Recently Diagnosed Heart Murmour; did my new vet diagnose this right?

Hi all,

I have a female 6 year old long hair domestic cat. I’d been taking her to the same Banfield for years since I got her at 2. I recently moved so I had to switch offices. No prior issues with my old one, but this a Banfield has given me serious doubts. I took her in for a routine visit; they recommended a dental cleaning with X-rays and a cardiologist, because apparently she has a Grade 2 Murmour. She gets incredibly stressed going to the vet, often vommiting, pooping, and puking, as well as drooling and shaking. I’ve tried to give her pet-safe melatonin but she just won’t calm down. I figured the murmour could be a fluke, since it could be stress. I scheduled teeth cleaning anyway.

Fastforward to today, I dropped her off for the cleaning. They called me 30 minutes later stating a Grade 3 Murmour, and said it was risky to give anesthesia. They said they could do a sedative shot to see if it could calm down, I agreed. They call me again an hour later stating the Murmour was actually Grade 4, and they confirmed it with another vet. At this point, I’m having doubts, because she couldn’t keep a consistent diagnosis, and seemed very frazzled at my questions and concerns. She said she could’ve developed it recently, but she was just seen in December with no prior issues. I said fine I’ll pick her up and get a 2nd opinion, and wasn’t gonna risk the anesthesia until I get a straight answer. I call my old Banfield, and they seemed concerned with what I told them. They looked at her records, no Murmour. The lady I spoke with said I could do X-rays and bloodwork to see if it was structural or not, but didn’t guarantee it would see everything. I’m shocked at this point, because that option was never explained to me at my new Banfield, in fact the vet said there was no way to check with bloodwork.

At this point, I’m considering driving an hour back to my old Banfield to see what they say, because I trust them. I’d like to see another vet besides Banfield but it can be pricey and I already have the Banfield plan. I don’t have pet insurance, and I don’t know if I can even afford a cardiologist. Should I still continue with getting a 2nd opinion? Or go through with cardiology? I’m just so confused at this point.