My cat has a heart murmur

[Allthegoodusernamesareused]

Hello. My cat (female, 9.5 years old) had a vet appointment today, just her annual check up and vaccinations.

The vet told my husband that she has a heart murmur. The vet said we should consider whether we want a scan done but it's "very expensive", sadly he did not ask how much! She's insured though so am not too worried about cost.

I'll make further enquiries about a scan but am now very worried. She's very much 'my' cat and my absolute shadow whether I'm at home.

Anyone got any experience of a hear murmur in an older cat? Any reassurance or advice gratefully received!

Photo for cat tax.

I found out by accident that my cat had a grade 4 murmur. I was aware she had one but no one told me it was that severe. The vet x rayed her to see if it needed further investigation and it showed her heart was enlarged. She had HCM. But was asymptomatic. Each scan was about £700 at a specialist cardiologist. Fortunately insurance covered it.

She did really well on medication for 9 months after diagnosis.

Ive had two cats from a Rescue three weeks ago and I took them both to the Vets today and I was told that one of them has a heart murmur.

This came as a complete shock as I would have assumed this is something that would have been picked up prior to re-homing, as I assumed all the cats would have been checked over by a Vet. Especially seeing as the Rescue Centre had spayed them.

Anyhow, the Vet then started talking about sending her off for a heart scan and her possibly needing treatment etc and it’s really taken me by surprise, especially as I assumed the cat time be in good health seeing as it was re-homed.

But from reading this thread it doesn’t seem that heart
murmurs can be quite innocent or not actually cause many problems to the cat?

We've decided to go ahead with the heart scan. Although expensive, it's mostly covered by insurance, and I want the peace of mind.

Loads of cats have heart murmurs. The scan sounds like money for old rope…

Mine made it 16, vets just kept an eye on it during her regular visits and it was a tumour that forced our hand to have her put down. So I honestly wouldn’t worry. Plus double check your vets aren’t owned by a big chain they might be under pressure to up sell expensive stuff that isn’t necessary.

I was told our cat had a heart murmur at a very early vet appointment. It was never mentioned again and she lived to 4 days off her 18th birthday.

I don’t see the point in tests unless there’s some possible treatment. If it’s not actually causing breathlessness etc I wouldn’t worry. One of mine has had a heart murmur since birth, he’s 6 and as fit as a fiddle.

@Allthegoodusernamesareused
What was the outcome of the scan?

I would have suggested a blood test first. My cat is 11; at his recent check-up the vet said he has a grade 2 heart murmur and was also concerned that he'd lost weight since the last one (he had been a bit overweight so I thought it was a good thing, but the vet said it could be a sign of an issue). So on the vet's recommendation we did blood tests - a senior cat screening covering various things. He's been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism which can be associated with heart problems, apparently. We are getting the scan (covered by insurance) but I am fully expecting/hoping the outcome to be that he doesn't have a heart issue needing treatment. If his bloods had been normal I would have hesitated to get the scan.

@LondonLady1980 we also have a newish rescue cat with a heart murmur, I too was a bit surprised something as simple to pick up on hadn’t been. Or perhaps just wasn’t disclosed? It’s severe enough to warrant further investigation, which she’s had. Nothing other than Cardialis monitoring for now as she has only one physical indicator of heart disease, everything else looks okay.

I could have done without it frankly … but then I think, what would have happened to a shy little cat in a shelter, with heart disease? No one’s ideal pet. So we have her, and she has us? And is she remotely grateful? Of course not 😆

One of ours had one. Made no difference. For that matter I’ve got one but was in my 40s before I knew. Never really give it any thought.

I've had a heart murmur all my life and I'm fine. Well,I'm 75 and slowing down quite a bit, but none of that is due to the murmur,. Doctors usually ask if I know I have a murmur, then just shrug and say, so it's normal for you.

Our nearly 8yo moggie has recently been diagnosed with Cardiomyopathy after a funny turn a few weeks ago. Vet said she had a heart murmur, never mentioned before. Hers was 3 out of 5 in severity.
We had a scan (£1100) thankfully the insurance paid out, she's now on Clopidogrel and Atenolol for life.
She a little cutie but we wee a bit scared about the cost!