How long can a dog live with a severe heart murmur?
Many dogs live a long time after being diagnosed with a heart murmur, and some can even live years after being diagnosed with heart failure. If you have any questions or concerns about murmurs, please contact your veterinarian.
Why does my Maine Coon have cardiomyopathy?
Cardiomyopathy means disease due to an enlargement of the heart muscle. The name of the condition is a description of what happens rather than its cause and, in fact, HCM can be caused by various diseases. The main cause in Maine coon cats is the presence of one, or more, mutant genes that directly cause heart muscle to develop abnormally.
How old does a Maine Coon have to be to have kidney problems?
As your cats ages, or if the disease is severe enough a Maine Coon will see these cysts enlarge and ‘push out’ the healthy kidney tissue resulting in a reduced effect from the kidney. This is often painless to the cat. Veterinarians suggest that you most likely will not see symptoms of the disease until your Maine coon is around 7 years old.
What’s the life span of a cat with heart murmur?
The life expectancy depends on the cause of the murmur: cats with benign or innocent murmurs will have a normal life span, while cats with heart murmurs caused by life threatening structural defects of the heart may only live for months or a few years.
Can a Maine Coon cat get the flu?
No one likes to think about it when they purchase a cat, especially one with the majestic qualities of the Maine Coon, but a sad fact of life it cats do, and will get ill. Most of the time it’s something common to call cats, like flu, but sometimes it’s to a disease, a specific breed is susceptible to.
What kind of heart disease does a Maine Coon have?
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the commonest form of heart disease in cats and it is very common in Maine coons. With HCM the thickness of the heart wall increases abnormally (Liu et al 1981).
As your cats ages, or if the disease is severe enough a Maine Coon will see these cysts enlarge and ‘push out’ the healthy kidney tissue resulting in a reduced effect from the kidney. This is often painless to the cat. Veterinarians suggest that you most likely will not see symptoms of the disease until your Maine coon is around 7 years old.
Why did my Maine Coon have to be put down?
My 13 yr. old male Maine coon went to the vet after he stopped eating. The vet said it was a problem with his pancreas and could clear it up but further tests showed bleeding around the heart so he had to be put down. What a great companion. Very loyal like a dog. He even watched over our two dogs.
What does a Veterinarian grade a heart murmur?
Your veterinarian will grade the heart murmur out of 6, with 6/6 being the loudest murmur. In some instances, the louder the murmur, the more significant the abnormality within the heart. Soft heart murmurs (grade 1/6 to 2-3/6) can occur in young animals and are of no consequence to them. These types of murmurs are called “innocent” murmurs.