cat had stroke 3 days ago.. need some input

[bufferina]

Edit postDelete postReport this postReply with quotethree nights ago, our cat had stroke
by bufferina » Wed Nov 14, 2012 11:37 am

HELP SOMEONE.
Sunday night, Mitzi, our 11 yrl old cat, fell off the bed, or so we thought. In the morning she was not walking correctly. Eventually she was dragging herself, as her left side seemed paralyzed. It was late on MOnday and we went to the emergency room. They took ex rays and found nothing broken etc.... Tuesday morning took her to our vet. Immediately, he said she had a stroke. Our doctor is very well known, and well respected in our community. They have her on steroid anti-inflammation medicine and giving her some water with sugar. She does not eat right now, and does pee, but on herself as she cannot stand up. I called this morning, Wed., and there is no improvement, but also no regression. We will let them try for two more days and see what happens. Our choice was to put her to sleep. But after coming on this handicap website, I am wondering if we should give her a shot at home. I don't want her in pain, but we both are retired, 70 and 76, so have time to help her, even though our mobility is not the best. I would like some opinions. We are pretty upset, as you can all imagine. The letters I have read on this website have given me some hope, which I did not have before. Quality of life is a big issue. Would appreciate some help in the next two days if possible. Bless you all and thanks. Tony

[BendyMom]

I would give her at least a week and maybe even two to show signs of recovery.
I had a cat who laid flat for three days, while i gave her fludis, syringe fed her, and cleaned up after her, then started to recovery adn became mobile again.
you can't predict with strokes, it si really really difficult. Massaging her limbs and moving them gently will help, sort of reminds the brain they are there. just like a person would get physical therapy after a stroke.
steroids are good, pain killers might make her dopey which will mask any improvement.
I, personnally, would give her more time and see how she does. This kidn of thing can be slow, so you'll have to be patient. She may never regain full function but if seh can get to have a decent quality of life then that is what matters.

glad you found us!!! welcome!

[CarolC]

I agree on giving it time if you can. I really believe in the value of physical therapy, continued over time. At first I would think just massage of the hind legs and feet, and moving and flexing them, tickling her pads and digging between her toes, and holding her in a standing position and helping her to bear weight would help.

I do not know if the vet gave you any special food for her. There is a canned food called Science Diet a/d that is pureed so you can syringe feed it or put some on your fingertip and put it into her mouth. It is high calorie and high nutrition and cats like it. They do not need to eat as much of it because it is dense in calories and nutritients.

If your cat is wetting on herself, the best thing is to put her hindquarters under running water to be sure the urine is off. You may also want to have the vet shave key areas, especially if she is long haired. That would be under her tail, the insides of her thighs, feathers on the backs of her legs, lower abdomen, this will make rinsing her off easier and it will grow back. I would be inclined to do it under the kitchen faucet at this house because I have a back problem and bending over to put her under the tub faucet wouldn't be smart.

You may also be able to do what I do for my long haired chihuahua. I have 3 small white dishpans from the dollar store. I fill them with warm water and stir a little sensitive skin pet shampoo (Sulf-Oxy-Dex from the vet) into the water of one. Then I move her from pan to pan: wash, rinse, rinse. I do it on the kitchen counter and have a bathtowel beside the last dishpan, where I put her after the second rinse. I use the small dishpans and do not fill them full, so I do not have to carry a heavy pan to empty it. Every gallon of water weighs 8 lbs so you need to be careful if you have any back problem.

If she is urinating on herself, there are a couple of solutions. One is to express her bladder. That means you squeeze her tummy and she urinates. Then since her bladder has been emptied, she will not wet on herself. There are a number of videos showing how to do this and the vet should give you a lesson. It is possible she is not emptying her bladder completely when she urinates, so I would really recommend expressing while she is recovering. Here are some links:





On the following video start at 4:41, don't worry, does not show any surgery:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVdJI-qsOu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9p5j9eXZ90

Another solution is something I did with my very senior cat Betsy. It works well if your cat does not move around. I arranged her bed on a slight slope so her upper body was higher than her hips, and put a quilted cotton pad under her tail. (They sell quilted incontinent bedpads at Walgreens for about $13, great to have for other things, too.) That way when she wetted the urine did not travel under her hips and side, it gravitated downward. It does not take much of a slant to make it gravitate downward. It was not necessary to elevate her a lot, just a little. I recommend the quilted cotton (washable) pads, not the disposable ones, they do not absorb enough. I described it in the 2 messages here (one with a picture):

http://handicappedpet.net/helppets/view ... 556#p76983

Hope this helps.

[bufferina]

Mitzi took water from the bowl this morning. Of course she was lying down, but I held her head up. She was very thirsty. Drank too much I think, as she rolled over and most of it came up. But it did tell me that she can drink without a syringe. I tried the express method of urination a little while ago, and two of us worked on her, but nothing came out. Will try later. Since she urinated in the car on the way home yesterday from the vet, I am sure she can do it on her own, but will continue trying the express method.

I know we are expecting too much too soon, so we are going to let her rest for a few hours. Boy, she tells you when she does not like things you are doing to her. Again, the support is so appreciated

[BendyMom]

its good she can drink on her own. you might try supporting her with her head elevated after she drinks a little bit, help it stay down.
expressing takes a little fiddling to get working. i usually feel around until i feel the bladder, which is like a slippery water balloon, and try to trap it against the pelvis. none of mine have ever liked it. but, gotta squish them out to make sure they are empty. urine staying in the bladder will lead to infection. that is a whole nuther nightmare.

little bit of progress are good, and are typical, usually you see tiny steps each day. and looks like you have gotten a lot of good advice here and on the other thread you posted in (cant' remember the name of it right nwo).