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Been gone a while.. Heart murmur

Crombie00

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My 3 yrs (and 4 month) old boy cat, Brody has a heart murmur and was trying to cough up phlegm. Vet wasn't real worried about murmur but need to keep an eye on it.
They gave him meds prednisolone and cerenia. He did well the first fees days. Was jumping and seemed very happy but then he hit a wall. Was sitting downstairs and pupils were dilated ( scared?). So I brought him to bed with me and decided to stop meds. He's ok as in no more lethargy and pupil dilation. But he's gone back to not playing as much and he carries some extra weight they wanted off. He's so hard to keep playing!! Like he's ADD!! Lol. He has IBD as well.
His sister likes to grab all the attention and loves to run and play she is skinny.
Any thoughts would be great.
I haven't told vet I had to stop meds. Should I restart them? Any info advice would be great!
TIA
 

Catzzzmeow

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I would personally partner up with your vet on everything. Did your vet recommend And echocardiogram ? It might be best to get a baseline and see if HCM is an issue. Murmurs can be just that and harmless, but best to check. -lease let us know how things are going. Nice to see you back in the community.

Patti
 

Crombie00

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Thanks Patti I had planned to call her tomorrow as they are not in on wknds.
Yeah they did the echocardiogram.
I'm forgetting what HCM is?
 

Toa and Ross

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Sorry to hear Brody has a heart murmur. I know too little of heart murmurs to say something about it. So only chimed in to sent healing vibes to Brody.

Natasja
 

Yoda mom

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@Crombie00 , kisses to Brody and his sister

Glad you are touching base with your vet tomorrow - please keep us updated amd know Brody is in our thoughts -
Several of us have kitties with Murmurs amd each kitty is different so definitely best to follow your vets advice for Brody.
Kitties ( I have a 3 yr old now with a murmur too) with murmurs can have a long active life with vets care -

I would ask the vet directly what Grade murmur was detected?
Amd ask if a lower carb food / portion control / separate feeding , would be beneficial

sending smooches and positve vibes
Will be looking for your update

I have a Bengal kitty with IBD that does well on Fromm Game Bird recipe and maintains a lean body ..
 

Xandria

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Hey there! Great to see you again, but so sorry about Brody feeling unwell. Lots of great advice above. Please keep us posted and of course I'm sending you lots of positive thoughts!
 

Catzzzmeow

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If I recall, murmurs are based on a scale of 1 through 6. 6 being most severe. A heart scan is recommended when they are a year old to have a base line with or without a murmur. Only 50% of true heart disease (HCM positive kitties even develop a murmur) the other 50% never show signs of a murmur and is why people are shocked when their baby passes unexpectedly. We had a boy with a stage 2 murmur as a kitten and made it to 13 until heart disease manifested. His murmur was just an innocent murmur. I’d say get a scan ...early meds give many years beyond the odds.
 

Yoda mom

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@Mindy Kelley ,((hugs)))
Can you share how you were told it was a 2 or 3?
I ask because each time I take my kitties to the vet I specifically to listen for any heart murmurs ...
If it's a young kitten sometimes they can have "ghost murmurs" , stress related possible murmurs ,that go away .
So each time I go with my adults I ask for an extra listen .

On my adult cat's recent visit - my vet told me he has a murmur of a 3-4 based on her "subjective " opinion . She said it was just her opinion Amd would have to see a cardiologist if I chose to for a more conclusive confirmation .

She said we would just keep an eye on him and did not wamt to put him on any medications at this point . Each kitty is different .

Was the heart murmur detected with a subject listen with a stethoscope by your vet ?
Or through a test?
 
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