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Old May 26th, 2011, 01:29 PM
Lillycat Lillycat is offline
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Question Bengal Cat with heart Murmur

Hello So My husband and I "adopted" an unpapered Bengal a couple weeks ago and know nothing about her medical history. She is supposedly 3 years old. We took her to the Vet and the Vet listened to her heart and she has a large heart murmur. Pretty much there is nothing we can do for her unless we see her open mouth panting to rush her to a pet emergency center. will this effect her life span? Will it effect her daily living? She is a very high energy Cat and loves playing and wrestling with our dog and playing in water. We love her to death already in this short time we have had her.
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Old May 26th, 2011, 01:35 PM
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sugarcatmom sugarcatmom is offline
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I'd recommend having an echocardiogram done by a cardiologist to see what exactly the nature of the heart murmur is. There are medications (beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers, etc) that can help, but you need to know what's causing the murmur first and go from there. Many cats live long happy lives with a murmur (my cat being one), so I wouldn't panic yet. She's a beauty, by the way!
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Old May 26th, 2011, 04:29 PM
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WOW,what a beautiful girl,I hope the murmur is nothing serious
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Old May 27th, 2011, 07:45 AM
BenMax BenMax is offline
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I have a dog with a terminal heart condition. He was given 1-2 years tops. I fostered him for a rescue and no one wants him because of this condition. Medication is $150.00per month...so I do understand that this is a lose lose for some. Not for me - it's a win win. He will remain with us until the end. Though the vet recommends no running, extensive walks, to be carried constantly...I have a different view on this. Let him live. Let him just be a dog and enjoy his life. He has no idea that he is terminal...so why treat him as a fragile being.

My view is just let your cat enjoy everyday as a normal day. Heart murmurs are not always so serious. One cannot figure out the lifespan of a completely healthy animal, so it would be difficult to say how long your cat with this condition could live.

It is the quality of life that is important, not quantity.

I am pleased to tell you that my permanent little foster boy has passed the one year mark. He is having a ball just being a dog without restrictions.

Your cat is absolutely stunning by the way.
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Old May 27th, 2011, 04:32 PM
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Lillycat, Nickie, my cat was diagnosed with a "big" heart murmur when she was only a few months old; she just passed away at 20... It is not necessarily an early death sentence, as you can see from my experience.
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Old May 27th, 2011, 09:28 PM
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Lillycat, A friend's kitten was diagnosed with a grade 5 heart murmur and vet estimated a year to live. The cat lived until it was 15-1/2 yrs., so a heart murmur is not necessarily an early death sentence. Your cat is absolutely stunning and those green eyes are spectacular! I hope he has many many years ahead of him.
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Old June 8th, 2011, 06:28 PM
Lillycat Lillycat is offline
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Post Thank you

Thank you all for the stories of you and your animals it is very reassuring! we have also found out that she has crystals in her urine and possible stones she is on a urinary diet which should get rid of the crystals and prevent further stones. We are also trying to figure out if this is why she is peeig on everything also!Thanks for the compliments I think she is a doll!
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Old June 8th, 2011, 08:21 PM
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sugarcatmom sugarcatmom is offline
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Originally Posted by Lillycat View Post
we have also found out that she has crystals in her urine and possible stones she is on a urinary diet which should get rid of the crystals and prevent further stones.
What was she eating before she was put on the prescription diet? Do you know what type of crystals she has (ie struvite? calcium oxalate?)? Any other info from the urinalysis, like the ph and urine specific gravity? A really good article for you to read on the relationship between food and urinary tract issues is this one, written by a vet that actually knows a thing or 2 about cats: http://www.catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth
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Old June 14th, 2011, 11:46 PM
Lillycat Lillycat is offline
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Arrow

She was on a high protein diet from "taste of the wild" food they did not tell me what type of crystals they said it was not a UTI but there were crystals and possible stones (formed from the crystals) if that explains any better? She is now urinating all over our apt she is costing and taking a bigger toll on us then we thought she would we do not know what to do, because if this continues we will have to pay to repad/carpet our apt. I feel bad if we have to put her down or take her to the humane soceity because she can not help this! any help or advice would be great!
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Old June 15th, 2011, 12:02 AM
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She was on a high protein diet from "taste of the wild" food they did not tell me what type of crystals they said it was not a UTI but there were crystals and possible stones (formed from the crystals) if that explains any better? She is now urinating all over our apt she is costing and taking a bigger toll on us then we thought she would we do not know what to do, because if this continues we will have to pay to repad/carpet our apt. I feel bad if we have to put her down or take her to the humane soceity because she can not help this! any help or advice would be great!
She should be fed a good quality wet food diet, not a prescription diet and definitely no kibble. Raw would be ideal, but if that isn't an option, then a grain-free, by-product free canned food like Wellness, Nature's Variety, Weruva, By Nature, Merrick, etc.

Can you call the vet and ask for a copy of the lab work? The type of crystals and other results can be an important piece of the puzzle.

How many litter boxes do you have and how often are they cleaned? What type of litter do you use? What are you cleaning the urine spots with? These can all be factors in these situations. Here is another link for you to read, this one on inappropriate elimination: http://www.catinfo.org/?link=litterbox

I'd suggest picking up a couple of Feliway diffusers and a bottle of Feliway spray, as well as asking your vet for some Cosequin supplements. Please don't give up on your kitty! She needs you to help her.
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Old June 15th, 2011, 05:15 PM
Lillycat Lillycat is offline
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We had her on a high protein grainfree diet Taste of the wild Rocky mountain Feline formula. The vet told us we now have to feed her Purina One Urinary tract health formula 1/4th cup morning 1/4th cup in the evening, she said it would not take away from her protein and if it did then it would not be for long because we can put her back to her high protein diet.(We still give her raw freeze dried chicken treats for protein) As for her litter box it is a covered litter box she uses it regularly but just goes outside also. It is in the bathroom and she has constant access to it, I clean it once a day at least and have even started cleaning it morning and night since she is going outside the box also. We use a clumping litter from Purina. We were told by the lady we got her from she is fixed and the vet said it was possible but she wasnt sure the cat is meowing by our door all night long and at the front door SoI am now thinking she may not be fixed (she doesnt do this at all during the day and she gets lots of attenton from me because I am home most all day unless I have an errand to run)
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Old June 15th, 2011, 05:44 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lillycat View Post
We had her on a high protein grainfree diet Taste of the wild Rocky mountain Feline formula.
Canned or dry?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lillycat View Post
The vet told us we now have to feed her Purina One Urinary tract health formula 1/4th cup morning 1/4th cup in the evening,
Putting a cat with urinary tract issues on dry food is completely illogical and inappropriate. Did you read the link a couple posts above about diet and it's relationship to FLUTD? Wet food is the key.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lillycat View Post
As for her litter box it is a covered litter box she uses it regularly but just goes outside also.
I'd suggest picking up another litter box, this one uncovered, and seeing if an additional box helps. Bengals tend to be rather large cats and there isn't a single covered box on the market that I would consider big enough for even a regular sized cat. Even though she is still using it, she may prefer something larger and uncovered, like an under-the-bed storage box.

Quote:
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We use a clumping litter from Purina.
Scented or unscented?

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Originally Posted by Lillycat View Post
the cat is meowing by our door all night long and at the front door SoI am now thinking she may not be fixed (she doesnt do this at all during the day and she gets lots of attenton from me because I am home most all day unless I have an errand to run)
A cat in heat will be pretty randy day and night, so if she's behaving "normally" during the day, I doubt that's the issue. Do you know much about her history? Perhaps her previous owner let her out at night? Could also be that she's still adapting to her new home and feels a little insecure. Lots of interactive play time before bed might help.
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