Feline HCM Clinic

Sharing just some of our amazing patients for International cat day 😻. This year is focusing on championing cat friendly care, which we are passionate about here at the HCM clinic. Our hospital, the QVSH, has gold status as a cat friendly clinic and we really care about taking the time to make sure our feline patients are as relaxed as possible for their heart scans and have a positive experience. 🐈🫀🐈‍⬛❤️

We were not expecting a congenital defect in this 14 year old cat referred for signs of early CHF with no prior cardiac history. We diagnosed a partial atrioventricular septal defect (AVSD) characterised by a large ostium primum atrial septal defect, and malformed AV valves, resulting in right sided volume overload, pulmonary hypertension (and consequent bi-directional shunting across the ASD) and early CHF (trace pleural and mild pericardial effusions).
AVSDs are a spectrum of uncommon congenital defects (documented in ~5-10% of cats with congenital heart disease), characterised by alignment of the AV orifices (loss of normal staggering) and either an ASD or VSD if partial, or both if a complete AVSD. Long-term prognosis is generally considered guarded, but sometimes cats, like our lovely patient, can live years symptom free

📣 We have an exciting senior veterinary nursing opportunity at the The Queen's Veterinary School Hospital, QVSH part of the University of Cambridge Vet School 🐾

As Head Nurse, you will lead and develop the inpatient nursing and Veterinary Care Assistant (VCA) teams, ensuring consistently high standards of care across all inpatient areas. You will hold professional oversight of nursing practice, driving operational efficiency and fostering a positive, collaborative working and learning environment.

To apply for this role, you will need to be an experienced Registered Veterinary Nurse with a strong background in small animal practice and demonstrable leadership experience. You will have excellent organisational and communication skills and be confident at leading teams in a fast-paced environment.

If this sounds like a good fit - then we want to hear from you 👇🏽

Small Animal Head Nurse
👉 https://www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/small-animal-head-nurse-pp50051
📅 Closing date is 5 August 2026

Why follow up scans matter- what a difference a year can make!
12 months ago we saw a lovely 1.5 year old DSH for an asymptomatic murmur, LV wall thickness was normal, there was no SAM, but LV systolic function was hyperdynamic with a mild mid-LV gradient and NT-proBNP was mildly increased.
Fast forward 12 months, still asymptomatic, but echo now shows a HCM phenotype with SAM and severe DLVOTO and elevated cardiac biomarkers and beta blockers have been started.

Tonight’s emergency:LS-CHF relapse- cardiomyopathy of non-specific phenotype (mild septal thickening, LV systolic dysfunction, abnormal MV apparatus- cTnI at initial presentation 11 ng/ml) Cambridge Vet School

We love cat day -this little angel slept his way through his scan. Bestest boy 😻.
Creating a calm and safe environment for cats makes all the difference

Not all Maine C***s with a murmur have HCM 🐾

A 5-year-old FN Maine C**n was referred to the Feline HCM Clinic for evaluation of a loud, asymptomatic systolic heart murmur (grade V/VI).
Echocardiography revealed severe valvular pulmonary stenosis- fused pulmonary valve leaflets with a normal pulmonary artery annulus and a peak pressure gradient of 80 mmHg.
Congenital heart disease is far less common than cardiomyopathy in adult cats, but it remains an important differential for any feline patient presenting with a loud heart murmur. Breed predisposition shouldn’t anchor the diagnosis — let the echo speak

Millimetres matter. 📏
In feline echocardiography, the difference between a normal heart and HCM can come down to