Aftermath of a Stroke

[Polyethyl]

Please can we not have a bun fight about the efficacy of emergency vets. My mother's cat has been thoroughly inspected by the vet that knows her. He sent her home to be nursed, with no medicines.

But she's so changed.
Her noble mind is so o'erthrown.
She is now walking in straightish lines but her intelligence has gone. She used to be so talkative, now she's silent. She has forgotten that fires are dangerous and fire screens are designed to keep children safe, not cats. She needs constant supervision or she gets herself trapped behind the kitchen cabinets. My parents are going to have to put up safety nets all over the house. It is such a grief to see her so confused. I so hope she recovers.

Did the vet give you any time frame regarding how long recovery might take? All you can do is monitor her and keep her safe for now and see what her quality of life is like. A few years ago the stray cat who adopted me, William, was like this. He lived with my Mum and she often had to rescue him from various situations. In the end we took the decision to have him PTS as he deteriorated.

I really hope your Mum's cat has a happier outcome.

Yesterday we were hopeful she would recover. She was sitting up, walking slowly, eating enthusiasticaly, using her litter tray and she was miowing again.
But today she's much worse. She is sniffing her food interestedly, but not eating. When we carried her to her litter tray she couldn't sit up to wee, but lay on her side.
We think she had a epileptic fit during the night, her paws were peddling the air.
She's on my father's lap now. But we are losing hope.

This is so sad to read . Thinking of you and your cat. Keeping my fingers crossed...

I'm sorry, it's so sad. How is she today?

Our cat had a stroke 4 or 5 years ago. He became paralysed and incontinent. He was already partly blind. I’m afraid he was PTS the same day.

She rallied yesterday evening.
This morning she's walking, eating and yowling like a siamese should.

This aftermath is a rollercoaster of emotions. On Christmas eve she was dying. On Christmas day she was recovering. On Boxing day she was dying again and today she's recovering again. The fact sheets we've been given don't mention how up and down the situation is being.

I'm afraid I think the compassionate thing now is to pts.

Once an animal's dignity is gone, we should do them that honour.

That's positive news, OP. I'm afraid I know nothing about post-stroke recovery for cats but my Senior Boy, aged 20, had a massive operation under general anaesthetic about two months ago and for about ten days, he was just the same - barely alive one day and his old self the following day. It was such a worry but he's fully recovered now. I hope your mother's girl makes a recovery too, even though it's a zigzag process to get there.

I have had two cats who have suffered what seemed at the time to be catastrophic strokes. I really had very little hope that either would survive.

But cats can be amazingly resilient. It took a few weeks to recover in both cases but one lived to a ripe old age and you would never have thought anything had ever been wrong with her.

The other one still has a slight head tilt as a souvenir and is not quite as nimble at leaping onto high surfaces as she was once, but is otherwise fine. Actually she's shouting at me for her fourth breakfast at the moment.

Fingers crossed for you OP.

The aftermath of this stroke is so changeable I don't know whether to laugh or cry. She is alternating good day, bad day, good day, bad day.
On a bad day she cannot sit up. On a good day she trots around quite happily, up and down stairs and jumping up onto beds.
Today was a good day. So we are assuming tomorrow will be a bad day.
It's almost farcical, if it wasn't also sad.

I'm sorry she's having so many bad days. Has your vet given you any idea of a long term prognosis for her?

She's gorgeous by the way.

Is she having further small.strokes. i.would take her back to the vet or ask for a home visit and ask about anti fit medication. Poor littlecat.

I would phone the vets. Just to put your mind at rest.

My father took her to the vet again today, explaining about the good day/bad day rota and the fits. The vet agrees that's not normal but has, again, sent her home to be nursed with no medication.
Poor cat.

One of mine had a stroke and lost his sense of which way was up and some of his sight. It took about three weeks with no meds and a watch and wait policy from the vet (whom I trusted implicitly) for him to make an almost full recovery.

He had another year before he was PTS as he had cancer. He was 19.