Cat with heart murmur

muppet_man

Hi all,

My cat Oscar went for his annual booster yesterday.
Vet checked him out him out and said all is well but he had a heart murmur. He is nearly 3yrs, last vet didn't say anything. To be honest can't remember him checking.
A bit shocked I asked what to keep eye out for and he said chest infections and such like.
When I got home of course I looked it up and found that there were different grades of murmurs. From grade 1 to 6.
I looked on here but only found dogs with murmurs and from what I researched it's quite commom in cats.
I now need your help.
What's your experience of cat murmurs?
If it gets serious, what am I looking at? What traetment is needed? I'm in a position I can afford most treatment but what is it?
How about insurance(if i was to get it), they'll only cover pre-existance conditions?

mymo

Pet insurance probably won't cover it now its been found, they usually only cover stuff found after insurance starts.
While I have no experience of it in cats, we had a dog with a heart murmur for 17years, we had to watch for coughing and breathlessness.
Thankfully he never needed meds until shortly before he died, but the tablets were very cheap about £1 a month(this was many years ago).
Many animals and people live with heart murmurs quite normal lives so I wouldn't worry too much. If it was a bad one the vet would have said more.
Just keep an eye on him, and keep his weight down as that helps.

lorebringer

Insurance will not cover a pre existing heart condition (I have tried over and over!).

Price of medication depends on the severity of the murmur. I currently have 2 dogs with heart murmurs, both due to mitral valve disease (MVD). One is nearly 5 years old, has a grade 2 murmur and is on a light diuretic to keep fluid off her lungs (maybe €10 per month for medication, if even!). Her murmur hasn't changed in about two years so she's doing well on the meds! The other is 10/11(ish) - he's a rescue - and the last time he had an ECG he had a grade 5 murmur, but it has more than likely deteriorated to a grade 6 by now. He is classed as having congestive heart failure (CHF) and is very affected by it. As a result he has numerous things wrong with him (a few to mention - endocarditis, cardiomyopathy, cardiomegaly, pulmonary and abdominal oedema... the list goes on.). He is very high maintenance needing constant care and monitoring and a lot of daily medication. His immune system is shot and he picks up a lot of infections so antibiotics and anti inflammatories are regulars on his list of medications. Cost wise, a minimum of €70 - €90 per month for medication but often it is higher than this. This does not include tests, x rays etc that need to be done.

If your vet is not too concerned, there is probably not too much to worry about. With a heart problem, the sooner the meds are started the better and if there was not mention of this it is probably quite a minor murmur. Keep his weight down as extra weight can put strain on the heart and keep an eye out for him getting out of breath, not wanting to play, tiredness and coughing. Cats and dogs (and humans) suffer essentially the same symptoms when it comes to murmurs and, as mymo said, plenty live very long and happy lives!

muppet_man

Thanks for the replies.
@lorebringer it looks like you've really been through the ringer with you're two dogs . Hopefully everything works out and they'll have long and happy life with you.

As you both said vet wasn't too concerned so probably not much to worry about. Just a matter of keeping a eye on him.
He is a big cat (nearly 7kg) but not overweight, very active and truely the best hunter I've ever seen. As he gets older and less active as cats do weight will be an issue.
Keep the replies/suggestions coming and would really like to hear from cat owners and what treatment they've been through

mymo

7kgs:eek:
Thats a big cat, any Tiger in him?:p
Its good he's active it should help, I hope you have many happy years with him.