"Just an animal..."

So I took my lil kitten in to the vet today cuz she shows signs of a URI, and I found out she may have herpes, which I'm not TOO worried about, because that's pretty treatable. What I AM worried about is that they definitely found a heart murmur. She's about 4.5 months old so my vet said it is probably somewhat more serious than the "usual" kitty murmur (I've never owned cats before so I'm not 100% sure what to make of that). Then the receptionists were all saying not to worry cuz heart murmurs can be somewhat common. I am so lost...

She (the vet) told me to see her in a week, but the earliest available appt. is Feb. 10th. So then they're gonna see if it's still there, and if it is, she'll do bloodwork and send her to a cardiologist. The problem there is the cardiologist charges around $300 for JUST the initial exam!

Anyway I was trying not to worry much, but I told my friend that I was kinda upset, figuring he'd understand as a former cat owner... he said, "Relax, it's just an animal." What the hell?! I hate him sometimes...

Sorry, just had to vent...

Aww I know what you mean. I don't think people get it though, if it was his animal he would probably be worried. When it comes to other people's animals people tend to see them as unimportant...

Aww! I haven't had any experience with heart murmurs, but I remember reading that they sometimes go away when a kitty grows so in that case they wouldn't indicate a heart problem?

I would be worried too! Hopefully, it isn't anything serious with your fur baby.

My Meeko has a heart murmur and herpes.
We found out she had the heart murmur when she was 3 months old.
She was very sick then and almost died.
She is 8.5 and just had surgery last week for something else.
They day say what grade the murmur is is?

My Patch has a murmur. His grade level is 3, I believe. We found out when he had a UTI. He had to undergo 2 major surgeries (unlated to the murmur) and he was fine. Don't listen to anyone, its not just an animal, its a sweet little life.

I have 5 cats. Two are 12, two are 13 and one is age almost 2. I have one German shepherd dog age 2.

One of the 13 year old cats has hyperthyroidsim and (possibly) pancreatitis and she has a heart murmur. The heart murmur MAY be a result of the hyperthyroidism (which we have under control).

Last week I took her to the vet.. she had stopped eating.. and the vet kept her two days. I figured she was going to need to be PTS (she was really unhappy). My vet is very good about NOT killing me on prices, especially on an older cat like this. I am the first one to step up and be practical.. but we found NOTHING wrong with this cat. Blood work is all A-OK, Kdneys and the rest... and NO tumors... so, as my vet said, he is not ready to PTS this cat. Neither was I tho I do have to watch the money.

We have her on Prednisone and a reduced dose of Methimizol and she is now eating Innova dry very well (she just refuses ALL wet food.. and that includes cooked chicken breast and tuna fish.. what cat refuses tuna fish? LOL) and she is doing very very well.. and we suspect she may have pancreatits. She HAS gained weight and is almost back to normal weight.

I was talking to someone and they had the same attitude of "just a CAT.." Makes me boil. I had these cats when I had my dairy farm and b4 my divorce.. had them with me after the divorce.. had them with me with me with the BF who did not like cats.. Had them after I sent BF packing and happily replaced him with a Good dog... had them thru 5 moves and 3 job changes.. and I STILL have them.

We depend on each other. All of us. NONE of my cats are "just CATS" or "Just animals..." and this is from someone who derived her living from animals (dairy cattle).

I don't think ANY cat or dog or ANY other animal (including my dairy cows who all had names.. all 72 of 'em) is EVER "just an animal.."

Heart murmurs in cat can be of various degrees of severity. My cat's is minor. Keep your kitty eating top quality food and go back for the recheck.. and go from there. Sometimes these things self resolve in young animals.

And get a new friend. Trust me, the ones who think pets are "just animals" don't get it and probably never will.

I am going to have to hold back making a crack involving another word for "cat" and herpes. I do hope the heart issue isn't serious.

As for the just an animal part, you can tell your friend that us humans are just animals too.

i cant believe your friend said that to you, esp being a previous cat owner, my friend karen had to take her dog to the vet yesterday and she wasnt sure if he was going to make it and i almost cried! luckily hes going to be ok with treatment.

my Sabastian has had a heart murmur as long as i can remember, hes 13 now and everytime hes been through surgery they always warned me of the risks but hes always been fine, so here some good vibes for your little buddy.

Originally Posted by LawGuy

As for the just an animal part, you can tell your friend that us humans are just animals too.

Click to expand...

Exactly, humans are included in the Animal Kingdom, as a dog, a cat, a lizard, cow, pig, lion, etc.. we are all symbiant creatures sharing the same planet..

your friend sounds like an ignorant a-hole saying that to you..dump his sorry a** and focus on people who share your views on loving non-human animals as well as human ones..peace and good luck and vibes for your little kitten friend who is depending on you!

Thanks so much everyone, they didn't say what grade it is yet but there is chance that it will just go away... I'm really praying that it does. I love my little Toby more than anything and she is such a part of the family already that it tears me apart to think that something might be even the slightest bit wrong, but it helps to hear stories of long-lived cats with heart murmurs. I have a lot of information that the vet gave me on the issue and will start to read it ASAP, I've just been scared of inundating myself with even more worry than necessary right now...

Thanks again for all your support!