Is Catnip Bad For Cats With Heart Murmur
Cats protection will only refer a cat to a specialist if classed as grade 5 or 6.
Is catnip bad for cats with heart murmur. They are made by unusually turbulent blood flow in the cat s heart. For other cats a murmur may indicate an underlying and possibly severe heart condition. The most common type of cardiomyopathy in cats is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy characterized by thickening of the heart muscle. Like a kitty and her catnip kidney failure and heart murmurs seem to go hand in hand.
The prognosis depends on the cause of the heart murmur. The only danger of your cat eating too much catnip is that they might get an upset stomach. Most sources of information about catnip don t say anything about the herb doing harm to cats with heart murmurs. Heart murmurs are extra sounds in addition to the lub dub rhythm of the heart.
What are heart murmurs. Shelby neely of ask the cat doctor says she doesn t give catnip to one of her cats because he has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy or hcm for short a kind of heart disease. It simply means the heart is making unusual sounds that could indicate an abnormality. An adult cat with a murmur might also have disease of the heart muscle called cardiomyopathy.
The most common type of cardiomyopathy in cats is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy which is characterized by thickening of the heart muscle. A good physical examination will include auscultation where your doctor will listen to your cat s heart with a stethoscope. Catnip has been proven to be safe for cats although excessive amounts may result to a short spell of diarrhea. The grade of murmur does not necessarily mean heart disease is more or less severe or even present.
Heart murmurs are graded 1 6 with 1 being of the least concern and 6 being of the most concern. Below we cover exactly what catnip is if it s good for cats and its various effects. On the other hand dr. It s found to be neither toxic nor addictive so you can freely use it as a reward or training aid.
These extra sounds are only audible when listening to a cat s heart with a stethoscope. They re scary conditions but your animal loving vet can come up with a treatment plan. You can rub it on scratching posts stuff it into socks for a simple toy and sprinkle it into new beds among others. There s nothing mysterious about a heart murmur.
Your vet will be searching for normal heart rhythm a murmur or an arrhythmia if an arrhythmia or murmur is heard it may be an indication of heart disease such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. A feline heart murmur is usually detected during the course of a routine exam when the vet listens to your cat s heart using a stethoscope. Other than that there is zero reason to worry if catnip is bad for cats. There s absolutely no ingredient in catnip that can harm your cat.
Older cats may occasionally develop soft heart murmurs too due to anemia fever or other systemic illness.