Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi there. I'm sorry to bother you again. I've written to you in the past in regards to my cat Sola, who was diagnosed with moderate lymphoplasmacytic IBD and also has ASD in his heart. Thankfully all those problems are under control, but now he has another problem and I'm interested in your advice.

After Sola was diagnosed with ASD in February of 2007, he went in for a recheck in July and the veterinarian said that he had yet another defect. She said it was a mitral valve deficiency in his left atrium. She wasn't too concerned but thought that we should check it again in a few months. So, he just went in today for a recheck and it has gotten bigger yet. She said it's not to the point that he needs to be on medication and to check it again in 4 months, but it's almost been a year since my other cat (Sola's sister) suffered and died from a heart attack (and she showed no symptoms of cardiomyopathy) so I'm still quite cautious. Is there anything you'd recommend I do for Sola at this point or just wait another 4 months and see how his heart is then?

By the way, Sola was taking 1ml of budesonide for his IBD, but I've now weaned him down to .25mls and hopefully soon he'll be off it completely.

Thanks so much for your time.

Sincerely,

Lisa

Hi Lisa,

I think it's best to stick with your vet's recommendation regarding rechecks on Sola, as long as you bring him in sooner if you notice anything unusual.

Mitral valve problems can be either minor or major. I'm assuming that Sola has a heart murmur related to having a "leaky" valve. I would ask the vet what stage murmur he has to get an idea of the seriousness of his problem. He may well be one who will never need meds for his mitral valve problem. You might also want to ask the vet about putting Sola on a very low dose of aspirin to lower his risk of developing blood clots.

It's really good to hear that Sola has been doing well with his IBD on a reduced steroid dose

Please feel free to post anytime. Don't worry, you aren't bothering me at all

Take care, and please keep us updated.

Regards,
PHKitkat

Thanks for your speedy reply.

No murmur has been detected on Sola. The only reason he had an echocardiogram last year was because his biological sister died suddenly from cardiomyopathy so we wanted to make sure he was okay. But i guess you would say he's asymptomatic.

I'll talk to the vet about the aspirin.

Thanks!

Lisa