Cat heart murmur question

LinZem

I feel like I don't talk about my cats too often, but my cat Mia has a grade 2 heart murmur which she has had all her life. She is now 7. It doesn't seem to affect her at all so we've just kind of left things be. We talked to the vet years ago about things to watch for and we've just kept our eye on her.  I guess I'm just rethinking things possibly. Would you consider seeing a cardiologist in this scenario? My current vet hasn't really pushed it, but did mention that she could have a shortened life expectancy due to the possibility of a clot forming.

Here is a picture of her just because I think she's cute

 

 

MMRoberts11

Cat's can often have a murmur.  If your vet wasn't too concerned about it and your cat otherwise seems healthy I would just continue to monitor her.  If you did see a cardiologist the most they would likely do would be, after tests, giving her meds but if she's otherwise healthy with a grade 2 murmur I wouldn't worry about it too much.

mainerocks

My KittyCat had one and lived with it for years without any issues. We never went the cardiologist route. He ended up dying of lung cancer, and still had a strong ticker. 

kellbell1919

I probably wouldn't unless it gets worse.

HelloSweetie1

My siamese has a murmur as well.  She was diagnosed 6 years ago, and is now 11.  Aside from being a rather heavy gal, she is in perfect health, and gets monitored at her yearly visits to be sure the murmur isn't getting worse.  We could have her a low dose of aspirin, but don't because she seems to not really need it, and stresses when we try to give it to her.

Our Ragdoll has a heart condition, and a history of congestive heart failure, and he's on every med under the sun!  I think you should take your kitty to a cardiologist if you would like the peace of mind, but otherwise shouldn't worry about her throwing a clot and having a short life expectancy.  If she isn't giving you any cause for concern, then she is probably feeling great 

If clots are what you a afraid of however, you could look at giving Mia the supplement Nattokinase (a vitamin k free version however).  It is a soy based supplement that not only prevents clots by thinning the blood, but is also believed to help break clots up.  I have my ragdoll on this for his heart disease instead of aspirin, and so far so good.  Other supplements you may want to consider are fish oil and Ubiquinol (a superior form of coenzyme q-10).  Buster isn't a finicky eater though, so I am able to put these in his food without a problem. 

For my murmur kitty Nyah however, I don't bother giving her these meds yet, because she really does seem to be ok, and I don't want to mess with her food too much because it stresses her out... which also isn't good for kitties with heart issues.  Go with your gut though, and if it's telling you to take her to a cardiologist, and you have the money do so, then it wouldn't be a bad thing.  Here is a link to more information on the supplements I mentioned, as well as others that might be beneficial:

 http://www.holisticat.com/hcm/All-Pages.html

 Please however, only put Mia on one form of blood thinner... if she's on aspirin, wait until it's out of her system to give her Natto, etc.  

 

LinZem

Thanks for the input everyone. I think I'll hold off on the cardiologist. I was just wanted to make sure there wasn't something I was overlooking. Every time we've discussed it with the vet I have been under the impression that there really isn't anything to be done now since she isn't having any symptoms so I didn't see the point in further diagnostics, even as a baseline.

MNVegas

Sassy has a heart murmur and she is going on 16 y/o. 

pepomntpat

Target has a heart murmur and he is ten. He also has hypertension. They've done a few ultrasounds of his heart, but our regular vet feels confident in handling the issue for the time being. 

There isn't a whole lot of preventative care that a cardiologist could do especially with a mild murmur, so I'd just keep an eye on it. Your kitty is cute. Such blue eyes! 

Bigwuhead

Gutman has a murmur.  He's a 1.5 now and it hasn't gotten better.  Not worse, but not better.  They will just monitor and we know what to look for but we were told it's pretty normal.  Still sucks.

LinZem

Bigwuhead:

Gutman has a murmur.  He's a 1.5 now and it hasn't gotten better.  Not worse, but not better.  They will just monitor and we know what to look for but we were told it's pretty normal.  Still sucks.

Same with my cat. Her murmur has always been a grade 2. Did they tell you the grade?