Grade 1 Heart Murmur

[huxleysmom]

I took Sophie to the vet yesterday as her spay scar was a bit infected and she was not eating or drinking. While listening to her heart, the vet said she could hear a Grade 1 heart murmur. She told me not to worry for now as with the infection and he stress, this could very well be nothing. I adopted her from the Humane Society on Saturday and there was no mention of this on her medical record so it could very well be because she wasn’t feeling well. I am of course very worried now. What else could it mean? Does anyone else have a cat with heart murmur?

 

[war&wisdom]

My kittens (19.5 weeks) have been to a few different vets at the local SPCA and one other office in the past 2.5 months. On their second visit to the SPCA, the vet mentioned that Ares, the boy, had a heart murmur (not mentioned on visit #1), but she also said that this is fairly common in kittens and that he should be reevaluated at around 6 months of age or around the time of his neutering.

When Ares was seen by another vet for a different reason about a week ago, I asked the vet if he heard a murmur, and he said no, so it may have resolved on its own. He also said that murmurs are common in younger kittens. I've seen comments on this site that low-grade murmurs (grades 1 or 2) are the best candidates for self-resolution.

 

[huxleysmom]

My kittens (19.5 weeks) have been to a few different vets at the local SPCA and one other office in the past 2.5 months. On their second visit to the SPCA, the vet mentioned that Ares, the boy, had a heart murmur (not mentioned on visit #1), but she also said that this is fairly common in kittens and that he should be reevaluated at around 6 months of age or around the time of his neutering.

When Ares was seen by another vet for a different reason about a week ago, I asked the vet if he heard a murmur, and he said no, so it may have resolved on its own. He also said that murmurs are common in younger kittens. I've seen comments on this site that low-grade murmurs (grades 1 or 2) are the best candidates for self-resolution.

From the research i have done online so far, it seems like murmur that develop in kittens usually resolves itself in a few months. Sophie is 1 so I guess that would not be the case for her. I’m holding on to the hope that it was just stress and her feeling unwell.

 

[war&wisdom]

Oh, okay, you didn't mention how old she was in the first post. I just assumed she was younger because of the spaying (my bad). Yeah, I don't know about older kittens/cats with murmurs -- I'm sorry that I can't help!

 

[huxleysmom]

Oh, okay, you didn't mention how old she was in the first post. I just assumed she was younger because of the spaying (my bad). Yeah, I don't know about older kittens/cats with murmurs -- I'm sorry that I can't help!

Oh no, it’s my fault, I should have specified her age. She was owner surrendered a couple of weeks ago and I guess they never spayed her so the Humane Society did it. I got her 2 days after her surgery. I guess she has had a LOT of stress in her life over the last couple of weeks so it could very well be the reason. Thank you for answering though. I am glad it resolved itself for your baby!

 

[war&wisdom]

I will say that based on my own reading, it's my understanding that if a grade 1 or 2 murmur is otherwise asymptomatic (no shortness of breath, lethargy, fainting spells, discolored gums), it's probably not something to be concerned about, just something to monitor.

Side note: I actually have a low-grade heart murmur myself (which was discovered and was likely exacerbated when I was dealing with some intense anxiety), and my doctors have never seemed concerned!

 

[huxleysmom]

I will say that based on my own reading, it's my understanding that if a grade 1 or 2 murmur is otherwise asymptomatic (no shortness of breath, lethargy, fainting spells, discolored gums), it's probably not something to be concerned about, just something to monitor.

Side note: I actually have a low-grade heart murmur myself (which was discovered and was likely exacerbated when I was dealing with some intense anxiety), and my doctors have never seemed concerned!

I’m glad to hear you are ok! I hope you are right. I am of course now paranoid as she is not eating much and I have now convince myself that she is breathing fast. Of course she is dealing with an infection and is in some pain because of it, both things can cause loss of appetite and rapid breathing. So I guess I’ll have to wait for her check up visit in 2 weeks. She’s doing better after the shot of antibiotics yesterday, and definitely perks up after taking her pain meds. I’m just going to have to be patient. My last cat was chronically ill and that was super hard on me, especially as I had to put him down in the end. I did my best to try and find a healthy cat, and within a couple of days of having her, this is happening. Feels like i am cursed! She is SUCH a love. I just want her to be healthy and happy.

 

[war&wisdom]

I’m glad to hear you are ok! I hope you are right. I am of course now paranoid as she is not eating much and I have now convince myself that she is breathing fast. Of course she is dealing with an infection and is in some pain because of it, both things can cause loss of appetite and rapid breathing. So I guess I’ll have to wait for her check up visit in 2 weeks. She’s doing better after the shot of antibiotics yesterday, and definitely perks up after taking her pain meds. I’m just going to have to be patient. My last cat was chronically ill and that was super hard on me, especially as I had to put him down in the end. I did my best to try and find a healthy cat, and within a couple of days of having her, this is happening. Feels like i am cursed! She is SUCH a love. I just want her to be healthy and happy.

It's probably because of the infection and/or the antibiotics. Ares is on meds right now and definitely seemed sleepier in the first couple days after starting. He also doesn't eat immediately after taking his meds. As long as she's eating something, peeing and pooping (antibiotics can cause diarrhea, in case that's a concern), and seems alert, I think that you can rest easy.

 

[huxleysmom]

It's probably because of the infection and/or the antibiotics. Ares is on meds right now and definitely seemed sleepier in the first couple days after starting. He also doesn't eat immediately after taking his meds. As long as she's eating something, peeing and pooping (antibiotics can cause diarrhea, in case that's a concern), and seems alert, I think that you can rest easy.

She is eating and drinking again, and is more playful. She hasn’t used the litter box since yesterday. Hopefully she’ll go soon

 

[Wile]

My female cat has also been diagnosed with a grade 1 heart murmur. Grade 1 is the lowest grade (quietest) of heart murmur. You probably know this already, but the murmur itself doesn't indicate the cause of the murmur. Further testing will be required if you want to determine what is going on with your cat's heart.

Personally I decided with my own cat (first diagnosed at 1, now a healthy 4-year-old with no other symptoms and no change to the murmur) to just keep an eye on it and action it if the grade worsens or my vet recommends further testing. Some murmurs, as your vet mentioned, can be idiopathic and are only triggered when in stressful situations, such as visiting your vet or getting sick! Some will resolve on their own. Others are more consistent.

I know the waiting game is stressful, but at this point there is nothing else to be done. Given that your cat is sick (and still fairly young), it would be best for your vet to recheck at a later date to see if there are any changes. At that point if the murmur is still present you have 2 choices: adopt a wait and see approach, or opt for more testing.

Hope Sophie feels better soon!

 

[FeralHearts]

I took Sophie to the vet yesterday as her spay scar was a bit infected and she was not eating or drinking. While listening to her heart, the vet said she could hear a Grade 1 heart murmur. She told me not to worry for now as with the infection and he stress, this could very well be nothing. I adopted her from the Humane Society on Saturday and there was no mention of this on her medical record so it could very well be because she wasn’t feeling well. I am of course very worried now. What else could it mean? Does anyone else have a cat with heart murmur?

It is pretty scary though when a vet says anything like that about a heart! Even though they tell us not to worry - we do anyway.

I'm not a vet, but this has been my experiences with murmurs.

What I've learned over time is that it doesn't appear to be unusual for a cat to get a bit of a murmur when stressed - vet visit and not feeling well I'm sure qualifies. Grade 1 is very, very low. So that's good news! :-)

Mia, for example, was just at her vet a few weeks ago - totally spazzed out and scared. She LOOKED terrified. I mean her little heart was a pounding, eyes big etc. The Vet said she had a murmur of 1-2. The vet also told me not to panic about it. Mia has been to many vet appointments over the last 3 months due to an illness. This was the first mention of a murmur - but also the first time she had been this spazzed out about a vet visit. ;-)

Ages ago my friend told me that if a vet, during a yearly check-up, that if a vet says to me they hear a stage 1 murmur that the likelihood is the vet visit stressed the cat a bit, but it will probably resolve on its own. Now granted this is baring any heart-related issues I might be going to the vet for of course. ;-)

Edit to add: Charlie, my male dominate kitty, did have a 1-2 murmur, but in his case he also had other symptoms such as breathing through his mouth after only a few minutes of play, weird heart/breathing rate at rest. At that point, he was checked out more. His heart, it turns out, is at the upper level of what his chest cavity can hold - (AKA he's got a big heart) - that with asthma/allergies made it a bit tricky for him. He's doing great though!

As war&wisdom said, stage 1-2 are the best candidates for self-resolution.

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

.
huxleysmom - Chances are that you're worrying needlessly. Maybe we can get @Geoffrey (an Human cardiologist) to offer a brief rundown on the six "grades" of murmurs; abnormal versus innocent, and primary versus secondary.

My Dad's Siamese, Victoria, had a Grade 2 murmur, diagnosed by the veterinarian very early in her Life. She died, of course - but it took a few weeks less than thirty years.
.

 

[huxleysmom]

Thank you for all of your messages of support. Rationally I agree with you all. She was sick and stressed. The vet didn’t seem all that worried so for now, and unless things somehow get worse in the check up visit in two weeks, I’m just going to try and relax! As long as she is asymptomatic and the vet doesn’t worry, I will just monitor her.
Thanks again for calming my nerves. My experience with Huxley has really traumatized me.

 

[1 bruce 1]

With pain or discomfort, breathing ALWAYS gets a bit faster and harsher, but I know you're worried!
I've known a few dogs that were having some health issues and a murmur was found, once the health issue cleared up the murmur went away. Watch her and monitor her but don't get frantic =)
Have you looked into maybe adding some taurine powder to her food? It's really VERY heart healthy and whatever they don't use, they pee out (it won't harm her, in other words, if she gets a bit too much.)

 

[huxleysmom]

With pain or discomfort, breathing ALWAYS gets a bit faster and harsher, but I know you're worried!
I've known a few dogs that were having some health issues and a murmur was found, once the health issue cleared up the murmur went away. Watch her and monitor her but don't get frantic =)
Have you looked into maybe adding some taurine powder to her food? It's really VERY heart healthy and whatever they don't use, they pee out (it won't harm her, in other words, if she gets a bit too much.)

Thanks for this advice. I already give her Lysine as she started to sneeze a couple of days ago, so I’ll add taurine too.

 

[huxleysmom]

With pain or discomfort, breathing ALWAYS gets a bit faster and harsher, but I know you're worried!
I've known a few dogs that were having some health issues and a murmur was found, once the health issue cleared up the murmur went away. Watch her and monitor her but don't get frantic =)
Have you looked into maybe adding some taurine powder to her food? It's really VERY heart healthy and whatever they don't use, they pee out (it won't harm her, in other words, if she gets a bit too much.)

How much taurine should I add do you think? A sprinkle with each meal? A pinch?

 

[1 bruce 1]

How much taurine should I add do you think? A sprinkle with each meal? A pinch?

That I'm not sure, and it depends on what you're feeding and how much she's eating right now.
Keep in mind that taurine, if given too much, will flush out and you'll be paying for expensive pee (and, also, pees of mind. Groan. I know, lame joke.)
Maybe start with 1/8 tsp to make sure she'll accept it? It's odor less, flavor less and mine have never had anything bad to say about its addition but...I'm not sure. Hopefully others will add their ideas!!!

 

[huxleysmom]

So.... Sophie decided to eat the mouse from that toy today so I took her back to the vet to make sure she was ok. Trust me the irony that I had to take her a couple of days ago because she wasn’t eating is not lost on me! Anyway, they couldn’t see anything in the X-Ray so they gave her fluids to help her pass it and hopefully she’ll be ok. Now the good news is this time, the doctor that saw her could not hear the murmur! So she thinks it was because she was sick last time as she is clearly feeling much better since she eats all of her food, and some extra non-food items! I am very relieved about that, and now will monitor Little Miss Sophie to make sure a) she doesn’t eat anymore toys and b) poops the mouse out!

 

[1 bruce 1]

So.... Sophie decided to eat the mouse from that toy today so I took her back to the vet to make sure she was ok. Trust me the irony that I had to take her a couple of days ago because she wasn’t eating is not lost on me! Anyway, they couldn’t see anything in the X-Ray so they gave her fluids to help her pass it and hopefully she’ll be ok. Now the good news is this time, the doctor that saw her could not hear the murmur! So she thinks it was because she was sick last time as she is clearly feeling much better since she eats all of her food, and some extra non-food items! I am very relieved about that, and now will monitor Little Miss Sophie to make sure a) she doesn’t eat anymore toys and b) poops the mouse out!

GREAT news!!!!!!!
But not cool on eating toy mousies! Crazy cats of ours
I'm so relieved for you. I can see the relief in your post.
Let's throw a murmur-less hopeful mouse-pooping party!

 

[huxleysmom]

GREAT news!!!!!!!
But not cool on eating toy mousies! Crazy cats of ours
I'm so relieved for you. I can see the relief in your post.
Let's throw a murmur-less hopeful mouse-pooping party!

Hahaha! I can’t even begin to imagine what such a party would look like!!
I am relieved indeed!