Cat with heart murmur??

cwoz01

Hi all - new to the forum and just putting a question out there.. has anyone had a cat diagnosed with a heart murmur?
We've been told our much loved boy has a "severe" murmur, as part of his annual vaccinations and health check up, and the vet is concerned enough to send him for an ECG (waiting on the referral atm)..
I have done the usual, and googled, and of course I'm now very worried! But I also read that it's relatively common, and doesn't always have any health impact.
He's young (just turned 2) and is otherwise healthy - is anyone else in the same boat? Or has anyone had any experience of treatment post-diagnosis?

ElusiveLucy

I have a 14 year old Burmese who has had a heart murmur all her life. It has had no impact on her but I do get a bit fed up with the vet telling me each time they listen to her heart! I don't know the severity of her murmur, I certainly never had to take her for an ECG, but it hasn't impacted her at all.

Lil_Me_2

Mine was diagnosed at just over a year old and she's still going strong aged 9 now. Our vet is a hospital with a cardio specialist and she's insured so we had no problems in getting her referred for a scan of her heart. She's been in for a scan every 6-12 months depending on whether she's deteriorated or not, however she's been pretty stable for a few years taking aspirin. Vet suggested buying over the counter stuff after the first prescription, works out as less than 50p per year!

Slinky

We had two cats at different times, both diagnosed with slight heart murmurs. The first lived to 20, the second unfortunately was hit by a car. I wouldn't have known there was anything wrong but for the vets telling me.

seven-day-weekend

One of our cats was diagnosed with a heart murmur at around 12. She's now 18, can still jump and climb and occasionally run. It does not seem to have affected her at all.

cwoz01

Thanks all


My little Sprout has had his scan now, he's got an enlarged heart which he was likely born with. His murmur was graded as a 4 out of a possible 6, so really quite loud.
We've been given some medication which he'll likely have to take for life, to stop the muscle developing any further - they're meant to taste "nice" but so far he's been having none of it!


The vet said she's had cats diagnosed much later in life live well into double digits, so we're hopeful he'll live a long and happy life - he certainly hasn't shown any physical signs of the condition impacting him so far, he's still his usual naughty self!