Heart tremor in kitten!! HELP!!

Hi everyone,

I've just purchased a kitten, its 6 weeks old and its owner has just taken it to the vet for a check up. 3 of the kittens from her litter have heart tremors. The vet said that this often happens in kittens and puppies, and that it could be just temporary.

I'm very concerned with this and whether its a dangerous diagnosis.
The owner is offering to pay me back the money and accept the kitten back, but I am in love with it already and really don't want to lose it!

Help is wanted asap! Thank you!

Like a heart murmur? It is definitely a good possibility that they will outgrow these, in my experience. What breed is it? What is the level of the murmur?

My Meeko used to have one and she grew out of it.

I think the owner is offering to give your money back and take the kitten back to be fair but it sounds as if keeping the kitten is an option. I guess it would depend on why you purchased a kitten in the first place. If you were looking for a love pet that was going to be sterilized any way - then why return the little one if you are in love with it? I would keep it but I am not financial savvy when it comes to furbabies - I always make decisions with my heart never with my head.

If you were looking to breed the cat then a second thought may be in order. Also degree / type ???? It sounds as if these things in cats are a lot like they are in humans - it isn't uncommon for human children to have mummers many do out grow them however some healthy adults still have their heart mummer without ill effect.

Thank you all for your help.

He's a Ragdoll/Himalayan mix, and the Vet as you all said has already mentioned that this is very common. I'm not the one that took the kitten to the vet, as the owner hasn't delivered him to us yet. The owner took it, so I do not have any detailed information, other than the thing the owner has mentioned.

The level of the murmur is 2/6.

At 6 weeks old and a level 2 out of 6 murmur, the chances are fairly decent that the kitten will grow out of the murmur. When newborn, kittens aren't completely "cooked" (if you will please pardon the crude description *grin*) and some of their organs are not fully developed. The heart is one such organ in kittens so I would give it until he is 10 to 12 weeks old and then have him checked again. When will you be receiving him? I hope you will let him stay at his current home with his momma until he's at least 10 to 12 weeks old ... they really do benefit so much from having those extra few weeks to learn from their Mommas.

Please keep us posted on his progress and of course, we always love pictures.

Best of luck with your new little guy.

Thank you! That helps a lot
The owner has told us almost the same thing, but we really wanted to be sure, because we're new at this kitten thing!

I have a Ragdoll as well, and my Smudge's brother, Chance, was diagnosed with a fairly severe heart murmur at around 12 weeks, I think. After several more weeks, the same vet couldn't detect the murmur, so it is possible to outgrow. I would see what time does.

Don't panic. its probably a heart MURMER - not a tremor, and the vet's right - most kittens will grow out of it by 6 months old.

But I wanted to caution you on adopting kittens under 10-12 weeks old. At 6 weeks the kitten is barely weaned and really needed to stay with mom and siblings for a healthy kitten (behavior wise and socially). If you only have the 6 week old kitten and no other pets, you risk your kitten developing bad behaviors related from leaving so soon. At 6 weeks old most kittens are STILL nursing from mom which is important.

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

But I wanted to caution you on adopting kittens under 10-12 weeks old. At 6 weeks the kitten is barely weaned and really needed to stay with mom and siblings for a healthy kitten (behavior wise and socially). If you only have the 6 week old kitten and no other pets, you risk your kitten developing bad behaviors related from leaving so soon. At 6 weeks old most kittens are STILL nursing from mom which is important.

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my concern was more for this too. i would question why anyone would let a kitten go at such a young age. i hope everything is ok with him.

The kitten is actually 9 weeks old, sorry for the mistake.
We were advised to keep her with her mother longer, however
the owner is trying to get rid of them quicker -for lack of a better term
she was giving them away earlier, however we asked that it stay for a while longer, and she'd like us to pick him up tomorrow!

Things are a little strange with this breeder, no? I think it's a little strange that they will refund the money, then turn around and want the kitten gone right away? (maybe there is a mitigating circumstance, I don't know the whole story...)

But if you do love him, and his murmur is 2 out of 6, maybe it would be best to rescue him from this situation. It would be better if he were with his mom, but if you teach him the proper behaviors, you could finish up mom's job.

Let us know what happens!!!

I don't want to alarm you, but make you aware of the situation that we were placed in with a heart murmur. Our cat, Andy, was diagnosed with a murmur as a kitten and the vet said that this was common, and probably would not be a problem. At about 15 months Andy started having difficulty breathing when he was put under stress. It appeared that he was having an asthma attack so I called the vet. The first time he was diagnosed with having a vaccine reaction as it was the day he was vaccinated. They treated him, and sent him home. A week later it happened again and I called the vet. He said keep him call for the night and bring him in first thing in the morning for x-rays. The x-rays revealed that he had a pectus excavatum, otherwise known as a deformation of the sternum that was putting stress on the heart. In order to treat this we would have to see a veterinary cardiologist at a state university. We took him to Michigan State CVM and saw a cardiologist and within 5 minutes he said it sounds like he had heart disease and they took him for an echocardiogram. The echo showed that his heart had a tissue membrane bisecting the upper right chamber of his heart and the Dr. said he wouldn't be able to live more than another month with this condition. The only option for Andy was an experimental surgery that had only been attempted 3 times before and not one of the 3 other animals survived the surgery. We sat in that examination room, while Andy lay in an oxygen tank after getting stressed out from having the echocardiogram and having an attack, trying to decide what to do. After 6 hours of sitting in the exam room we decided to do the surgery. The Dr. said he would not charge us for the surgery and he wanted permission to try a new technique that they hadn't attempted before. Andy went into surgery the following morning, and 3 hours later the phone rang. The surgery was a success, they were able to get his heart beating again, but it took them too long and Andy didn't wake up.

Andy went from being a perfectly normal, happy cat with a simple heart murmur to dying within 5 weeks. I can whole heartedly understand why you would keep those kittens, but please take them to the vet frequently (every 6 months at least, as opposed to annually), and don't think that you are overreacting for calling the vet for a slight wheeze or something. I hope this is not your experience, but I felt that too many people were telling you that it is probably nothing to worry about.