Kitten with heart murmur!

T, I GG, and Er had their six week vet check today. They have ear mites, which I should have noticed. And GG, the brown tabby female, has a serious heart murmur. There is a kitten named Angel from the older litter, with a different Mom, who has the same murmur.

Angel will see the vet on Friday to be evaluated for her spay. She is 4-1/2 months old. Her only littermate died in infancy. The plan is to do an ultrasound and x-ray to determine the extent of Angel's cardiac issues prior to her spay. Angel has both the heart murmur and a fast heartrate. Since these kittens have mothers who are littermates, and there were only 2 males in the home fathering both the momcats and the kittens, it is extremely likely that Angel and GG have the same health issues.

I have reviewed threads about heart murmurs. I also looked up Patent Ductus Arteriosus, as the vet believes that could be causing the murmur.

Yesterday someone looked at the kittens, and chose GG and Er to pre-adopt, as she wanted two brown tabbies. I haven't spoken to her yet, but most likely she would rather wait two more weeks for the next litter from the same family, to get two healthy kittens. I have 4 more brown tabbies in the second litter.

It is so disconcerting after having so many healthy litters, to hear sweet GG has issues!

Isn't she photogenic!?!

Oh poor babies! She is just beautiful! What kind of care and things do you think she will need?

Well.....as a nurse I like to look at worst case scenarios. When preggers with ds, I figured his abnormal heart ultrasound (prenatal) meant open heart surgery as an infant. A second more accurate ultrasound revealed a normal healthy heart to the cardiac specialist. At 7, ds is very healthy, with no cardiac issues ever.

I think many kittens have heart murmurs, and are expected to outgrow them. However, this is the same vet who initially saw Angel. She says it sounds like the same thing Angel has. Also said it sounds like PDA. From my looking on-line, it sounds like a small PDA is just monitored. A large one would be surgically corrected with a small stitch, or via cardiac catheter. Of course, the kitten needs to be quite a bit older to have the corrective procedure done.

Hopefully I will learn more after Angel's check-up.

Sending lots of vibes for Angel and GG. She's a gorgeous little girl!
I'll be curious what you find out about their murmurs.

Aww, everything crossed for her.

Oh! poor GG and Angel.... I hope everything works out ok At least there won't be anymore kittens born who might have this condition.

My son had pda as a child but at last check it has closed. He needed antibiotics for dental cleanings ect. Not sure what its like in cats/kittens though.

Awwww....she is udderly adorable! I hope all goes well at Angel's vet check & that you can figure things out. From what I'm remembering, these kittens will stay in foster homes until adopted, right? Hopefully, someone will come along who understands how truly lucky & special both Angel & GG are & adopts them...

Thanks for all the posts. I hope it is something that won't require surgery! And yes, the Second Chance kitties have foster homes for as long as necessary...some poor kitties are 6-7 years old, and have been with us since they were kittens!

I posted pics in the furpics thread of some kittens who I thought would not be adopted, but some extra loving families came along and chose them. So Angel and GG (aka Double Geh) do still have a good chance of finding homes!

The person who had chosen GG and Er decided to wait two more weeks for 2 healthy tabbies from the second litter. She just isn't in the financial position to take on the responsibility for a special needs kitten right now. I'm sure she will make a good home for GG's younger cousins, though!

Angel saw the vet, and she has an enlarged heart and fast heartrate. She could not be spayed, they decided to put her on medication (propranolol) and wait a few more months.

I listened to the hearts of the younger kittens, and they all sound fine. But I am worried about GG. When she is due for another vet check, I'll see if they recommend giving her propranolol, too. I think she is too young for it now.

Oh poor baby! I hope things improve with medication.