I'd wait for the ultrasound before actively worrying about what happens if
the heart can't handle anesthesia.  When I adopted Demelza (at approx. 12
months) & took her to the vet for her initial check-up on the way home from
the shelter, the vet found a loud heart murmur.  He scheduled an ultrasound
for her (w/ my agreement), & it turned out that it appeared to be a
basically benign murmur.  She's now 12 & has been under anesthesia a few
times, & has come through w/ flying colors.

Of course, in the meantime, you can see what's what, re: anesthesia, if the
ultrasound does show a problem for Francis, but it may well turn out to be
no biggy.

Cathy

I agree with Cathy.  Wait and see what the ultrasound/vet says.

Two years ago I was told my cat developed a heart murmur.  The ultrasound
proved it to be harmless (I could not give you the technical explanation for
this, I only remember that in layman's terms, it was no cause for concern).  We
went ahead with the anesthesia for the teeth cleaning and a tooth extraction.
Today she is still healthy as a horse.

I was told the same thing a few years back about my own heart and same
"harmless" result with my ultrasound.  After some asking around, I found that
these are not so rare and more often than not, are harmless but an ultrasound
has to be done to be sure.

My cat Omar (RB) had a pretty severe case of dilated cardiomyopathy and
was on a lot of medications. I had suspected something was going on with
a tooth and he had in fact developed an infection in the root of one of
his canines (they were able to do an xray while he was awake.) With his
heart issue it was imperative that we deal with the infection and get
the tooth out, and what we decided on was to do only gas anesthesia with
no induction agent as this would be the easiest on him. Unfortunately he
died the night before the procedure after throwing a blood clot, so I
can't speak to how he would have handled anesthesia, but if there is a
heart condition and it's not severe, they may be able to do only gas and
safely neuter him as this is a procedure that is very quick. I would
also worry about the stress not being neutered might put on a cat's
heart if it is already compromised, which may mean choosing between the
lesser of two evils so to speak. I do know that heart murmurs in kittens
happen frequently and often resolve as they grow. I've had this happen a
few times to some of my cats when they were small and the murmur went
away.

Megan

                                   

what grade of heart murmur is it?? does the cat show any other symptoms of
having a heart condition?

The reason I ask, is because I have had several cats with heart murmurs be
neutered with out  an ultrasound.  Even did a spay on a young kitten with a
grade 3/4.  My old girl (14) who has a heart murmur recently went under and
had a dental.  Also my Jack had a heart murmur when young, and it
disappeared.  They think it was the valve in his heart that is open when
they are in the womb didn't close like it should have, and just took longer.

There are other forms of anesthesia that they can use that are safe.  I
would probably suggest a second opinion - which would be cheaper than an
ultrasound.

Not sure if this helps, but my dog (16 years old) has a +4 heart murmur,
it's my understanding 5 is at the top of the scale, he has been sedated at
least 5 times since its discovery for ear cleaning (long story but he has
severe allergies and about every 6 months he needs the cleaning) but my vet
uses a milder form of anesthesia, which wears off quicker with less
grogginess.  When my cat (18 years old) developed a hematoma (compliments of
an ear mite from a new stray we discovered and added to our entourage of
already weird animals) and needed surgery the vet again used a milder form,
both animals have not had any problems during or after sedation.  My dog
will go through the process again this Friday, if you are interested I can
ask his vet the name of the anesthesia he uses.

Trish
Never Never look a stray in the eyes, unless you want a new family member.
When will I ever learn this!