Stroke in cats- any experiences?

[MyBlueDiary]

The vet thinks my cat might have had a stroke.

She's 20 and until now has been very healthy and had a normal life (still going outside, climbing trees, great appetite etc).

Then yesterday morning when I woke up she was confused, not hungry, seemed worried about her balance and didn’t want to go downstairs (she’s still ok walking upstairs). Shouted for her breakfast but then didn’t really know what to do with it.

She has seen the emergency vet who thinks it might be a stroke but said that the way to confirm is an MRI- apparently there’s no treatment even if it is confirmed so I have declined the MRI as I don’t think an anaesthetic is a good idea and I want to keep intervention to a minimum as she finds it very distressing and she is elderly (this was also the vet’s advice)

So the vet has said just watch and wait. She has been sniffing and licking her food but not eating much. Still seems a bit unbalanced.

The vet says that cats can make good recovery from stroke. I wondered if anyone had any experience? She had such. Good quality of life before so if she could recover even some of that, that would be great. OTOH I would prefer to PtS than have her suffer especially if there’s no realistic prospect of much recovery.

Thank you.

Hello, very sorry to hear about your cat. I experienced this with my previous cat, who had 4 episodes over about 4 mths and was PTS after the last one. For the first one she was off colour and lost her balance, had loads of test (bloods, scans for a blockage), nothing was found but on day 11 she just completely returned to normal (I started a thread about this). @6 weeks later she had another episode, her balance was worse, vet realised it was a series of minor strokes. She recovered again though never completely got her balance back. The last episode was more serious and she could only walk in circles, but incredibly she got used to this and could get everywhere she wanted to, and she seemed her old happy self otherwise. This also wore off after a week or so, and she had another healthy spell, then during the final episode where she was just a bit wobbly, a day came where it was obvious she was affected mentally, she looked completely out of it and quite scared, like someone with severe dementia, it was sad but easy to make the decision. So my advice is to see what happens, she may recover from physical symptoms or adapt to them, as ours did, but you’ll know if she’s struggling mentally and if it’s become too much for her. If I can provide any other info that may be helpful then let me know. It is so hard to see this, All my Very best.

Yes, with two cats now. Both appeared to be in a poor state in the first few days and both went on to make complete and fairly rapid recoveries, and live for several more years. A vet told me cats are amazing at recovering from strokes and, in my experience, they really are.

Wishing your girl all the best.

My 20 year old cat had a stroke, she suddenly started walking in circles and miaowing loudly obviously confused.
She wasn't very well for a few days then really picked up. She was a bit unsteady after that but adapted really well. The vet gave her some pills for her high blood pressure which made her foam at the mouth and become distressed.
I decided this wasn't on at her age so we stopped the pills and she went on to live a perfectly happy life until she died at 21 of kidney failure.
I hope your cat gets better, she'll just need time to adapt but if she isn't eating properly after a few days may need some fluids.

Thanks so much everyone- it's really useful to read about your experiences, although I'm sorry that other people have been through it x

Well, she’s still not very interested in food but she is drinking. She likes drinking the rainwater from the greenhouse trays and this morning she went outside and did that and has also been out a few times for a wee. She also seems a bit steadier but still very quiet.

I wish she would eat a bit more. She will lick her food but she’s not really eating it.

Unfortunately I had to have my 17 yr old girl pts after a severe stroke which left her unbalanced blind & deaf. One moment she was fine having a fuss & the next moment I heard a distressed yowl come from the kitchen & her walking with her head tilted to one side.
Took her straight to the vet who confirmed it was a pretty severe stroke & there would be very little chance of recovery. Made the decision there & then to do what I still consider to have been the kindest & let her go. If I'd have thought there was any chance of recovery then I'd have made a different choice.
I truly hope your cat manages to start to get better soon.

My 19 year old cat had a stroke, she lost use of her legs completely, I honestly thought she was on her way out. But she was the most determined cat I have ever known and I spent the day with her on my knee, watching her literally forcing her limbs to move. And then she sat up. And then she stood up, jumped down and demanded food! Vet confirmed a stroke and was totally amazed at her tenacity. She lived until she was turned 21.

Can you get some cat soups or lick-e-lix pouches so that when she licks her food some will go in her mouth?

I hope she makes a good recovery.