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Heart Murmur in Cats: What It is and How to Manage

Alt: "Black and white cat lying on a soft blanket with gentle eyes, receiving care for cardiomyopathy

A heart murmur is an abnormal sound that your vet can hear through the stethoscope. The sound is caused by an abnormal flow of blood within the heart. Not all heart murmurs are serious, but because your vet cannot tell just by listening, it is important to have some diagnostics performed. 

Unfortunately, a benign or innocent heart murmur can sound like a heart murmur caused by severe heart disease in a cat. So all heart murmurs will need to be evaluated thoroughly by a board certified cardiologist to ensure the health of your cat. 

While hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in Bengal cats is one of the reasons for a heart murmur, there are others.

  • Congenital heart abnormalities

  • Acquired heart disease

  • Secondary Heart Murmurs

HCM Testing 

One of the benefits of purchasing a pedigree pet is a known health history.  Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) affects one in seven domestic cats.  Pedigree cat breeders can reduce these odds IF they do their part.

What should pedigree breeders be doing to reduce the risk of HCM and other heart diseases?
They should be testing their breeding cats with an echocardiogram performed by a Board Certified Cardiologist every 12 to 18 months until the breeding cat is over the age of five years old, preferably until the cat is eight years old or older.

While the first test on a breeding cat is done at around one-year-old, heart testing needs to be repeated.  Many forms of heart disease, including HCM, are progressive. Cats may not exhibit the first signs of it until they are 4-6 years old, occasionally even later. 

Cardiomyopathy in Cats

We do all we can to be sure you have a healthy happy lifelong companion, including testing the parents for HCM.

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy is a condition of the heart in which the muscular walls of the heart are thickened. It is a disease that can affect any cat, dog, or even people. However, Bengal Cats are particularly predisposed to this condition. This disease must be diagnosed from a board certified cardiologist (not just a Vet).

This article will cover signs and symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. Click Read More next to this topic.

The International Cat Association

Tikka Sky Bengals is registered with TICA and CFA.

Bien que nous soyons une chatterie enregistrée et membre des éleveurs en ligne TICA, nous sommes tenus de déclarer que  cette chatterie n'a PAS été inspectée et n'est pas approuvée par l'International Cat Association, Inc.

Fier d'être  Club des chats du Bengale  Agréé

FIER MEMBRE DE  TIBC

Bengal Cat Club
The International Bengal Cat Society
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