1/19 Bear - AMPS 150, +2 96, +3 123; New diagnosed heart murmur

Meredith Bear’s Mom

Meredith Bear’s Mom

Member Since 2022
Hi guys,

Bit of sad news tonight. I took Bear to the vet to have his sniffles checked out (turns out it was nothing, probably just some kitty allergies). However, the vet did find a grade 2 or 3 heart murmur. Neither the previous vet that saw him, nor the specialist, nor the ER vet noticed this. The specialist made a small note that there might be something small with his heart, but certainly not to the extent of a murmur. I feel totally devastated. Bear just got through so much and now this. Does anyone have any experience with this? He's going for an Echo once the specialist gives me a call.

Also wanted to note that he received his first shot of Solensia for his arthritis. The vet assured me that it would not mess with his BG. Has anyone given their kitty this?

And to make things worse... my pay got cut today. I think I'm going to have to get a second job. But I am willing to do anything for Bear and the rest of my animals.

Really grateful I have this community to talk to. I don't know what I'd do without you.
 
Yes, I've had a couple kitties with heart murmurs. An echo is an excellent idea. Neko's first echo showed her murmur was benign, just due to some age related changes. Vet said to monitor the murmur and as long as it didn't change grade or locations, it was fine. Over time, a couple years, and probably due to her acromegaly, it became something worse. Both Neko and the other kitty with a murmur, had some Maine Coon heritage, which is more prone to HCM (enlarged heart). But I've also seen a cat here diagnosed with HCM for something like 5 years. There are treatments if found in time, so that's the upside to hearing the murmur now. If costs are an issue, there is a blood test called Cardio ProBNP, though it won't tell as much as an echo will.

We have had kitty's get Solensia here - there's a long thread about it on the Feline Health forum. FDA New Treatment for Osteoarthritis for Cats All good results reported so far.

Bummer about the pay cut. :( I guess it depends where you live, but here that's not allowed for salaried workers, unless hours are cut too.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Yes, I've had a couple kitties with heart murmurs. An echo is an excellent idea. Neko's first echo showed her murmur was benign, just due to some age related changes. Vet said to monitor the murmur and as long as it didn't change grade or locations, it was fine. Over time, a couple years, and probably due to her acromegaly, it became something worse. Both Neko and the other kitty with a murmur, had some Maine Coon heritage, which is more prone to HCM (enlarged heart). But I've also seen a cat here diagnosed with HCM for something like 5 years. There are treatments if found in time, so that's the upside to hearing the murmur now. If costs are an issue, there is a blood test called Cardio ProBNP, though it won't tell as much as an echo will.

We have had kitty's get Solensia here - there's a long thread about it on the Feline Health forum. FDA New Treatment for Osteoarthritis for Cats All good results reported so far.

Bummer about the pay cut. :( I guess it depends where you live, but here that's not allowed for salaried workers, unless hours are cut too.
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Hi Wendy,

Seems like many people have had cats with heart murmurs who do okay. Hopefully we caught it early enough - we'll see what the echo shows I guess. At this point I've already spent so much, what's a little more ;)

Thank you for passing along this thread! I will definitely take a look at this! I'm glad people have seen good results with it. Hoping it provides him some relief.

I was taken from hourly to salary, which meant I could no longer earn overtime. I was counting on that to help with Bear and my other animals. But i actually talked to my boss this morning and he gave me a pay raise instead, which comes close to being even I think. Still better than what was proposed. So that's good at least. :)
 
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