Does anyone have a cat with a heart murmur?

[Hopefulmidwife]

Hello!

My cat is 2.5 years, and was diagnosed with a grade 1 heart murmur last year. So around 1.5 years. Today we went for his booster jabs and his murmur has got worse, approx a grade 3. He's had bloods done. Depending on the results he may need more tests.

I stupidly never insured him because he was an indoor cat and I just kept putting it off. I know I shouldn't have and that's my fault, I know that.

But I'm unsure now what happens. Will it get worse and he'll just become poorly? Will he live to a ripe old age? The vet/nurse/assistant (not sure) did say depending on the results will depend on what will happen which I understand but just looking to see if anyone has any experience?

I'm fully expecting an expensive cat from now on! The vets said it's more than likely hereditary as he's so young, plus last year we were told he had a bit of bengal in him which is common in them too.

Any advice?

Thank you @WildCherryBlossom that's a nice way of doing it. I may do things that way. He's very young, and I'm not a vet nor do I have x ray vision but he seems happy and healthy, he plays, he snoozes, he stalks and kneads. He's got a wonderful life despite being an indoor cat. Il see what the bloods reveal but I can't imagine putting him on meds this early. Besides, he wouldn't bloody eat them anyway!!

Testing isn't invasive. It's just an ultrasound scan of the heart. With electrodes taped round their paws. My cardiologist said she's only had to sedate a very few cats as most will lie still.

HCM = Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, a heart condition common in some breeds of cat and a heart murmur is often the first sign. If you can rule that out you’ve got a much better prognosis.

Mine also is an indoor cat that tires quickly after playing - but still is active and happy and playful anyway IFKYIM. We were told he would be prone to kidney problems so to keep an eye on his wee etc. but the vet seems to think he'll be absolutely fine. Adopted age 11 and still going strong!

Echo the ease of the ultrasound.. plus, you then get to see their heart beating when the cardiologist talks through their findings, which is really fascinating!

Cardiologist is a no go unfortunately. He's not insured and have been told it would be about 2k for a visit to them 🤦‍♀️

@Hopefulmidwife my cardiologist charges nowhere near that. It's about £600. Or you might be able to find a normal vet with an I test in cardiology who will scan.
Magic was initially seen as a breed screen, as it's cheaper around £300. But she is a Persian and therefore high risk. Where in the up are you. My cardiologist is in Derbyshire, but covers Cheshire, Staffordshire and the East Midlands.

We were referred to a cardiologist to start with but I found a local vet who could do the same scan for around £400.

Our scan was about £775 ish, so yes not cheap but not as expensive as you've been quoted. This was at a specialist hospital too so might be worth asking around. But it's still an awful lot of money so totally get that

I'm in the south west. I think we'll see how it goes, he had to have repeat bloods last night so will be a few days until we know what's happening. I'm on a very low wage in the NHS so deffo can't afford anything yet 😂 Fingers crossed he can just carry on chilling like a lot of other cats! 😃

Best of luck op. Enjoy your happy cat. Mine is loving the Christmas season: baubles and fairy lights and people in & out of the house. He thrives on the mild chaos of family life and Christmas is his favourite time. Currently dozing in front of a log fire 😽

My moggy has HCM, diagnosed last year, she is 5 now. Her murmur has just gone from a 2 to a 3 but she has no symptoms and stays well on 1 pill a day. Keeping fingers crossed that she has a few more good years ahead

When my cat has his jabs they told me they thought he might have a heart murmur. Left it to me to decide what to do. They told me they can have a murmer and leads to nothing or can have issues with no pre warning.

This year no sign of it. I think it was stress related. He gets so traumatised going to the vets he turns into a shuddering dribbling pile of jelly cat!

Although Troy went to the vets for jabs and an annual check up he was diagnosed with HCM aged 5 with no previous indicators. He was a black and white moggy who coughed a couple of times and I whipped him off to the vets immediately. He was referred to Langfords who found he had HCM. Sadly he died just before his 6th Birthday. He was insured.

@Hopefulmidwife The DNA swab for HCM is about £35. Definitely worth doing. We breed Ragdoll’s so DNA test all our cats beforehand as it’s a genetic disease. It’s really cheap and can tell you what you’re dealing with.

Just a little update. Had a phone call today regardinf his bloods. His pro BNP (looking for the protein found in heart failure) shouldn't be over 200. His is over 1000. He needs to go on medication asap. He has an X-ray booked for Monday, and we'll go from there. Will cost a bit but I can afford it for now. I asked if this meant his life expectancy was shortened considerably and she said yes, almost definitely. I was at work when I got the phone call and cried my eyes out. So I guess we'll go from Monday ☹️

I had no idea that there is a blood test for heart failure. Maia did really well on medication, she was on 8 pills a day. I suggest getting a pill syringe thing. They are all tiny though.

I'm sorry to hear that Hopefulmidwife.

Harry had the blood test Toddler. His proBNP was high (I can't remember what it was) and he was put on medication until he had the scan. The scan showed he didn't have heart failure though so he's no longer on medication and the vet listens to his heart when he's there and there's been no change.