Question about blood clot

raedogg

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Dec 9, 2004
Messages
2
Purraise
0
Location
Indiana
Hi to everyone, my cat, Alice was diagnosed with a blood clot or saddle embolis. I was searching for information on her condition when I came across your website so this is my first time here. I wondered if anyone else has had this with their cat? From what I've read the prognosis isn't good at all. I did a search and read a previous post about this condition from back in April on here. Alice is almost 7 years old. This morning she suddenly couldn't use her back legs. I took her to the vet and he gave her heparin IV and I have to give her 6 more heparin shots. He also gave her an antibiotic and a pain shot. She's not crying like she was but, watching her drag herself around and being afraid and maybe still hurting is hard. Any advice or stories good or bad would be greatly appreciated.
 

dr. doolittle

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
May 31, 2004
Messages
508
Purraise
1
Location
British Columbia, Canada
I am sorry to hear about your kitty. You are right, saddle thrombus does not have a very good prognosis although I have seen one cat partially recover and go home. The chance of reoccurence is quite high in cats that recover.
Most of these cats have an underlying heart condition so I would ask your vet if he/she could do a cardiac work-up as well.
 

tuxedokitties

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 3, 2003
Messages
4,005
Purraise
31
Hi


I'm sorry you & Alice are going through this. It's awful.

I second Dr. Doolittle's advice to get Alice's heart checked. If you want to consult with a feline specialist, this link (click here) can help you find one in your area. An ultrasound of her heart may be helpful in determining her prognosis & treatment.

I had a similar experience, but I'm afraid my story is not a happy one - however, my cat was 17 years old & had multiple health issues. My dear girl Macumba had something the vet called a 'saddle thrombus'. It completely cut off circulation to the rear part of her body, rendering her paralyzed and unable to control her bladder & bowels. The vet performed an ultrasound of her heart, and found it to be enlarged and beginning to fail, and found another clot about to let loose. In light of that fact, and considering her other health issues (kidney failure and hyperthyroid), her prognosis was very poor, so we decided to let her go.

You can do a search for 'saddle thrombus' and come up with some information. I remember the vet saying that sometimes cats can recover with treatment, but in our case my girl's health was too poor. I've also seen articles about surgery, too.

I hope this helps - I'll say a prayer for Alice.


http://www.thepetcenter.com/sur/saB.html
http://petplace.netscape.com/article...asp?artID=5059
 

hissy

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Feb 19, 2001
Messages
34,872
Purraise
76
I just read your post about Alice passing away. I am sorry for you loss and have moved your thread out of respect to Crossing the Bridge.

If it is any comfort, I know of no cat that has survived this diagnosis and while they are fighting this, it is a lot of wear and tear on the cat and on the owner.
 
Top