How much for that echocardiogram?????

[oberz3]

I adopted a beautiful, solid black, 4-year old, female cat from a veterinary office a little over a year ago.  Granted, we already had two older cats and a young dog, we knew that adding yet another cat would take them some time to adjust.  That was over a year ago.  This "new" cat still has not seemed to accept the other animals, as evidenced by her hissing and swatting at them every time they come near her (that's okay, as she had been declawed before we adopted her, so she's really not hurting the others) and now she has taken to urinating on our new rug.  I decided to take the cat to the vet to determine if this urinating thing is a behavioral issue or a medical issue.  At the vet's office, I was told that the cat has a "galloping" heart murmur and will require an echocardiogram to determine if there is heart disease or not.  The price?  $500.00.  I nearly fell out of my chair.  I've had cats for over 30 years (all have lived to their early 20's) and I've seen no other signs or symptoms exhibited by this cat that would raise any concerns (not that there has to be one for the cat to have heart disease) as to her overall health and when I adopted her, I was told she was checked out by the vet at that hospital and was given a clean bill of health.  So do I believe this new diagnosis?  Do cats just suddenly develop heart murmurs?  Is $500 for an echocardiogram a reasonable amount to charge?  Should I go back to the veterinary hospital I adopted her from and say, "Uh, I think you missed something when you supposedly 'checked her out' prior to my adopting her."  I'm even starting to think they may have realized this problem during her check and decided not to say anything because she's so young and they needed to get her adopted.  Probably not, but I'm becoming increasingly less trusting of these people.  

Any advice on the matter would be much appreciated!  Thank you in advance!

[nancyjac]

While she may have a heart murmur and possibly heart disease, I doubt that has anything to do with her behavior towards you other pets.  Some cats just don't like other cats (or dogs).  This tends to be especially true with cats that have been declawed since they can become more defensive and use other tools (hissing, growling, swatting, etc.) to make up for their lack of normal defenses.

[Jeannette4171]

My 13 year old cat was just diagnosed with a slight heart murmur, we have had blood work done on her but everything was negative. Do you think I need to see a cardiologist or do you think a follow-up with the vet would be sufficient at this time?

[heatherlynn22]

my prayers are with your kitty!!! hopefully it turns out not to be something serious!!!

[zodiacqueen]

That $500 echocardiogram is what I've paid for 2 of my kitties.  One was done by an internist and the other echo was done by a cardiologist.  If you have the choice, go with the cardiologist.

By the way, I would definitely go back to the vet where you got her from and ask them about the heart murmur.  It IS possible that it was something that she was born with.  If that's the case, then they had business to tell you about it before you adopted her.

Good luck with your kitty and I wish her well!!

ZQ