Minty has a heart murmer...

[Amy]

Thanks for all your replies, made me feel much better! 

I'm taking Toffee to the vet later so will talk to the vet later about what grade it might have been...

Really hope he falls into all your categories!!

Thanks again

[Liz]

We have had 2 cats in the Clan with heart conditions - Bert developed his at 20 - he had a habit of getting something new each year and lived to the ripe old age of 21.5 when yet another new illness took our boy, we currently have Phoenix aged 6 who was given 6 months as a kitten hence the reason he came to us - we are soft touches and he is indoor/outdoor and loves his food and is on no medication but does tire easily

Our 15y.o JRT also has a grade 2 heart murmer and is hale and hearty apart from a cateract

I would say let the cat help you through this and follow vets advice so you can have many more years of cat slavery

[Stuart]

old G/F's mother had a cat who'd had a Murmur all her days, She lived to the ripe old age of 22

Hope Minty falls into the same category 

[Janeyk]

Good to see you back Amy.

Murmurs are usually graded  1 being very minor to 6 being very serious I would ask your vet which grade it is if only to put your mind at rest ;our dear Buster had grade 4 for many years and lived to ripe old age of 22  

I think Squeaky's got up to 4  and they said he may need treatment eventually but he never did.
eta: yep I've just checked, it was G3 for many years though.

[Debsymiller (Rufus' mum)]

Monty is my second cat to have a heart murmour and after being reassured by my friend who's a vet nurse who is very honest with me, I know I needn't worry too much. Monty's is grade 3 which is half way along the scale but I have been assured that until he needs medication it really is not something I need to overly worry about.
I do know how horrid it is knowing your loved ones have something and not really understanding the implications. 

[Teresa Pawcats]

Good to see you back Amy.

Murmurs are usually graded  1 being very minor to 6 being very serious I would ask your vet which grade it is if only to put your mind at rest ;our dear Buster had grade 4 for many years and lived to ripe old age of 22  

[moira]

One of my 10+ FIV cats has a grade 2 heart murmor. The vet said he didn't need any medication or treatment yet - just to monitor health as ususal. I think the grades go up to 5 or 6.

[Janeyk]

Our Squeaky had a heart murmer all his life, other than that he was fine and lived a normal healthy life apart from usual old age illnesses.  Every time he had his boosters and health check it was tested but it only went up very slightly over the years, they did advise against dentals when he got older though - thankfully his teeth were good until he got older and he never needed any ops which I think they try to avoid.  Hopefully Minty will be the same but maybe it depends on the grade 

[swampmaxmum]

You could ask the vet what grade he thinks it is and how often he wants you to have it checked. Mine have had grade 1 - 2 for years (but they are older). I made the mistake of having Swampy scanned by a specialist cardiologist, under pressure from my previous (awful) vet and he had a bad reaction to the sedative given before the scan. Then when I moved vet, the new much better one said the heart murmur wasn't serious enough to warrant a scan. If Minty leads a nice peaceful life and it's low category, it should be fine 

[Amy]

Hi all, haven't been here for ages but took Minty for his anual booster vaccination today, the vet said he can hear a heart murmer...

After reading up online it says these are normally graded but he didn't say what grade- he asked me if I had notcied any other symptoms but I haven't... He has never been particularly active, he is a house cat, and he isn't loosing weight.

He said just to keep an eye on him. Now though I'm really worried, should I go back to the vet and ask what grade it is? Will his life expectancy be shorter now? He is 3 years old.

Any advice would be great,

Amy.