · 06/06/2018 21:17

Is your cat a particular breed as some are more prone to heart disease?
Fingers crossed it's an innocent murmur.

littlecabbage · 06/06/2018 21:17

The posters who are describing their pets who have had a murmur since young kittens, probably have a different heart issue to the one your cat has, if your cat did not have a murmur until this year.

What breed is your cat? A “posh” one or a regular DSH/DLH?

girlinleeds · 06/06/2018 21:24

Our cat was diagnosed with a heart murmur when we adopted her, she was fine until last year when she got ill, arranged a heart scan and found she had a very rare heart defect we managed her problem with various drugs but unfortunately had to have her put to sleep this year at 6 years of age. Many heart murmurs are innocent but if you can get a heart scan done at least you will know what your dealing with and best treatment, without the scan our cats life could have been shortened by wrong treatment

Original poster
flowerpot1000000 · 06/06/2018 21:24

Just a moggie got him from the rspca. Vet wasnt bothered just said if he breathing is fast or he is struggling to breathe bring him back. He is great no problems

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Original poster
flowerpot1000000 · 06/06/2018 21:25

I dont have insurance I should get him covered

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Grumpyoldpersonwithcats · 06/06/2018 21:31

My old cat was diagnosed with a heart murmur when he was about 12 - never prescribed any treatment. It only showed up every other year at his annual check ups. - I suspect he was toying with us Grin. He lived to 20.

Toddlerteaplease · 06/06/2018 21:34

Definitely get him insured. Should he develop heart disease, it's very expensive!! My cats have between them run up bills of nearly £12k since February 2017! Fortunately Tesco have been brilliant

yaffingale · 06/06/2018 21:37

I can't comment on the mumour, but with regards to insurance, because your cat has already been seen by the vet the insurance company may treat it as pre existing and possibly put an exclusion on the policy.

Hope kitty is ok Smile

Nothisispatrick · 06/06/2018 21:39

My Ragdoll has a hurt murmur, was listened to a few weeks ago and vet said it was mild. Doesn't seem to cause her any issues.

Els1e · 07/06/2018 00:34

Eric has a heart murmur and is doing fine at age 15. Cats are chilled (self centred) characters. He will do fine. Please do not worry.

problembottom · 07/06/2018 09:41

This happened to me when my cat was two and they referred him to the cardiologist for a scan who found he had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy as the vet above describes. Two years on he's absolutely fine, long may it continue, we monitor his breathing every month.

FizzingWhizzbee · 07/06/2018 10:21

My cat got diagnosed with a heart murmur in similar circumstance. Other vets completely failed to find said murmur, even when they were specifically checking for it.

One once told me that the cat probably didn't have one after all, she was probably just super stressed from being at the vets and that made it sound like she had one.

littlecabbage · 07/06/2018 10:26

I’m afraid it is true as PP said that you will not be covered for anything heart-related now. As a murmur has already been found, it is now a pre-existing condition. But would still recommend insurance for anything else which may develop.

Eric has a heart murmur and is doing fine at age 15. Cats are chilled (self centred) characters. He will do fine. Please do not worry.

Sorry, but this is a false reassurance. Eric may well be fine with his murmur and that’s great, but it sounds as though his murmur is not caused by a serious underlying condition. Other cats DO have serious underlying conditions causing their murmurs. Being “chilled” has nothing to do with it.

chemenger · 07/06/2018 10:54

One of my foster cats had a grade 4 murmur noted on his first vet trip. Months later when I finally managed to get him back to the vet they couldn’t hear one at all. We came to the conclusion is was to do with his level of stress on the first visit. However I also had a cat of my own who had a murmur appear when he was about 2 which developed rapidly into cardiomyopathy.

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 07/06/2018 13:20

We were told Harry had a heart murmur earlier this year. I wasn't told a grade but the vet told me that and the results of a blood test indicated he was heading for heart failure. We took him to a different vet for a heart scan and they couldn't find anything wrong! The first vet had also told me his teeth were in very bad condition and he needed a dental but wouldn't be able to have one because of his heart. Vet number 2 said his teeth were fine...

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