Strokes in cats, what to expect and new hope (Serious Illness in Pets)

Member Name: Tracy_1127

Product:	Serious Illness in Pets
Date:	25/07/08 (2378 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: None to having strokes

Disadvantages: Many, read the review

The serious illness in pets that I want to discuss is strokes in cats. If you research online many sites claim strokes are not common in cats, however according to my vets they are getting an increasing amount of feline stroke patients which may be for some environmental reason or may be because lots of people keep their cats in nowadays to avoid traffic etc. I personally keep both my lads (cats) in for safety reasons which is how I spotted all of my cat's strokes. Yes, I did say all and he's still here and full of beans.

This leads me to my next point, if your cat has a stroke don't assume that's it, he'll never recover and there's no hope. Although they can be devastating and fatal in cats (as well as dogs and people) most of the time a cat will make a near full or completely full recovery so never decide what to do until they've had week or two to recover, the first week you may not notice much improvement but week 2 and week 3 often bring a dramatic change so I can't stress that point enough. Some people immediately assume they won't recover but a decent vet would always advise a wait and see approach.

My lad is now 14 and he's on medication for hyperthyroidism and eats a diet to control struvite (both of which I'll probably discuss at a later date in a different review). He was diagnosed hyperthyroid a few months before his first stroke. The first one happened out of the blue, he followed me inside one day and couldn't walk straight. He used the walls and kitchen cabinets to get inside then proceeded to circle. His head was constantly turned to one side (known as head tilt) and he didn't respond to my voice at all. I panicked, I'd heard of many cats that circle before the inevitable and he's my baby. I phoned the vet who said he may have an ear infection or be having a stroke (the two are very similar in symptoms) and bring him in. My partner had my car that day so I called him to bring it home and he rushed home in 15 minutes.

As I opened the door to my partner, with my lad still in my arms, he suddenly snapped out of it. His head returned to normal position and he responded to my voice again but laid on the floor exhausted.

I took him to the vets where he was given a steriod injection for any swelling of the brain and I was told he may or may not have more but as he'd come round so quickly he should be fine. They took a blood test and discovered his medication had made him slightly hypothyroid so we reduced the dose to fix this assuming this was the cause. If a cause can be found often you can prevent more strokes but again often a cause cannot be identified.

He was indeed fine and after a week of being very tired (normal sign after a stroke) he returned to his usual lovely, happy, chatty little self with only one tell-tale sign. Some twitching of his head and front paws at various times throughout the day. But he was ok otherwise and we went about our business with him being my little shadow and chasing my toes under the bed covers for the next 8 months.

The second stroke must have happened in the night, I found him woozy and lethargic the next day so back to the vets for another steroid jab. This time he needed 2 weeks to recover, it wasn't his thyroid level this time either. He was very tired, a bit constipated (again normal after a stroke) and wobbly for 2 weeks than recovered. This time he was left with a worsening of the twitching but nothing else so on we went.

2 months later I noticed he couldn't sleep in the day. Unusual for a cat so I was very watcful. I was supposed to go out that eveing but decided to stay in with my boy instead. He was ok, except he still couldn't sleep, until 11.30. At that point he came downstairs, went into the kitchen and started frantically sniffing everything.

At first I thought maybe we had a mouse in but rapidly realised my lovely little lad was blind. Like the other times he was wobbly and woozy and didn't respond to my voice but this time his sight had gone. He had no head tilt but I could move anything around in front of him and he didn't react. Blindness can be a result of strokes so this came as no surprise to my vet.

I kept him in one room away from the staircase and dimmed the lights (all good things to do), it was hot weather so I turned on a fan and then just crawled round with him moving things out his way, talking to him and letting him sniff me. He recognised my scent as he kept rubbing his cheek on me. He comfort purred throughout except one point where he laid down, sighed and stopped purring and I honestly thought I'd lost him. But no, he stumbled about with intermittent rests for 1 and a half hours. He wouldn't be picked up, I think not having a stable surface under him frightened him so we just had to stop him hurting himself and wait it out.

I talked to a vet (my least favourite at my vets because he specialises in horses and cattle so not much of a small animal man) and he said I'd done all the right stuff and just wait it out. So, after the hour and half my partner had returned home, we'd decided to sleep downstairs to keep my boy away from the stairs and he'd gone to fetch sheets when I tried picking my lad up again.

This time he let me and sat still while I stroked and talked to him. Then he wanted down so I put him on the floor and he went to the door that leads to the stairs. I let him through to see what he'd do, following right behind him in case he fell, and he went upstairs, into the bedroom and flopped on the floor. Then he looked at us and really saw us. Seconds later a moth flew by and he actually caught it! What a little star!

We knew he'd got his sight back and the stroke had finished so we all went to bed. I got up every hour to check him and he was fine. The next day he was exhausted so he slept right through most of it. On the Sunday he went downhill. He was vomiting, felt hot in my arms, kept thinking he needed the loo when he didn't at all, he'd just been and was very lethargic. I called the emergency vet, we agreed to meet at the clinic an hour later.

Can I just say at this point that I love the fact you can call a vet 24/7 and they come out without complaint. If only I could get anywhere near that standard of medical care!

We met the vet at the arrnaged time and it turned out to be one I'd never seen before. I was anxious about this but it turned out to be a good thing. She found my boy had a temperature so he was given antibiotic in injection form and some tablets to come home with, some antacids were given for sickness and I brought some home (this is liquid and is given by a small syringe so I decided only to use it if he didn't stop vomiting for fear he might inhale it as it was given) a steriod jab for the swelling, some rehydration sachets for his water and a small bottle of liquid paraffin to ensure he wasn't constipated. She also looked at his last blood test and said he had mild kidney trouble which could be normal for his age or may have been the beginning of renal failure (very common in cats) and she detected a heart murmur. She said to bring him back in a week and we could discuss a new treatment plan. (By the way, I'd have paid with my soul to keep him healthy but this all only cost me £68)

Now, no-one else ever said there was anything that could be done for these strokes as the cause could not be found so I was intrigued. The next week was very difficult, the antibiotics upset his bowels so no need for the liquid paraffin and he was very lethargic which could have been stroke-related, a side effect of the tablets or infection related. We just couldn't tell until he finished the course. 2 days after finishing the course he was much happier so I think it was the antibiotics.

We returned the next week which coincided with his 3 month blood test for his thyroid so I asked for a full panel to check his mild kidney trouble out at the same time. I insisted he wasn't scruffed for the test and my vet was fine with this, she brought a very experienced nurse in to do it and he sat perfectly still and only growled when the needle went in and when it came out. I thought the whole scruffing him would distress him further so I didn't want that after his recent stroke. His temperature had returned to normal so we'd got rid of the infection.

The new treatment plan consisted of some vasodilators (dilate the blood vessels to prevent extra strain on the heart and clots) which had only been approved for dogs, not cats. Now this was a no-brainer for me, either wait for the next inevitable stroke that may be fatal or try to avoid it. My vet said she'd used them in other cats with good results so we brought them home. They are called vivitonin and are sometimes used for senility in cats too but are still only licensed for dogs in the UK.

Some side effects to watch for are vomiting, upset stomach and dizziness. We're a couple of weeks in with these and no side effects have manifested.

But the unbelieveable thing is after just 2 weeks my lad seems like he's had a few years knocked off his age! He's racing about outside for the first time in 18 months, getting me up early just for plays and fuss for the first time in 18 months and more remarkably his residual twitching from the previous strokes has almost completely gone! His eyes look clearer and he's very, very happy!

My advice for anyone with a cat having a stroke is:
Dim the lights, cool the room if hot, keep the cat warm if cold, keep the cat to one room and ensure he doesn't hurt himself, speak and touch the cat if he's ok with being touched, don't if he isn't but do speak to him to reassure him. I personally see no gain in loading a cat mid-stroke in a box and taking him on a terrifying car journey to the vats so I always wait until the symptoms pass before the vet trip. They cannot stop a stroke anyway so you gain nothing from going before the cat has come round.

At the vets make sure you speak up, you're the only voice your cat has so make use of it! If you want a blood test ask, if you don't understand anything pipe up!

Afterwards expect a very tired, lethergic cat for a week or two, possibly constipation or possible temporary loss of continence (bowel or bladder, either can be affected), some wobbly walking, head tilt is possible, mood swings, no purring or enjoying being fussed, a change in appetite (this is usually huge after the steroid jab then can taper down to less than normal), hunched sleeping postures and open coat. But 2-3 weeks usually sees a dramatic improvement. During the 3 weeks keep things safe, if you have a garden pond fence it off, keep any eye out for any problems with stairs etc.

If your cat has several strokes ask your vet about vasodilators, many clinics are trying them with cats at the moment with some great results.

As far as me and my boy go, he's happy and healthy right now and we hope these tablets will prevent completely any more strokes or at worst reduce the frequency and severity if there are more. I hope this helps another feline somewhere out there!

I'm rating with one star only because I have to but seeing your animal baby ill shouldn't have any.

Summary: Always wait and see