My kitten with a congenital heart defect

natalie708

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Hi everyone.

Somebody requested that I share my experience with my kitten's heart issues. I would love to hear from anyone else who has a kitty like mine and how they are dealing with it.

Luna my 7 month old DMH kitten was diagnosed with a moderate to severe ventricular septal defect. This occurs in humans too and is basically a hole in the heart. It is congenital. It was picked up when we went to get her desexed. The vet was hesitatant to do it anyway because she was so small and then when she heard her heart it was a definite no!

Heart murmurs are graded 1-6 I believe and many kitten's have murmurs in their infancy that later disappear. Lunas was a 5/6 murmur which is quite severe.

A loud heart murmur of this grade usually indicates some kind of congenital heart issue but it's not always bad news.

The initial vet just told me she probably won't live as long and told me to just give her a good life.

This was a little open-ended and I wanted to see if there was anything else I could do. Luckily a good friend of mine is a 5th year vet student and advised me to see and vetinary cardiologist - a vet specialising in conditions of the heart.

I am so glad he gave me this advice because seeing the cardiology vet was so worth it! Living in a rural but large town with none of these services, Luna and I flew back to my old home 4 hours away. I was terrifled about her getting ill on the the plane but she was fine!

So we finally had our appointment when Luna was about 16 weeks old. The vet was so great. He did a cardiac ultrasound which is really the only was to definitively figure out what was structurely wrong. Luna had a moderase to severe ventricular septal defect which is a hole in the heart. Other common congenital heart issues include patent ductus arteriosis, malformation of the heart valves and even tetralogy of fallot!

So the ultrasound revealed a VSD. The vet explained that some kitten's that present with high grade murmurs can have small holes in the heart with the a lot of pressure (hence the loud murmur) and will often live normal healthy lives. Unfortunately Lunas was quite large and the life expectancy is about 2-6 years. Certainly not beyond 10 years.

These cats eventually go into congestive heart failure and are put down when their quality of life becomes poor. A more specific life expectancy can be determined once heart failure begins.. confirmed by thoracic xrays.

I was obviously very upset for a long time and it's hard because right now, Luna is quite healthy and playful - just like a normal kitten. Only noticeable thing at the moment is her high respiratory rate. The reassuring thing that the vet said is that it is not a painful condition.

The other great thing about this consult was that we got medication (not prescribed by general practice vets) to help prolong her life and improve what was happening internally. At the moment we give her an amlodipine suspension with other medications to be added on later.

Potentially getting these extra years with Luna was worth all the money spent. Knowing what the problem actually was was helpful. It's expensive but I would highly recommend seeing a specialist.

In Australia I pai about $480 all up.. most of it was the cost off the ultrasound. Not counting the hundreds involved in flying us down..

She is going well now. We had a bloody diarrhea issue with her for ages whicheck eventually got diagnosed finally as Chlostridium Perfringens. She is on fiber supplements and ID sensitive bowel dry food with raw chicken necks etc.

Hope this may have been illuminating for some and not too boring. Feel free to PM me if you like :).
 
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natalie708

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If anyone could show me how to edit posts, I would also be grateful :
 

cocheezie

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Glad your little one is doing well and hope she continues to do so.

Think you need to have a few more posts and be a member for a day or two before you are allowed to edit.
 

pushylady

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three cat night

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Natalie708, I have had a similar situation with my beloved cat , Zandie, a mixed Turkish Angoura . The vet diagnosed him at 5 months and told me his life span would likely be only 2-4 yrs. I did ( like you have ) everything possible to give him a sweet life and started his medications immediately and the little guy lived 7 & 1/2 years. It's good that you have discovered this early in his life and she will probably do very well as you are so caring. I was giving medication to my guy 5 times a day ( different meds) as he aged but sooooo worth it.
Good luck & kind pets to Luna
3cat
 

cat nap

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.....
......
The other great thing about this consult was that we got medication (not prescribed by general practice vets) to help prolong her life and improve what was happening internally. At the moment we give her an amlodipine suspension with other medications to be added on later.

Potentially getting these extra years with Luna was worth all the money spent. Knowing what the problem actually was was helpful. It's expensive but I would highly recommend seeing a specialist.
......
Thank you so much, @natalie708.  Your entire thread was helpful and informative. And also reading @Three cat night's post helps.

My story is different,  but hearing how cats are treated is helpful.

My cat is a senior, 14yr old named Spotty,  with a grade 3 Heart Murmur, so the vet did a NT proBNP blood test.  His result was 102 which is close to the border cut off.  Anything less than 100 is supposed to be okay, but above 100 indicates additional diagnostics are required.

  So I am thinking, like you said, that knowing what he has will give me peace of mind. And my vet said if the second proBNP test shows a higher number, then ultrasound with a specialist is the way to go. I am just now, waiting for the results of the second proBNP.

Also sending you well wishes for many good years ahead with Luna.
 
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natalie708

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Thank you guys! We never did a blood test so I have no experience in particular with that @catnap. However, as well as peace of mind it may be able to inform your treatment for your kitty. Is he in pretty good health otherwise?

@Three Cat Night thank you for sharing your story! Was it the same heart defect? Even though I may not be as lucky, reading your story gives me hope. Did your kitty spend most of their life fairly comfortabley? This is my main concern. I'm jealous that your owned a Turkish Angora as well - their breed has always fascinated me and they are so beautiful. It seems only a limited number of breeders exist in Australia where I'm from.
 

three cat night

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Natalie708,
My cat had a heart defect ( like yours) and that resolved over time but what developed was Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy . His heart murmur was rated but I don't recall the specifics. He took LASIX, Diliazim, spironolactone, aspirin , and Nitro ointment. Would you believe I found him at a city shelter( the bad type / 3 days to euthanasia ) and he was scrawny ,dirty and covered in fleas with bald spots, at about 3 months old. I felt he looked the most pathetic of the bunch so took him home. He grew into a white fluffy majestic beauty and we were amazed when told he was actually Turkish Angoura /mix . I love the breed too now that I have educated myself about the breed I want another one. I did adopt another Turk Mixed and he has turquoise eyes, he is in the Avatar with his grey buddy. It was just a stroke of luck that he happened to be Turk , he was found in a auto parking lot at a Lexus dealership and I just happened to have my car serviced that day and on the cashiers desk there he was in a cardboard box. He is now 10 years and so sweet and smart, ( of course I think that! Lol) I have checked into breeders and there aren't many in the states either. If you want info I would be happy look up some links for you. They come in several colors too. Check out your local cat adopt rescue organizations online and request notification of any future cats that look like the breed, you might find a mixed cat that looks like TA.
I hope Luna does well and it sounds like she is getting plenty of love from you.
3cat
 
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natalie708

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Thank you 3 cat! My S.O has imposed a 1 cat household rule for the time being so maybe one day :)
 

cprcheetah

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I have had a couple of cats who have heart defects, Pipsqueak is a siamese mix when he was a baby he had Patent Ductus Arteriosis, we treated him with Rimadyl (every 3 days) as I read online that in humans NSAIDS (Non Steriodal Antiinflammatorys) help with this defect and/or some eventually close on their own.  My father is a semi-retired vet so this was done under his direction.  Pipsqueak is probably 5 years old now and has no visisble symptoms of this condition, he now lives with my dad however as he refuses to use a litterbox so he's an outside cat at my dads.  His half brother Munchie whom I own is 8 years old and was just diagnosed with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy in February via ultrasound.  He shows no signs, doesn't even have a heart murmur, his was picked up when we xrayed him for joint problems, and saw that his heart was abnormal.  So he is on medication (Diltiazem) and I got some weight off him (he was 5# overweight) to ease the stress of the heart problem.  He is doing really good, shows no symptoms.  I did however lose his other half brother Misaki  to cardiomyopathy when he was 8 months old at the time of his neuter.  He died after the operation, had no murmur which was unusual as there was literally no room in his heart to pump.  They are all kitten mill rescued siamese cats. 
 
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