Seizure or Stroke or?

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Carol R - 20 Oct 2004 15:14 GMT

My six year old Chartreu had a scary event yesterday morning.

She's been perfectly healthy. I never saw the episode, but heard her
trashing around and hitting the walls. When I got to her, she was
over it, trying to stand up and using the wall for support.

I took her to the vet right away. Vet gave diagnosis as seizure.
Blood work was done (triglycerides results will come tomorrow) Her
cholestrol is very high and vet said this could be factor for seizure.

From all I am reading, I don't think this is a seizure. Mainly
because, she has not fully recovered control of her motor skills. She
wobbles and all legs are weak. Her one front leg is most affected.
She has to raise it higher and then it will make a circular movement
before she can get it down to the floor. Sometimes she favors it a
lot looking like an injury. Sometimes she has better control. She
goes from bad to better to bad, in terms of controlling her limbs.

All that I read on seizures, this is not the norm. In seizures, motor
skills are restored completely and soon. This appears to be something
that has caused permanent damage.

Anyone who can offer more information on this will be greatly
appreciated.
Thanks.

Carol R

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ceb - 20 Oct 2004 16:36 GMT

Carolro@msn.com (Carol R) wrote in news:d165fe69.0410200614.64da2a75
@posting.google.com:

> My six year old Chartreu had a scary event yesterday morning.
>
[quoted text clipped - 23 lines]
>
> Carol R

I don't know much about it, but the way you describe it makes me think it
sounds like it could be a stroke. Did you ask your vet if s/he had
considered that? I would call the vet again, voice your concerns, and
possibly consider getting a second opinion from another vet if you are
not happy with your conversations with your current vet. It may well be,
though, that your vet revises his/her opinion based on the new
information.

I'm sorry your kitty is unwell. I hope things improve soon.

--Catherine
& Rosalie the calicohead

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Phil P. - 20 Oct 2004 19:39 GMT

> My six year old Chartreu had a scary event yesterday morning.
>
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> because, she has not fully recovered control of her motor skills. She
> wobbles and all legs are weak. Her one front leg is most affected.

Is it the right leg? Does her paw feel cool, and/or do her nailbeds look
bluish?

Phil

> She has to raise it higher and then it will make a circular movement
> before she can get it down to the floor. Sometimes she favors it a
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
> Carol R

Reply to this Message

Carol R - 21 Oct 2004 03:51 GMT

> Is it the right leg? Does her paw feel cool, and/or do her nailbeds look
> bluish?

Yes it is her right front leg. I think pad feels a little cooler, I
can't see any difference in the nail bed color. I will look again
tomorrow during daylight. She also now walks low on her rear hocks.
But Dr observed she sets her paws down well.

The clinic I went to called and asked me to bring her in again today,
they wanted another Dr there to check her. This Dr. was the one to
see, she was more experienced. She also asked me to leave her for a
couple of hours as she has a friend who is a Neurologist and she would
ask him to come check her. I learned after that he had not seen this
before and thinks she may have had a stroke or embolism.

He said take a wait and see stance. She will either adjust to being a
bit wobbly or continue to decline.

I'll check back here for further feedback.

Thanks for all your answers.

Carol R.

> Phil

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Phil P. - 21 Oct 2004 06:32 GMT

> > Is it the right leg? Does her paw feel cool, and/or do her nailbeds look
> > bluish?
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
> ask him to come check her. I learned after that he had not seen this
> before and thinks she may have had a stroke or embolism.

Based on your description, my guess is an embolus in her right brachial
artery. That was my first hunch and reason for asking the questions that I
did. This type of embolism isn't very common - most affect the hind legs
("saddle thrombus").

If it is a thrombus, the outcome is very difficult to predict - it depends
on the size of the embolus and the thrombolytic ability of the cat. The
fact that she's walking on the leg and not dragging it is a very good sign -
means the embolus may not be very big and/or her thrombolytic ability is
good. Thrombolysis is a somewhat slow process, but you should see a little
more improvement every day.

> He said take a wait and see stance. She will either adjust to being a
> bit wobbly or continue to decline.

I would want a definitive diagnosis before I settled on a wait and see
strategy.

> I'll check back here for further feedback.
>
> Thanks for all your answers.
>
> Carol R.

Best of luck,

Phil

> > Phil

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Carol R - 21 Oct 2004 13:02 GMT

> I would want a definitive diagnosis before I settled on a wait and see
> strategy.

How would I get a definitive diagnosis? Is there a test that would
resolve this question?

Many Thanks... Carol R

Reply to this Message

Phil P. - 21 Oct 2004 13:29 GMT

> > I would want a definitive diagnosis before I settled on a wait and see
> > strategy.
> >
> How would I get a definitive diagnosis? Is there a test that would
> resolve this question?

Ultrasound to rule in/out clot, EMG (electromylogram) to determine
muscular/nerve (dys)function.

Phil

> Many Thanks... Carol R

Reply to this Message

Carol R - 31 Oct 2004 13:12 GMT

> > > I would want a definitive diagnosis before I settled on a wait and see
> > > strategy.
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> Ultrasound to rule in/out clot, EMG (electromylogram) to determine
> muscular/nerve (dys)function.

I'm posting this followup to complete this thread and to let all
interested know of the resolution.

I took my cat to a teaching veterinary hospital at CSU (Colorado State
University) in hopes of confirming a diagnosis. This was the 8th day
of her illness (days her condition was apparent to me). In the course
of these 8 days, she would seem to improve two days, but then slip
back to being worse the next day. She was extremely lame, at the last
it was her back legs the most affected.

They wanted to do an MRI for starters and she was going to have to be
hospitalized as I could no longer care for her. She couldn't urinate
on her own, couldn't eat or drink. Cost would be in the thousands and
I heard no encouragement from them as to her possible recovery. So I
asked them to put her to sleep. They wanted to do an autopsy and I
consented.

The preliminary results: Her lungs were riddled with cancer, which
kind I don't know yet. She did have a saddle thromboembolism. A
portion of her bowel was twisted which explains why she couldn't keep
anything down. There was some kidney disease.

The preliminary report on the autopsy raises as many questions for me
as it answers. All these factors seem to be unrelated to each other.
She was relatively young at 6 1/2 years old. She was an inside cat,
well cared for and my only pet.

I asked CSU about vaccines and learned that they have published a
recent study in which they determined that cats can get serious
problems from vaccines and that they recommended cutting doseage
amounts. I don't know if my vet knew about this study and was using
the lower amounts.

That's all I know as of today.

I'm getting a kitten and doing some research on feline nutrition. I
had Lexie on Hills Cd as she had several urinary tract infections when
she was very young. This food kept her from repeating that cycle.
But I've been reading about Wellness Cat food and I'm going to use
this food in the future. It contains antioxidants which will help
maintain the immune system. Also has no fillers like corn and wheat.

Thanks to all who contributed to this thread.

Carol R

> Phil
>
> > Many Thanks... Carol R

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MacCandace - 31 Oct 2004 21:00 GMT

<< She was relatively young at 6 1/2 years old. She was an inside cat,
well cared for and my only pet. >>

I'm very sorry about your cat, Carol. She was too young. It sounds as though
you did everything possible and I doubt she could have overcome all those
different issues even with extensive treatment. It's very sad. Maybe she just
had "bad genes," to an extent. Even though her life was relatively short, I'm
sure she had a wonderful time with you.

I'm glad you are getting a new kitten. Have fun with him/her.

Candace
(take the litter out before replying by e-mail)

See my cats:
http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace

"One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye other
than human." (Loren Eisely)

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ceb - 01 Nov 2004 20:03 GMT

> I'm posting this followup to complete this thread and to let all
> interested know of the resolution.

Thank you for letting us know. I was wondering how she was.

I am so sorry for your loss. It sounds like you made the best decision for
her and the autopsy confirmed that lots of expensive treatment just wasn't
going to help.

It's so painful to lose a dear kitty, but I am glad to hear that you plan
to get a kitten -- to me it just doesn't seem like home without a cat! And
the kitten will bring much joy to you even while you mourn the loss of your
kitty.

Be sure to write and tell us cute kitten stories!

--Catherine
& Rosalie the calicohead

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