Heart murmur...does anyone know???

I'm getting a Bengal kitten(male) in 2 weeks that has a level 3 heart murmur and I'm eventually going to have to get him neutered. Does anyone know how much risk is involved with the anastesia? The breeder told me that the Vet will tell me to have an ultrasound done prior to the procedure but that this is actually not worth having done because he needs to be neutered regardless so it wouldn't really matter what the ultrasound said and it's very expensive to have done. I fell in love with this kitten the moment I saw him and I guess I'm hoping for the best. If anyone has any input please share it.

I've had a few of my rex kittens show up with slight heart murmers at 8 weeks of age (first shots). By the time they were a few months old and spayed/neutered, they had no more murmers.

Since your vet is aware of the heart murmer, they will take extra precautions - your boy should be fine.

My male cat, Peter, has a grade 2 heart murmur and was neutered at 4 months with no problem. As long as the vet knows about your little guy's condition, he should be fine.

Echo had a grade 4 heart murmur and was neutered at about 5 month's. We did do the ultrasound, but only to find out the cause of the murmur, not to determine whether or not he should be neutered. The cause of Echo's heart murmur was very serious, he had an atrial septal defect making his heart only have 3 chambers instead of 4, Echo passed away at 8 month's old.

I would recommend an ultrsound just for a peace of mind about the cause of your kitty's murmur. We knew Echo's was very serious and that he would have a very short life, so we spoiled him accordingly (Echo got to do things and eat things that I would never give to one of my other cats). There are many causes of murmurs some being serious and others not, so it would be worth discussing with your vet.

This person just went through this as well:
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75732

Originally Posted by imsandiluv

The breeder told me that the Vet will tell me to have an ultrasound done prior to the procedure but that this is actually not worth having done because he needs to be neutered regardless so it wouldn't really matter what the ultrasound said and it's very expensive to have done.

Click to expand...

This was my situation too. The vet advised to have the ultrasound done because it will give an idea as to what is causing the heart murmur. And like you said, the cat has to be s/n no matter what so it doesn't really matter what the ultrasound results are.

Mama has a heart murmur of a 5/6 grade, which is about as bad as it gets. She survived the surgury but that's not to say that your kitty's not at risk. In Mama's case she may just have a murmur that's loud, but not really much of a problem otherwise. Unfortunatly there's no way of knowing without the ultrasound. I'll try to find out what type of anesthesia they used with Mama. Are you buying your kitty or adopting her? If you're buying you may want to negotiate costs with the breeder. I'm not saying that the kitties not worth the money that you'll be spending, but with a murmur you potentially could be putting in a good deal of money in the next few years, which the breeder should consider.

If you want to talk more about it feel free to send me a PM

My male persian has a heart murmur and he made it through neutering. He is 9years old now and does have heart failure and he went under again for mouth work and came out fine.

{Are you buying your kitty or adopting her? If you're buying you may want to negotiate costs with the breeder.}

I agree with lizch6699 regarding the above statement. Two months after we lost our cat of 14 yrs. we looked into getting a 10 mo. old kitten pending a vet check. As soon as the vet listened to the kitten's heart she heard an extremely loud murmur, and had me listen also. She suggested we contact the breeder who then offered us the kitten for free just so he would get a good home. What followed is a long story that I won't go into but just wanted to add that I agreed with lizch on possibly negotiating the cost. Good luck and please post what you decide.

The best of breeders will absolutely negotiate costs with you on such a kitten. The ones who are only interested in lining their pockets will not be so enthusiastic about dropping the price.

SolarityBengals posted the link to Mama's thread, which has a wealth of information about heart murmurs and anesthesia. If you haven't already taken the time to read through that (it is a bit lengthy - but chock-full of really helpful information) then do that first.

Here is the link just so you don't have to scroll *grin*

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75732

Then, make an appointment to speak candidly with your vet about options for anesthesia after he has had to chance to meet and examine this kitten. Taking into consideration many factors along with the findings of his exam, he will formulate a treatment plan which will ensure the continued good health and longevity of your new baby. Make sure to ask educated questions - do your homework before you go. Write your questions down and do not at all feel embarrassed to take notes. You are the first line of defense when it comes to the health of your pet. Your vet is there to assist you, but the final decisions are yours. You do have choices. You do NOT need to blindly accept that whatever your vet suggests is the right choice for YOUR cat. Research, read, post here ... do whatever you can to learn, but know what you are fighting.

One of our esteemed Vet Tech members is Dr. Doolittle and as she tells me, anesthesia is her favorite topic. We are also blessed to to have other, very knowledgable Vet Techs as members here and I am sure that any of them would be happy to help you decipher what your vets discusses with you should you find you have questions about it.

~gf~

Yep, I totally agree with Gayef. I brought in a notecard full of questions I had because I knew that I would forget them once it came down to meeting with the vet lol. My situation is a little different because Mama is a female, and if left unspayed she would have had a lot of health risks. I'm not sure how it works with male cats but I don't think there are as many health risks associated with not being neutered, I think there are more behavioral problems though such as spraying. My vet suggested running an EKG (I think that's what they called it) before the operation to see how her heart was before the surgury. I opted to not have it done b/c it would have been an extra 80+ and like you mentioned, the spaying had to be done reguardless.They also suggested an IV during the procedure because if her blood pressure dropped during the procedure there would be an open line established and they could put medication through to regulate it. I also opted to not have that done because in my opinion, if Mama's heart was to start failing there would be no bringing her back since her murmur is so severe. Like Gayef said, just know what you're fighting. Be comfortable with the decisions you make and that's the best you can do.

Thanks for all the info. I actually did get him for a discounted rate from the breeder($150). She said she had offered him to others at the same rate but no-1 wanted to take the chance on him. I fell in love with him right away so any time I get with him will be worth the risk.