Experience of heart murmur in cats?

[Pippity]

After taking my seven-ish-year-old moggy to a new vet for the first time, I've been told she's got a heart murmur.

This vet doesn't have the equipment to do much in the way of investigations, so would have to refer me to a specialist if I wanted to look into it further. They're entirely neutral on whether further investigations are a good idea, which isn't helping me decide!

She's not a cat who does well with medication - I haven't managed to get a pill down her in the five years I've had her. She also gets extremely worked up by anything out of the ordinary - if I have visitors, she vanishes for the rest of day; if she has to leave the flat for any reason, she spends the next week behind the bookcase. (She's deaf, so an entirely indoor cat.)

Because of all that, I'm tempted to leave investigations unless her regular check-ups suggest the murmur's getting worse. However, insurance would only cover investigations done in the next 12 months. There's a strong chance I'm going to be losing my job due to disability soon, at which point I wouldn't be able to finance the investigations myself.

So, all that in mind, what would you do?

Obligatory photo of the little ratbag:

 

[Blackwijet]

Hi

My old moggie had a heart murmur in her later years - so did my dog!. Wijit the cat didn't have any medication until about a couple of months before she died (she was 15) when her heart had enlarged so she needed diruetics but I was told this was not linked to the murmur. My Dog never needed any medication. It really does depend on how bad the murmur is, many animals (and people) lead perfectly normal healthy lives with them. If you have insurance then it might be an idea to at least have an ECG or ecocardiagram done (or whatever referal suggests) while they will pay out for it. At least you know where you stand and can then have a starting point for any future check ups. Otherwise if in a couple of year's time her condition worsens you won't be able to claim anything as it will already have been excluded from the insurance.

 

[Janah]

One of my cats was diagnosed with a murmur at a year old, my vet suggested doing nothing as was slight.

 

[twiggy2]

If you would not be able to medicate there seems little point in putting her through the stress of investigations unless you would consider surgery if it is an option?
what grade was the murmur? was it on both sides or just one?
sometimes a low grade murmur will be picked up at a check and never be heard again so it would depend on the severity and what options may be available.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

After taking my seven-ish-year-old moggy to a new vet for the first time, I've been told she's got a heart murmur.

This vet doesn't have the equipment to do much in the way of investigations, so would have to refer me to a specialist if I wanted to look into it further. They're entirely neutral on whether further investigations are a good idea, which isn't helping me decide!

She's not a cat who does well with medication - I haven't managed to get a pill down her in the five years I've had her. She also gets extremely worked up by anything out of the ordinary - if I have visitors, she vanishes for the rest of day; if she has to leave the flat for any reason, she spends the next week behind the bookcase. (She's deaf, so an entirely indoor cat.)

Because of all that, I'm tempted to leave investigations unless her regular check-ups suggest the murmur's getting worse. However, insurance would only cover investigations done in the next 12 months. There's a strong chance I'm going to be losing my job due to disability soon, at which point I wouldn't be able to finance the investigations myself.

So, all that in mind, what would you do?

Obligatory photo of the little ratbag:

Our little Lilly cat has been found to have heart murmur this year and never did before. Vet just said leave and monitor as it was only a slight one.