My Cavalier King Charles Charlotte is 9 years old after reading somthing about CKCS and Heart Murmurs and MVD I decided to listen to my dogs heart just putting ear up to her chest and instead off hearing a normal heart beat it sounds like somthing from an ultrasound and im just extremly worried she has got somthing wrong with her heart im taking her to the vets tomorrow I had to wait till pay day shes my world I couldnt imagine not having her and I no im gwtting my self a bit worked up but does anyone have any experience when it comes to Cavaliers and heart murmurs or just heart murmurs in general.

By the age of 10 most Cavs have a heart murmur of some kind, they go from grade 1 (mild) to grade 6 (severe). If your vet hasn't picked up anything before then it's unlikely to have developed into anything worth worrying about.

There's some really good meds around these days that can slow the progression down so try not to panic too much if the vet does find something.

Good luck

It is certainly worth going to put your mind at rest, but listening through the chest isn't going to give you the best indication - hence stethoscope. There are bowel sounds, lungs etc.

A better indication is her behaviour - if she is eating and exercising normally then it is unlikely to be a serious murmur if she has one - as Phyllis says they are pretty much ubiquitous in Cavs but some need nothing more than keeping an eye on, others need medication. If she had a serious murmur she would get very breathless very quickly on her walks.

So, certainly get it checked out but try not to worry

Thanks for the help . She isnt a young chicken anymore. I took her to the vets yesterday and she does have a heart murmur at a grade 4 shes been put on Vetmedin 5mg these big chunky tabs one in the morning one and night and she needs to lose a 1kg lol

I hope she is OK. Our 6 year old cat has had a heart murmur since he first went to the vet and he has been fine.

Yr shes good sinse taking the meds wev seen a noticable diference inn her almost like shes a puppy again. Shes quite active now. Wel as active as a cavalier can get anyways lol. Awww glad your cat is good its worrying hearibg that tho isnt it??

I'm sorry your baby has developed the murmur but try not to worry too much, I had a KCS who developed a heart murmur but once on medication he was fine, he lived till he was almost 14 years old, which I believe is very old for Cavaliers. I remember the vets being amazed at how long he was with us. I was foolish and hadn't taken out pet insurance and his meds were costing us £50 per month. It was worth every penny to keep him with us though and we never begrudged paying it, however we have learned our lesson and took pet insurance out when we acquired a new family pet, or should I say new family friend. I like to think that his long life was prolonged by the fact we never fed him human food which the vet says was a good thing and our latest family friend doesn't get human food either except the odd thrown Walkers baked crisp LOL. I do hope you get to keep your KCS around for a looooong time yet. Good luck
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