I put my fingers on the pet s thigh and feel for the femoral pulse at the same time that I am doing the listening. I then correlate the beat and the pulse and the respiration. Further testing that I may want includes an EKG, a blood panel, X rays, and echocardiograms. I use all this information together with my physical exam and my intuition to figure out if the heart is ailing. Disease of the heart is basically either something the pet is born with or is acquired with age.
Cats basically have only one common heart problem called cardiomyopathy.
This is a heart muscle problem where the muscle is weak and thin and the pressure inside the heart makes it dilate. These kitties hearts beat weaker and less efficiently than their normal-hearted kitty pals. Lack of taurine in the kitty diet may be a culprit in causing feline cardiomyopathy. Dogs often have problems with their heart valves. The most common valve problem that dogs have is mitral valve insufficiency.