Pets
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Cat heart murmer??
Hi
My poor kitty:( He had a urinary blockage and was at the vet from Friday morning until last night. He's 5 and has been very healthy until now. They unblocked him, gave fluids, etc, etc. In the course of his stay they discovered a heart murmer, grade 2 out of 6.
I talked to the vet for a while, it can be from cardiomyopathy, can be benign or less likely, thyroid issues.
They are recommending an electrocardiogram. The cardiologist is there one day a week. I'm going to do it, but does anybody have experience with a cat with a heart murmer or cardiomyopathy?
Thks!
Re: Cat heart murmer??
One of my 10yr olds has a heart murmer - I didn't know it till I took him in for a senior wellness exam. Don't know how long he's had it, it may be congenital. They have also suggested an echo but I haven't done it yet, and his thyroid tests have come back minimal (no hyperthyroidism yet). Heart murmers aren't necessarily bad in and of themselves, but they are good to know about and be aware of!
My Lunch Blog
ok, this makes me feel better, thks:)
Our cat was diagnosed with a heart murmur a few years ago, but the last time we had him at the specialist's hospital (for what turned out to be an unrelated matter) it appeared that his murmur was gone. As pp said, they definitely can be congenital and benign, but I can understand wanting to explore and better understand your cat's condition.
Hope it turns out to be nothing serious! GL!
"The hardest thing is to live richly in the present without letting it be tainted out of fear for the future or regret for the past." - Sylvia Plath
One of my cat's was diagnosed with a heart murmur after having a crisis with a blocked intestine, we opted not to give her medication as it stressed her out, and she is just fine 6 years later. We keep her indoors, and try not to let her get too stressed out, and the heart murmur reappears/disappears from vet visit to vet visit. She is even on the heavy side (quite heavy actually), and the murmur hasn't gotten worse over the years... knock on wood.
As for Cardiomyopathy.... I'm not going to lie to you, it can be devastating. The blessing if the murmur is from that, is that it's been caught early. We discovered my Ragdoll kitten had HCM one week before his 1st birthday when he went into congestive heart failure. He almost died twice and spent a week in the feline ICU... $4000 later he is now out of heart failure, but still has HCM. He takes meds/supplements but he's healthier than ever. The devastating part of HCM is the unknown... a kitty with this disease could live a long and healthy life, or they could not... but don't ever let a vet give you an estimate on "how much time" your kitty has because cat's don't listen to that!
Sometimes a murmur is just a murmur though, and doesn't mean she has any other heart issues, so make sure to do the ECG for sure! I have alot of information on the management of cardiomyopathy, but don't want to get you worried about that for no reason.... so if it turns out your kitty has that issue, then I can give it all to you then. The odds of it being this disease just because of a murmur though is relatively low (unless the vet has concerns you didn't mention), so try not to worry too much until you know for sure. For my "heart kitties" I always remember : "they are here for a good time, not a long time".
Thanks! If he has it i'll come back for more info. I'll probably scheduled the ECG in a couple of weeks, he has to go back when he finishes his meds to have his kidneys and stuff re-checked, so I'll do it then. I want him to relax at home for a bit first, he had a stressful weekend. He is definitely asymptomatic from a cardiac standpoint. Maybe the murmer was cause by all the stress? He did have it for all 4 days he was there, though. Again, thks!
My cat was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy about 6 years ago. He has had 2 echos in his life, but they are SO expensive and he is 11 now so I doubt we will do anymore. He is totally fine though! Very active and no signs of slowing down. He is on Enalapril and baby aspirin, but those are both pretty cheap.
So its not a death sentence by any means. As long as its slow progressing most cats live just fine with it!
After 2 years of IF workups/treatments and 2 IUIs, we have closed the door on fertility treatments.
We are very excited to be pursuing international adoption from China!
6000 miles and a day
KimmyB1020 I love to hear stories like these! When Buster was first diagnosed they made it sound like he would be lucky to make it to his 2nd birthday... but he will be turning 2 on Friday, and we haven't had any signs of congestive heart failure since the 1st emergency. I'm so glad your kitty is doing well, and has managed on medication. I would be thrilled if Buster made it to 11... one year at a time...so far so good.