I think my cat may have had a stroke last night?

[NotAnotherNewNappy]

She is 17 ?fit and healthy (apart from having some kidney stones removed 8 yrs ago). She can still take care of herself ? hair and claws all good ? and enjoys chasing things around the garden.
She?s def preparing for something though ? she spends a lot more time on her own outside and sits in odd places. She?s also v thin. Late last night we heard a bit of banging in the kitchen and when I went in she had possibly fallen off the counter ? and was lying across the kitchen floor gasping for breath. She?d wet herself and was a bit shaky.
This morning she is frail but back to normal.
WWYD? She hates people, going to the vet would stress her out.

My two hate going to the vet and always do a protest wee on the examination table

But it sounds like she needs checking out. I would bite the bullet and take her to the vet.

Hope it goes ok

I think they'll take one look and put her to sleep She's not suffering, but I really don't want to let her get worse.

My own elderly boy had what I think was a little brain incident when he was about 18 - he suddenly became frightened (and I mean terrified) of eg books and remote controls. He sees his vet every couple of months anyway and she checked out his blood pressure etc but other than that, I did nothing apart from keeping his routine rigid and sitting with him calmly. (And playing box sets of bad TV to the point that I had square eyes nearly because he like the noise - let's not discuss that.) He recovered fine.

Cats do have strokes and they can usually recover without further incident so I would carry on with her as normal and see how things are. I would be a little concerned in general about her health, though (eg her being very thin and her new solitude-seeking behaviour) so I think I'd also want to get her up to the vet on those grounds alone, especially given her age.

When did she last see the vet?

I would get her to the vet asap as if it is a stroke the quicker she is seen the better the chances of a good quality of life post stroke.

Please take her to the vet, they wil look in her eyes and tell you straight away and possibly medicate her if necessary.

It would be selfish not to take her for fear of her being put down, as a previous poster suggested, you need to know what is wrong in order to do the best for her, i am sure they will just help her feel more comfortable

I am taking her this afternoon - but am confused about what to do for the best and what to expect.

The vet will know what to do for the best, don't worry. We had our old boy put to sleep a few weeks ago. It's tough, but it was best for him.

See how it goes at the vets - a stroke isn't necessarily a death sentence in an older cat.

Good luck - and let us know how she gets on?

Can you call and talk to the vet, but not bring her in?

Cat's can survive a stroke and lead a good life afterwards. Having said that, I would still get her checked out, at least for your peace of mind. I don't believe that the vet will be able to medicate her if it was a stroke.

If she seems back to normal, is eating, using the litter tray, etc then I would not have her PTS until her quality of life deteriorates.

Let us know how you get on.

I spoke to the Vet's receptionist on the phone and they said best bring her in. I'm also worried they'll ask me what I want to do - and that seems a terrible decision to have to make.

SH*T - name change fail...

Good luck.

The vet won't just ask you bluntly (I hope). Generally you'll take the cat in, explain the circumstances and ask them what they suggest.

Be very clear what you do and don't want regarding further investigation though. I didn't want our old cat to be pulled about and have blood tests. I was quite sanguine about it, he was about 20 and had had enough. His back legs weren't working so well and that was enough for him. i couldn't bear to watch him waste away.

Vets deal with this stuff every day of the week, it's a joint decision so don't stress over it, you'll have guidance from the vet.

Don't worry about the name change - it's only us.

At her age, I suspect I'd be concentrating on her general physical issues and not the possible stroke so see how it goes.

Good luck.

As Cally says, do be clear about how much investigations you want the vet to do.

I'm afraid that I'm very reticent now to let them pull my cats around and perform tests on them that I feel are unnecessary. I know my cats much better than they do as I bred most of them. A lot of vets these days seem greedy and blood tests are real money makers for them.

You're so right mimi, my vet wanted to do blood tests to see if his kidneys were ok. I asked what would we do if they weren't ok and he said 'not much we can do, just give him a different diet'. The fact that the cat hardly ate anything at all as he was so picky helped me decide that the tests were unnecessary in this case and he agreed.

Update - bloods came back fine and cat has completely resurrected herself

Good for Sex Cat!
Our old cat had a stroke in June - was exactly as you described. He was PTS that morning, he was paralysed from the neck down. He was at least 17.