On Friday my husband decided to groom our senior cat since she wasn’t grooming herself. Our veterinarian gave us medication to relax her and we followed the instructions that were provided. Our cat had no problem with the grooming, in fact, she was such a good girl purring when my husband used the hair mat remover tool. When the grooming was completed, she went to lie in her bed and overnight she must have had a stroke.
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| My cat Sally (Calico) takes care of Franny |
The following morning my cat did not come to greet me, she normally will
sit on my chest when I am sleeping and make a vocal sound that sounds like
“nip”. If I don’t respond she will tap
me on my nose with her paw. This method
of waking me up in the morning is adorable. But on this morning she did not do
it, I slept in and awoke wondering where my cat was.
Both my husband and I looked for her and finally found her in the
laundry room. Something was wrong as she
tried to come to us but her back legs were not working. It was frightening to see my cat not being
able to walk, she had a stupor look on her face, and every time she tried to
come to me she fell over to her side and her head looked tilted.
I told my husband that our 18-year-old rescued cat was having a
stroke. Normally we would rush her to
the veterinarian but since none were open on the weekend and the closest ER vet was
two hours away. We put her in her heated bed, I gave her fluids and we hoped for
the best.
In the past, my other rescued senior cat had a stroke and I knew that
there was no specific treatment for strokes in cats and dogs. At the time I had called my veterinarian at
his home and he told me to keep my cat comfortable and that most pets tend to
recover in a few weeks. Unfortunately, he
was no longer my veterinarian so I had to take care of our cat from what I knew
from experience with previous cats.
I confined Franny to our guest bathroom, as it is a room that she
likes. I provided her with a litter box,
her heated bed, food, and water. I gave
her fluids through a syringe and put wet senior cat food on the plate for her to
eat. Our cat was still eating and
drinking and by Sunday she regained her feeling in her legs and used her litter
box. Before Sunday she was going on a wee wee pad that we bought at Pet Smart
and I was cleaning her.
Franny is coming out of a stroke and has the will to live. But her eyes look different to me and her
gait is not the same. I know that she is
past her life expectancy as the average lifespan for a cat is age (13 to
15). My cat seems to be extraordinary as
she is age 18 with only slight arthritis and cataracts before her stroke.
We plan to take her to the veterinarian first thing on Monday morning.
Until then I will continue to take care of my cat by providing her with privacy
away from other cats and the dog, and I will sit with her, talk to her, and pet
her. Also, make sure that she is getting
enough fluids and wet food to eat.
** Franny was abandoned by her people when she was approximately 15
years old. We found her sitting in the rain in our side yard. She had cataracts on her eyes and seemed
disoriented, no collar, and no chip we took her in and cared for her. Both my husband and I wanted to give her a
good end-of-life experience.
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