New Heart Murmur

[marmoset]

My adult cat had a heart murmur during his annual wellness check. We took him back in two weeks later (yesterday) for a recheck and he still has a grade 2 heart murmur.

My husband and I are trying not to freak out. He's going for a consult with a cardiologist which is going to run us $720 but not until Novemeber. So we have a whole month to worry about what's going on. The concern is that he did not have a heart murmur half a year ago when he had his shots renewed and never had a heart murmur during our time with him. So while it's not a high grade murmur it's the newness of it that is worrisome.

Our cat is 6 or 7- best guess. He was a stray that we took in 5 years ago.

We will get the cat vetted no matter as we always do but while we wait for that November appointment we are so worried. The vet office we go to is a multi-practice so we had one vet talk to us on his wellness visit and another for the recheck but we did not get a feel for what could cause a 6 or 7 year old cat to develop a murmur out of the blue. During yesterday's visit he did say that now that he's been rechecked and still had the murmur it wasn't something we could ignore- even though plenty of cats have heart murmurs that never cause complications. So that was comforting but he seemed "alarmed" in a veterinary calm way that the murmur "came about out of nowhere".

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I am so sorry that you and your cat are going through this. I'd be frantic. I will say that I'm somewhat encouraged that his appointment IS in November. Other than that, about all I can do is say I'm here, I care, and I'm lighting a candle for BOTH of you!

 

[1 bruce 1]

My adult cat had a heart murmur during his annual wellness check. We took him back in two weeks later (yesterday) for a recheck and he still has a grade 2 heart murmur.

My husband and I are trying not to freak out. He's going for a consult with a cardiologist which is going to run us $720 but not until Novemeber. So we have a whole month to worry about what's going on. The concern is that he did not have a heart murmur half a year ago when he had his shots renewed and never had a heart murmur during our time with him. So while it's not a high grade murmur it's the newness of it that is worrisome.

Our cat is 6 or 7- best guess. He was a stray that we took in 5 years ago.

We will get the cat vetted no matter as we always do but while we wait for that November appointment we are so worried. The vet office we go to is a multi-practice so we had one vet talk to us on his wellness visit and another for the recheck but we did not get a feel for what could cause a 6 or 7 year old cat to develop a murmur out of the blue. During yesterday's visit he did say that now that he's been rechecked and still had the murmur it wasn't something we could ignore- even though plenty of cats have heart murmurs that never cause complications. So that was comforting but he seemed "alarmed" in a veterinary calm way that the murmur "came about out of nowhere".

Ok, being professionally alarmed is good because this will bring answers, treatment information and a sense of control, so it can be handled well. I'd be much less at ease if my vet said "eh whatever" or (worse) didn't even mention it to me!
We've had some pets with heart disease. It can be controlled and managed and they can live a happy life, and it sounds like you're taking action which will help all those things I mentioned above (answers, treatment, sense of control.)

Did the vet start your cat on any medications?

"In general, a physiologic or innocent heart murmur will have a low intensity (usually Grade I-II out of VI), and does not cause any symptoms or clinical signs."
(Source: Heart Murmurs in Cats)

I'm not saying this is innocent murmur, but has your cat shown ANY signs of slowing down, not wanting to play or move around as much, or eat, etc.? CLINICALLY how do you feel he's doing? If the vet hadn't found the murmur, would you be watching his behavior and feeling that "something is wrong" bell going off, or would you assume he was 100% normal?

One vet we use is 100% conventional only and doesn't deal in holistic practices or recommend supplements or "natural" stuff, but this vet did recommend using fish oil and (liquid, if possible) CoEnzyme10 (CoQ10.)
Assuming your cat isn't super picky about food, this might be something you'd want to ask your vet about. Most cats like fish oil, and our cats over the age of 10 get both.

I know you're feeling freaked out right now, but just try not to panic. And don't be afraid to call your vet with questions or concerns, it's what they're there for.

 

[marmoset]

Yes, I thought he was acting more sedentary but ever so slightly and my husband thought I was imagining it. But he went in for a vet visit 10-12 days ago. He had the full wellness blood profile, urinalysis and fecal testing done. Everything was fine but that's when the first vet found the murmur.

We took him back in a few days ago because he was having stool issues they put him on metronidazole and found that the murmur had not gone away (originally they thought it might be temporary due to stress) and discussed the murmur in more depth with us. It's possible that whatever tummy trouble he has was starting when we originally brought him in but we didn't see any difference in his toileting habits and we keep our boxes right in the living room so we can notice when there is a problem! Two days later he was passing more blood in the stool and the stool itself was very hard so we brought him back in last night and now he's on Lactulose and famotidine. Something in there seems to be working hopefully.

None of that is to treat a heart condition of course but yes, right now he's on all that and his prozac that he's been on. When we originally brought him in as a stray he had some liver problems that took some time to resolve so since he's on prozac and has a history we get his bloodwork done every 7 months or so.

I feel a little better hearing that pets can live well with heart disease. Really all that info was very helpful. I'm still worrying but we are in high vigilance mode since he's now been acting unwell.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Please keep us posted. We fret about "our" cats!

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

My adult cat ... has a grade 2 heart murmur. ...
Our cat is 6 or 7- best guess. He was a stray that we took in 5 years ago...

... He had the full wellness blood profile, urinalysis and fecal testing done. Everything was fine but that's when the first vet found the murmur.

We took him back in a few days ago because he was having stool issues ...

None of that is to treat a heart condition of course but yes, right now he's on all that and his prozac that he's been on. When we originally brought him in as a stray he had some liver problems that took some time to resolve so since he's on prozac and has a history we get his bloodwork done every 7 months or so. ...

Hi marmoset - so he has been on prozac for more than 2-4 years? Do the vets think that that could be resulting in any possible side effects in his case?

 

[1 bruce 1]

I'd question the prozac too, I know it's needed in some cases but I'm not the worlds biggest fan of it unless it's 100% necessary (JMO!)

If he's acting off and has had some GI upset (diarrhea, blood in stool, etc.) that probably isn't helping his activity level. And even if this started before the GI stuff did, GI upset doesn't always jump out of a cabinet and yell "GOTCHA", sometimes it "brews" for a few days/weeks then shows itself.
Our vet mentioned that it's pretty darned rare, but GI upset can sometimes make a murmur sound worse than it is. I can't remember the phrase that was used, but once the GI issues are cleared up, I'd ask my vet to have another listen if they would.
Be vigilant, but not hyper-vigilant.
If you learn all you can about heart disease in cats, you will feel "armed". It might not change the treatment plan, but you'll be extremely confident in being well educated on it, and won't feel so lost and will know what to watch for and when a trip to the vet is needed.
It's scary, but it can be controlled! This guy agrees! --->
Has the vet asked you to take his RRR (resting respiratory rate, which is very easy to do)?

 

[marmoset]

Well he's got blood in his urine now. The vet called today with his UA results. We picked up the meds (clavamox) tonight and will recheck him after two weeks of treatment He must be very uncomfortable with all this going on. His stool seems better and we haven't seen blood there since we started the stool softener but it's still hard. Another blood test shows that everything is normal so at least that is good.

The prozac is a very long story but the short version is that he was peeing inappropriately. We researched extensively and tried different litter set ups and cleaning the litter box after every use (and also not cleaning it as much or leaving just a little old litter). Eventually we took him to a behaviorist who was convinced that the problem could be fixed and a long time later said he was one of the few cats that really is indiscriminate. He is also a pica cat. So I'm not really sure how to say if the prozac is necessary. If it keeps him from ingesting harmful things and helps curb the peeing issues (it's not 100% but we've adapted). It is just really hard to weigh the pros and cons. Pica is actually a bit hard to deal with because of the worry of obstruction.

I did ask about the prozac but the vets really didn't seem to think it was related. It can cause constipation but they didn't seem concerned about that- it was more of a concern when he started the med. I was thinking deeply about this yesterday because I'd really have to figure out a plan if we took him off. It was really bad for a long time before he was on it.

The vet did not ask to take resting respiration rate- but I'm curious to know how to do it.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Well...keep us posted. Normally, I'd recommend chamomile tea as a possible alternative to the Prozac, but with the PICA, I'm not sure it would be strong enough to be theraputic. Best not play with what is working.

 

[1 bruce 1]

Well he's got blood in his urine now. The vet called today with his UA results. We picked up the meds (clavamox) tonight and will recheck him after two weeks of treatment He must be very uncomfortable with all this going on. His stool seems better and we haven't seen blood there since we started the stool softener but it's still hard. Another blood test shows that everything is normal so at least that is good.

The prozac is a very long story but the short version is that he was peeing inappropriately. We researched extensively and tried different litter set ups and cleaning the litter box after every use (and also not cleaning it as much or leaving just a little old litter). Eventually we took him to a behaviorist who was convinced that the problem could be fixed and a long time later said he was one of the few cats that really is indiscriminate. He is also a pica cat. So I'm not really sure how to say if the prozac is necessary. If it keeps him from ingesting harmful things and helps curb the peeing issues (it's not 100% but we've adapted). It is just really hard to weigh the pros and cons. Pica is actually a bit hard to deal with because of the worry of obstruction.

I did ask about the prozac but the vets really didn't seem to think it was related. It can cause constipation but they didn't seem concerned about that- it was more of a concern when he started the med. I was thinking deeply about this yesterday because I'd really have to figure out a plan if we took him off. It was really bad for a long time before he was on it.

The vet did not ask to take resting respiration rate- but I'm curious to know how to do it.

How to Check Your Cat's Vital Signs at Home

 

[marmoset]

I will keep everyone posted . Thank you 1 bruce 1 for the link! Good info to have and no I didn't know it was that easy. I'm going to go practice on my other healthy cats!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I just bookmarked that in my Cat Information folder. Now I just have to spend most of one day organizing and making subfolders. THANKS!

 

[misty8723]

We just came from the vet after being told she heard a heart murmur in Swanie. He also has a URI, and some GI trouble. I do remember one other vet telling us she heard a murmur (at the E-vet), but apparently this is the first time our regular vet has heard it. I'm super worried about Swanie, so I know what you are going through. Please keep us posted.

 

[1 bruce 1]

We just came from the vet after being told she heard a heart murmur in Swanie. He also has a URI, and some GI trouble. I do remember one other vet telling us she heard a murmur (at the E-vet), but apparently this is the first time our regular vet has heard it. I'm super worried about Swanie, so I know what you are going through. Please keep us posted.

Did they grade the murmur for you at all in numbers? Sometimes that helps us understand where they're at and what steps can be taken.
Sometimes GI upset can make a murmur sound worse than it is. I mentioned it earlier; it's rare, but it happens. When the GI stuff clears up you might want to give your vet a buzz and ask if they'd have another listen. Ask for them to grade it so you know where they're at and can monitor it. (Say you take your cat in and the vet says "grade 1-2." Six months go by, you take Swanie back in for a recheck and they say "grade 1-2" you'll be able to know it's not gotten worse and can monitor it. Keep track of her eating, activity, does she tire easily, etc.)
The more we understand about any problem they're having, the more we can learn, and the more we know about it, the more armed we feel going in to attack it and give them the best care possible.

 

[misty8723]

Did they grade the murmur for you at all in numbers? Sometimes that helps us understand where they're at and what steps can be taken.
Sometimes GI upset can make a murmur sound worse than it is. I mentioned it earlier; it's rare, but it happens. When the GI stuff clears up you might want to give your vet a buzz and ask if they'd have another listen. Ask for them to grade it so you know where they're at and can monitor it. (Say you take your cat in and the vet says "grade 1-2." Six months go by, you take Swanie back in for a recheck and they say "grade 1-2" you'll be able to know it's not gotten worse and can monitor it. Keep track of her eating, activity, does she tire easily, etc.)
The more we understand about any problem they're having, the more we can learn, and the more we know about it, the more armed we feel going in to attack it and give them the best care possible.

She did not grade it. I didn't even know about grading until I read this thread. She did bloodwork and is doing a cardiopet probnp. And we will go from there.

 

[1 bruce 1]

She did not grade it. I didn't even know about grading until I read this thread. She did bloodwork and is doing a cardiopet probnp. And we will go from there.

I would call them if you're worried, ask the receptionist to call you, or have the vet to call you back whenever they can. Just tell them you're curious what their heart murmur grading was just for your own peace of mind... they should be happy to help.

 

[misty8723]

I would call them if you're worried, ask the receptionist to call you, or have the vet to call you back whenever they can. Just tell them you're curious what their heart murmur grading was just for your own peace of mind... they should be happy to help.

I know they would, but maybe I should wait for the blood test. I have to take him back anyway tomorrow for more sub q.

 

[1 bruce 1]

I know they would, but maybe I should wait for the blood test. I have to take him back anyway tomorrow for more sub q.

Maybe bring it up? You don't have to be confrontation, but just say out of your curiosity you were wondering what they graded it at.
a 1 or 2 is much less worrying than a 3 or 4 / 6.