Dear Visitors and Potential Adopters:

Leon is a one year old cat who was surrendered to us without any paperwork or history. During his examination, we found that Leon has a heart murmur (grade 2 out of 6) with an undiagnosed cause. We don't know if he will live a normal life or if his murmur will develop to cause heart disease. He is looking for an adopter who is able to provide him with the best veterinary care no matter what the future may hold for him.

Heart murmurs are caused by turbulent blood flow in the heart or adjacent vessels, and have many possible causes. The most common causes are abnormal development of the heart, valves that are irregularly shaped or are not working properly, and infection. The intensity of the murmur does not correlate with the degree of disease.

Sometimes cats and dogs with heart murmurs have what is called an "innocent murmur", meaning there is no underlying disease causing the murmur and the pet will live a normal life. Sometimes the heart murmur can stress the heart to cause it to become enlarged or inefficient at pumping blood to the rest of the body. Often these heart diseases can be managed with medication to give the pet many years of quality life.

Methods to evaluate the cause of the murmur or to monitor the progression of the murmur include x-rays and ultrasound. These diagnostic procedures are painless and non-invasive for the pet. Most veterinary hospitals can take x-rays and all veterinary hospitals can make arrangements for ultrasound.

It is very important to work closely with your veterinarian to monitor Leon's health. Leon is a loving and affectionate cat who deserves the best. All future diagnostics and treatment will be at the expense of his new owner.