A faint murmur may be a cat’s only cry for help. Feline heart disease creeps in quietly—so listen before it is too late.
The Story
Cats conceal cardiac disease exceptionally well. A careful physical examination—auscultating for systolic or continuous murmurs and gallop sounds while measuring heart rate—supplies the first clue (Ettinger et al., 2024). Electrocardiography then detects arrhythmias, conduction abnormalities, and chamber enlargement, though it offers good specificity but poor sensitivity (Ettinger et al., 2024). Thoracic radiography evaluates cardiomegaly, pulmonary vasculature and parenchyma, and pleural effusion, remaining the gold standard for confirming pulmonary edema (V. Luis Fuentes, 2015). Murmur location narrows the diagnosis: systolic murmurs at the heart base or apex point to specific lesions, while continuous murmurs suggest patent ductus arteriosus. Staging diagnosis with functional assessment (Kasetsart University) then guides treatment and monitoring.
Figure 1. Feline cardiac auscultation points — left/right base and apex.
Figure 2. The diagnostic trio — physical examination, ECG, and thoracic radiography.
Terminology Sources
· Physical examination, murmur localization & ECG — Ettinger SJ, Feldman EC, Cote E, Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine, Elsevier, 2024.
· Thoracic radiography — V. Luis Fuentes, Radiography vs. Echocardiography, WSAVA World Congress Proceedings, 2015.
· Staging diagnosis & functional assessment — Natpreeya Premjaroen, DVM, Cardiovascular Unit, KUVTH, Kasetsart University (seminar).