What would you do?

OK, so now that Levi has been cleared of any potential heart worm. I need to figure out what I'm going to do about neuturing. He does have a heart murmur & is only 6 months old. Please let me know what you would do & why. Keeping in mind that I do not have the money to do this, but would have to charge it to my already high balance charge card. Here are my options.

1. Do nothing about the murmur. Just proceed with the neuter as planned knowing that there is a higher potential of a problem with the anestetic because of the murmur.

2. For like $80 the vet can take x-rays & see if there is anything obviously wrong with his heart & go from there.

3. For who knows how much (the vet thought $300) take him to the UW vet center to have a cardioligist do a work up on him & go from there.

Also if you had a cat with a known bad heart defect would you skip the nueter? If this were a female cat I would for sure skip the spay because it doesn't affect personality or cause spraying, but since he's a boy & there is Jordan who I will neuter as he is fine. I know the final decision is mine the problem is I've only had them like a month & it's so hard for me to know how he's doing. At the same time I think after only a month I can't imagine my life with out either one of them. They are my boys & I love them. I know the final decision is mine, but some opinon from others that I know love thier animals as much as I do would help. Thanks.

I have to say neuter him maybe after some more tests. I wouldnt just not neuter him. He might end up spraying everywhere in your house Amoung other things.

Just from listening the vet can "rate" the murmur. Did the vet say it was BAD, like grade 5? or average like grade 3? Or slight? This would be the first thing I would like to know. The worse the murmur sounded to the vet, the more cautious I'd be. But the truth is, I would go through the neuter (but I would also go through with a spay, if it were a girl).

Hi, Rang_27! Just wanted to tell you that I had a neutered tomcat and he still sprayed! And my spayed female (Joji) also sprays once in a while when she is stressed about something.
By the way, I voted for the 2nd choice.

I would get him neutered, but I think I would have a few mores test first.

I would still go ahead with the neuter. This world has enough kittens and cats without goos homes. And even if it was a female, I would still spay. Personality and spraying aren't that big a problem when compared to unwanted litters.

After that, I would get x-rays done and have the vet rate how bad the heart murmur is, whether it's slight or severe before racing off to the cardiologist. Ask the vet in their opinion, what would happen if you were to do nothing. And ask about ALL options available. And above all, get a second opinion if you're not happy.

I would go ahead and have him neutered after running test with the Vet. The vet will be able to tell you the right way to go on this decision. So listen to what he or she says

Thanks so much for the opinons. I reall apreciate the help. I understand about too many cats in the world. After all I'm a shelter volenteer & that's where my baby boys came from. Both of my boys will be inside only cats, there are just too many things that can happen to an outside cat. Just an update. I talked to the vet who saw him & she was more positive about the whole situation. She said first of all she rated the murmur at a 2, so it is a quite one. Also, she did say that doing the x-ray should show enough to tell if it were something very serious. In addition to all of this my other kitty (Jordan)now has a leasion above his eye that I'm almost positive is ring worm. So this has bought me a little extra time in the neutering department. I talked to the vet about this also. I made an appointment for Thrusday morning as I'm off that day. They will take a culter on both of them & if it is infact ring worm will do a clip & dip and begin oral medication. Also I decided to do the chest x-ray while they are in there. The neuter can't be done until the ring worm is completely gone, so it's going to have to wait. Which I'm not thrilled about because the boys continue to become more aggresive daily. Right now the only thing that would stop me going ahead with the neuter is for the vet to say that the chest x-ray shows something that would mean he had only a few months left to live. So that's the current scoop. I would appreciate any more comments anyone has. I am one that believes everyone has differnt ideas & someone may think of something I haven't thought of. & thanks again.

If the chest x-ray doesn't show anything serious, I would get him neutered.

If it was something serious and I knew that I couldn't afford the treatment required or were able to come to a payment scheme with the vet that I could keep to, I would make the rest of his life as happy and full as it could be. I would also ask about neutering and ask for the vet's honest opinion about the risk posed by the operation. That way if he was an indoor/outdoor kitty, he could still venture outdoors instead of suddenly being kept indoors with no explanation.

Only you can make the final decision for you and your cats. Every other person can share advice and opinions but don't let them to allow yourself to cloud your judgement. You're doing well by doing something about the problem that you found to exist. You will know what the right choice in when the time comes. Don't focus on what could go wrong, because you won't know what to do when things go right.