Has anyone had a cat that's had a stroke?

IMPORTANT: If your cat is in any distress or discomfort, please consult your own vet as your first priority.
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Crewella
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Has anyone had a cat that's had a stroke?

Post by Crewella »

My poor old boy Paddington, mid-teens ex-stray, had a kind of stroke/brain bleed last Thursday/Friday. I got him straight down the vets and she gave him a steroid injection to hopefully ease the swelling on his brain, and indeed he did seem a bit better the next day.

I've never dealt with this before, though, so I've no idea of timescales or how much better he can get and how long that might take - anyone got any experience of this? Any input gratefully received, thanks.
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Re: Has anyone had a cat that's had a stroke?

Post by meriad »

Absolutely no idea whatsoever and I do hope someone comes along very soon that can give some input. But just wanted to send a gentle fuss to your boy... :( What a worry for you

xxxx
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Re: Has anyone had a cat that's had a stroke?

Post by Kay »

no experience, Helen but this site looks useful

http://www.askthecatdoctor.com/feline-stroke.html
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Re: Has anyone had a cat that's had a stroke?

Post by Crewella »

Thanks Kay, I'd not seen that one and the videos were useful :)
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Re: Has anyone had a cat that's had a stroke?

Post by jenny1234 »

Hi there,
I have experience of this with my previous rescue boy Alfie which might be helpful. He had what I thought was a stroke and I had a panicked visit to the out of hours vet. He was diagnosed with a stroke or brain bleed. He had a sort of black out, came round very wobbly and distressed with vision problems. He seemed to lose balance on one side and couldn't walk in a straight line. His back legs also didn't respond neurologically as supposed to when the vet tested him. He recovered very well after plenty of steroids after only a couple of days was virtually back to normal. I raised his food bowls as a precaution. He was very well for several months and then had another "turn" which again responded to steroids. I made the decision not to have aggressive investigations because of his age 12yrs the fact he was also hyperthyroid and was uninsurable when I re homed him at 10yr. When I re homed him he was already unwell with undiagnosed thyroid issues. He also got horribly stressed when visiting the vets. I think he had maybe four of these little turns over probably 12 months and recovered each time with steroids after 48hrs. Sorry I can't be more specific on timings but it was approx 5-6 yrs ago. I chose to let him live as normal a life as possible and allowed him his usual potters outside etc. he had a final large stroke bleed and after 24hrs with no improvement on steroids I made the difficult decision to let him go and the vet agreed as she knew him well.
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Re: Has anyone had a cat that's had a stroke?

Post by Crewella »

Hi Jenny, thank you so much for sharing that - it was enormously helpful. Paddington has indeed recoved quite well, he's still a bit wobbly but so much better. His bloods don't show anything untoward and he has no other health issues that we're aware of, and as he's about 15 I tend to agree with your thoughts on not putting him through a battery of tests at his age. I'll keep a close eye on him, though like you I'm allowing him to potter in the garden and keep to his old routine. Thanks again, and rest in peace Alfie.
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Re: Has anyone had a cat that's had a stroke?

Post by jenny1234 »

Glad you found the info helpful. I found the first episode horrifying and really upsetting but seeing how quickly Alfie bounced back I was amazed. He was a bit wobbly and quieter for a few days and mostly stayed in and slept. The vet checked him a week later to make sure he was recovering well. The only thing I found a struggle was straight after these episodes Alfie did get distressed and I wasn't sure if it affected his vision for a short while. His pupils were unresponsive when checked immediately after the first episode. so I always stroked / spoke to him and he calmed down quickly. The only major precaution I took was explaining about it when he went to the cattery to make sure they knew what to look out for and to take straight to the vet. If he had been a wanderer I might have kept him indoors only but he hardly ever left the back garden when out and I thought it kinder to let this continue. He had at least 12 months of continued good quality life and I'm wishing the same for your boy. I missed Alfie terribly as he was a little character. I have a special needs old lady British shorthair now, my lovely vet always jokes that I end up with the "special" rescue cats!
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Re: Has anyone had a cat that's had a stroke?

Post by Crewella »

Thanks Jenny, I'm the same and Paddington himself was handed in to the vets last October as a half-starved stray who was obviously past his prime and starting to struggle, and he then tested FIV+ and would have been PTS if a lovely vet nurse hadn't made the effort to find a place for him. He must have been well-loved once as he's very loving and laid back, he's been an excellent patient through all this, but I feel with his history he deserves a bit longer to enjoy his retirement in relative luxury and in a loving home.

Same as you I found the first episode horrific and, to be honest, when I took him down to the vets I wasn't expecting to bring him home again. The whole thing was made worse by the fact that I lost another old boy last year who had lesions on the brain and started fitting - that went rapidly downill and ended in a dreadful final vet visit where he had no idea who I was. I was fully expecting this to go the same way, so it's been wonderful to see Paddington rallying and going on to fight another day. I've no idea how long he has or if this will happen again, but I'll be better prepared if it does and seeing him happy today tells me it was worth pushing him through those first couple of days. :)

Just being able to 'speak' to someone who has been through this has been a great comfort, thank you. :)
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Re: Has anyone had a cat that's had a stroke?

Post by greenkitty »

Sorry to hear about dear old Paddington, keeping everything crossed for him. Fusses from me xx
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Re: Has anyone had a cat that's had a stroke?

Post by elastu »

My Tango (I didn't name her it was the name she had when I adopted her from the MSPCA on the Isle of Man) was in her teens when she had a stroke, she went blind and was unable to walk for a short while, but within a couple of days her sight returned and gradually she became stronger and stronger and had a few more years with a quality life.
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Re: Has anyone had a cat that's had a stroke?

Post by jenny1234 »

Really pleased Paddington is improving, I know what you mean about the journey to the vets, it was a 20min trip for me and I was convinced he would pass away before I even got there. My and my vet agreed that as long as the steroids worked and he improved within 24 to 48 hrs and the episodes didn't become too frequent This was acceptable and Alfie still had a good quality of life. Like you I like re homing special needs retirement cats as they are fab companions and I think they really need homes.

I forgot to mention the one important thing about the food bowl. I realised just after he had the bleed and for a few days after when he leaned down to eat out of his food bowl it made his symptoms worse, I guessed it increased the pressure in his head. From then on I raised Alfie's food bowl up off the floor so he didn't need to bend his head down. I made my own cheap version by just using Velcro and attaching his food bowl to an upturned human bowl underneath. I know some cats crouch lower down normally to eat so don't tilt there head down, but I would advise you to do this if you think it's needed. I also tried to make sure Alfie didn't sleep with his head lower that the rest of him, he had a habit of sprawling down my legs when I had my feet on a low stool so I stopped doing this. Hope the info is helpful and best wishes to Paddington.
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Re: Has anyone had a cat that's had a stroke?

Post by Crewella »

I was watching him and he's a crouchy-downy sort of cat when eating, and for the first few days was getting breakfast in bed with me holding the bowl, but that's for the ... erm .... 'heads up'. ;)
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