Hi, I have done a search and have come across some interesting threads, but just wanted to ask a few questions of my own.
Dora has just turned 3yrs and she went for her flu jab just over a week ago (with a different vet than usual). The last time she was at the vet was this time last year for her jab and then six months prior to that as she had a kidney infection (she had an FBC done too, all normal).
The new vet gave asked if it's ever been mentioned that she has a heart murmur before? Definitely not!
She said that her heart was beating very fast (vet visits do upset her) and that this can accentuate a murmur. I do vaguely recall at her last check up that the opposite was true, her heartbeat was very steady (compared to my other cat whose heart was racing with nerves). Nothing about a murmur, though.
Vet asked if she has any symptoms re: breathing, weakness. Nothing like that. She said she would grade it as about a 2. She mentioned heart disease (!) but said at this stage it is fine to just monitor her and come back in 6 months.
A few days later, I took my other cat for her jab (saw a different vet again) and asked about the murmur. This vet told me the other one had actually graded it 2-3. Again, she spoke of heart disease.
Obviously, I have been a Google warrior since this and while I have been reassured in some instances, it just seems that the odds are that this would most likely be heart disease, given her age and that this murmur has apparently only developed some time within the past 12 months.
I feel wrong in waiting so long to take her back for a another check-up and would like to know, if this was your cat, when would you take her back to get her heart listened to again?
Would it be too soon to take her in another week or so or would it be OK to wait until the new year? Or three months instead of six? Also, do you think it would be worth asking for the proBNP blood test to measure her heart health? Does anyone have any experience with that?
Any advice much appreciated. Thank you.
Dora has just turned 3yrs and she went for her flu jab just over a week ago (with a different vet than usual). The last time she was at the vet was this time last year for her jab and then six months prior to that as she had a kidney infection (she had an FBC done too, all normal).
The new vet gave asked if it's ever been mentioned that she has a heart murmur before? Definitely not!
She said that her heart was beating very fast (vet visits do upset her) and that this can accentuate a murmur. I do vaguely recall at her last check up that the opposite was true, her heartbeat was very steady (compared to my other cat whose heart was racing with nerves). Nothing about a murmur, though.
Vet asked if she has any symptoms re: breathing, weakness. Nothing like that. She said she would grade it as about a 2. She mentioned heart disease (!) but said at this stage it is fine to just monitor her and come back in 6 months.
A few days later, I took my other cat for her jab (saw a different vet again) and asked about the murmur. This vet told me the other one had actually graded it 2-3. Again, she spoke of heart disease.
Obviously, I have been a Google warrior since this and while I have been reassured in some instances, it just seems that the odds are that this would most likely be heart disease, given her age and that this murmur has apparently only developed some time within the past 12 months.
I feel wrong in waiting so long to take her back for a another check-up and would like to know, if this was your cat, when would you take her back to get her heart listened to again?
Would it be too soon to take her in another week or so or would it be OK to wait until the new year? Or three months instead of six? Also, do you think it would be worth asking for the proBNP blood test to measure her heart health? Does anyone have any experience with that?
Any advice much appreciated. Thank you.