Cat Care

Ever wonder if your cat can have a stroke? Well it’s true, they can.

A long time ago I received the greatest gift, my pet cat Cleo. I was the age of seven when she greeted me at home one sunny afternoon in March. We became best friends! She would follow me around the house, greet me at the door with such enthusiasm, and sleep with me at night. But one Thursday afternoon, I came home from work to find my cat not waiting for me at the front door like usual. I put away my things and called for her. She didn’t show, I walked to the living room and called again. Cleo slowly came out of my room as I peered at her from below the stairs, although this time it wasn’t the same greeting I always got. She was slower, falling a lot when she walked forward. I noticed her eye lid was droopy and she wasn’t able to walk on one of her back legs. I thought maybe she had slept funny. So I went to pet her and pointed to the kitchen for dinner time. She went down the stairs face first, completely limp. I was shocked as I saw her struggling to get back up at the bottom. She stumbled into the kitchen now walking in circles. Her balance was completely off. I became greatly concerned and called the Vet to bring her in as an emergency.
The vet told me my cat had a stroke. We were told to take her home as we might see improvement within a week and that there was nothing more he could do.
The vet was right. We saw improvement over the next couple of weeks with her regaining her strength and ability to walk. She walks on a little bit of a slant now, and isn’t as strong as she used to be, but at least she is better now.

If your cat is having similar symptoms as to the ones described above, your cat could have had a stroke. I had no idea that this was exceedingly common in cats. Please take your cat to the vet if your animal is demonstrating these symptoms. A proper diagnosis could go a long way.

Michelle Gordy
Richmond, BC