I Can't Believe This

python

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Our lovely Snowy, our odd-eyed white seems to have had a stroke.

He doesn't seem to be able to see, his tail keeps thrashing from side to side (not like him), he has a vacant look on his face and keeps walking round in wide circles, completely disorientated. His front left paw also jerked erratically a couple of times, one time quite pronounced.

I am also sure that the pupil in his left eye is slower in responding than his right.

It is 2.45am here in the UK so first thing in the morning we'll get an emergency appointment with our vet.

He did manage to eat but it was really strange.

He would go to his food bowl, eat a little, then go to the door, sit there for about 30 seconds, return to his food bowl, eat a little more, then back to the door. This went on for about 20 minutes. I noticed when he moves it is always in an anti-clockwise motion.

Snowy was Lucy's best friend and I have no doubt her passing has disturbed this beautiful cat deeply as it has all of us.

Snowy is just over 12 years old.

Please send out healing vibes and prayers for him tonight - and us, as we may be facing losing him exactly 3 weeks to the day Lucy passed away.

I feel sick, I really do
 

dusty's mom

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I feel your pain. I really do. My Dusty is living on borrowed time right now. Hopefully Snowy will be all better by morning, but I agree you need to get him checked out.
 

carolina

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Oh no, I am so sorry.... Is there a 24hr ER vet that can see him tonight rather than wait for the morning?
 
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python

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Originally Posted by Carolina

Oh no, I am so sorry.... Is there a 24hr ER vet that can see him tonight rather than wait for the morning?
Yes there is but they are horrendously expensive. We've spent so much out on getting Poppy treated (ongoing treatment) that we have virtually nothing left.

He's sleeping quietly with my husband at the moment. Vet opens at 8.30am so we'll phone then. They're very good at seeing emergencies quickly.

Lucy had 4 strokes and fully recovered from each one fairly quickly so I'm hoping Snowy will too but I do think he's had a fairly big stroke so I'm not sure.

Time will tell (as will our vet).

I am absolutely reeling with shock over this.
 

farleyv

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It must be afternoon in the UK.

Any updates on Snowy? Gosh, I hope he is ok and you don't face the loss of yet another of your kitties.
 

otto

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I am very sorry to read this. Until we know, we can hope this is Vestibular disease rather than a stroke. Of course, kitties can recover from stroke too..


Snowy

Please keep us posted.
 
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python

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Back from the vets.

Snowy's a bit better, more responsive, his eyes are more responsive and he's starting to purr again. He had a quiet night (what was left of it) and chose to curl up close to our GSD, Buddy.

Everything's inconclusive at the moment but it looks like Snowy might have kidney problems.

Our vet listened to Snowy's heart but Snowy was panting - not unusual for him when he goes to the vet and it is very hot here today. The vet said he felt Snowy's heartbeat was muffled i.e. there could be a build up of fluid round the heart - common when there's kidney disease - one thing we always had to watch with our son was whether he was carrying fluid "onboard" and we had to adjust his dialysis regime accordingly.

Topsy, Snowy's mother was PTS because of renal failure last year. I think this may be hereditary. Topsy was 13 when she died. Snowy is 12 years old now.

He is home and we are keeping a close watch on him over the weekend. If his condition worsens, we have to call the vet immediately. It's a case of waiting now for the test results to come back from the lab which should be around Tuesday next week.

Lucy had 4 strokes, one was quite major and she fully recovered on her own in a few days.

On the plus side, Snowy is eating and drinking normally and he's getting his purr back.
 

farleyv

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O good, he seems to be better then. I always say body language is a good indicator of health. Since he is eating a bit and purring I hope you feel better.

It's a lot to be going through, I know.

At least you have the vet aware and at your beck and call now. I will say some prayers for Snowy. I hope this is not serious and can be remedied.

Hang in there.
 

dusty's mom

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I'm sorry to hear that. My Dusty has CRF too, and I know her days are numbered. My vet said that kidney failure is what most cats die of; some just get it sooner than others.
 
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python

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I had to go out for a couple of hours this afternoon. Went up to check Snowy to be greeted by loud purrs. His eyes are responsive again, he's coming to me when called and he's carrying his tail high again. It's still swishing every so often, but much improved from last night.

I lay down on the bed beside him and he was over me like a rash - then JUMPED over me. He couldn't do that last night.

He is still favouring walking in an anti-clockwise direction but is also starting to go the other way now.

I was reading up about stroke in cats last night and found a website which looks like a compilation of stroke problems in cats from many different people. There are so many, I couldn't read them all, but I did read one with interest.

The lady had a 17 year old cat who had a major stroke. As she couldn't get to a vet (think she lived miles from anywhere), she gave her cat cod liver oil. Seemingly, this helps to break up any blood clots and keeps the blood running better (same as humans). I tried this with Snowy last night. I take cod liver oil capsules because I find they help with my eczema and help prevent me taking colds in winter.

I checked the bottle to make sure it doesn't have Vitamin A in it - which can be harmful for cats (can cause kidney problems), but Vitamin E which is good for cats. Mine is the Vit E one, no Vit A so I got a syringe, sucked the oil out of the capsule and gave it to Snowy. I don't know if it helped or not but I'm hoping it did. I shall give him another one later on.

This might be useful for anyone else who's having similar problems.

Here's hoping Snowy continues to progress.
 
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python

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I wonder if the stress of losing his pal, Lucy has had a lot to do with it.

Reading up on strokes in cats, the youngest one I read about on that site was only 2 years old, sometimes, just like in humans, it can happen with no underlying reason, other times in can be high BP, renal problems or (more uncommonly with cats), heart disease.
 

mews2much

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I can help you if he has Kidney Problems.
I would check him for high bp.
It goes along with CRF.
One of my cats that had CRF had the same thing happen to her that happened to Snowy but I lost her because she could pnly move her tail and nothing else.
Try to do everything you can for Snowy.
My CRF cat Coco was given 5 months to live in Jan 2009 and she is 18 now.
She has very bad days then good days also.
Do not give up on Snowy.
There are many treatments that will help if it is a kidney problem.
 
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