This gorgeous (and very chilled out) boy belongs to a veterinary receptionist. When one of Chilli’s feline family died of heart disease, she decided to get Chilli checked out as well.
Chilli had a loud heart murmur, and so his vets recommended a heart scan. The scan showed that Chilli has very thickened heart muscle – a condition called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy or HCM. HCM is very common in cats, and can cause heart failure, which leads to build-up of fluid in the lungs and/or chest. Heart failure is an end-stage condition and most cats will die within a few months of the onset of signs.
Luckily for Chilli, we found his HCM before he went in to heart failure and we have started him on treatment to try and improve the severity of his condition. At his last check-up he was already looking better and his mum reported no problems.
It’s very common for cats to have heart murmurs, and it doesn’t necessarily mean that your cat has heart disease, but Chilli is a great example of why having a consultation with a cardiologist can be really worthwhile!
We’re looking forward to seeing Chilli again in few months for his check-up – he wins a prize for best behaved puss-cat!