Cat Heart Murmur-Not Just A Human Heart Condition

If your cat heart murmur has just been diagnosed by your vet, you probably do not have anything to worry about. Most pets that have a heart murmur, especially as Cat, will not have other health problems and as they grow the murmur will go away. Your pet's quality of life will not be affected at all. They can run and play just like normal.

But, for some pets the heart murmur can signify a far more serious problem and can lead to a variety of other health problems. Be sure that if your cat heart murmur has been diagnosed that you ask the vet to do further testing to see if the heart murmur could possibly lead to more serious health problems.

There is only one way to find out whether or not your cat has a heart murmur and that is your vet. He will listen to your cat heart with a stethoscope and he can tell right away whether or not your pet has a murmur. If it is suspected that the murmur is indicative of a more serious health problem your vet can do an ECG, or electrocardiogram, to make a definitive diagnosis. An x-ray may be in order to check the size of your pet's heart.

I had a toy Shih Tzu who had a murmur and was not told that it could mean a serious condition and when my little guy started coughing one day and did not want to play like he used to I knew something was seriously wrong. He also collapsed one day after following me to and from the mailbox. I was very afraid.

I took him to the vet, they did some tests and took an x-ray. He was in such dire straits the radiologist called the vet on a Saturday to say that my little guy was in big trouble. His heart was three times the size it was supposed to be and he had congestive heart failure. The vet prescribed some medications and he did get a little better for a short time. Three months later he collapsed again and I decided it was time to have him euthanized. It was the worst day of my life.

I was never told the reason my cat had a heart murmur. It could have been a congenital problem that he was born with or it could have been because he grew too fast. Since he only weighed ten pounds, I tend to think he was born with the heart murmur and it caused all the other problems because there was never any treatment prescribed.

So, if you see that your cat is not quite himself and can't run like he used to or is breathing heavy when at rest or he gets dizzy and collapses there could be a heart murmur that has led to more serious health conditions that require immediate medical attention. call your vet to get your  cat heart murmur diagnosed as early as you can.