Worried about Duma

Two days ago we took Duma and Mehitabel in for their annual checkups. They are only 16 months old so we didn't expect trouble. Mehitabel passed with flying colors. Duma unfortunately did not. He seems healthy and is always happy and loving. But when she listened to his heart the vet heard a heart murmur.

We took him in yesterday for an ultrasound and his heart is not at all as it should be. He was awake during the procedure so they could not be as thorough as they could if he were sedated. They found that his heart has very thick walls. They think they also found a big septal defect allowing blood to cross between the two atria. There is another vet in town who specializes in ultrasounds and who will sedate him during the procedure. We have an appointment for Duma on Friday for a second untrasound.

Both of us are very concerned. Duma is not just any cat. (Of course none of our cats is... but he is really special.) He is the most loving and funny cat we've ever had. We want him to be with us for a very long time. We are waiting with bated breath to find out what the prognosis is and what can be done for him. We are also concerned about costs as we are both retired. But we'll go pretty darn far to bring him back to good health.