Merlin is over half way to 16

He had a minor stroke just over a fortnight ago head tilt and unstable on the back legs of his left side - the vet had a look - checked the pulses in his rear legs which were fine and put him on vivitonin. There was only a very slight improvement for 5 days then a step improvement and 10 days aftr the episode he looked like an old cat and if you weren't looking for it you wouldn't see any signs of the stroke

Thursday it happened again but more severely although friday night he made it onto the bed without the aid of the back stool I had put next to it. Second visit to the vet who had a look at the veins in his retina and said they were dilated which is indicative of high blood pressure which also lines up with a very rapid heart rate and she had detected a slight murmur some months ago. he is now on vivitonin, amlodipline and prenadale to try and strengthen him and reduce his hypertension.

I have heard stories of cats who were much worse off that recovered but it is still hard to see. He also if anything seems to be a little worse today and its so frustrating as I know there is not a lot else the vet can do its a waiting game although if i can't get enough fluid into him he may have to go in and go on a drip which won't help his stress levels he is getting a small ammount - 3- 6ml syringed in every 45- 60 mins although tomorrow I have to go to work so it will be uneven and I will have to get more in him in one got not even sure if what i am doing at the moment is enough

His appetite is fine he will eat when he finds food and is getting about a little - he even made it up the stairs a couple of times this morning although he seems to be exhausted now. His responsive and the only eye problem seemed to be a slightly delayed reaction in one but they are more or less even

He is Ok in himself a bit frustrated and tired but responsive and the purring seems real not the pain covering one

i know he may recover well in a week or so but I also know he might not

not sure what I am looking for here apart from just to talk to people who might have gone through the same thing.

Sorry you've not have any replies, only just noticed this post now! Sorry to hear about your cat.

Firstly, how is he now? If you haven't already I would take him back to the vets as it's possible the medicatons need adjusting. Did the vet actually take his blood pressure at any stage because with Amlodipine it can take a while to find the correct dose in some instances.

Lastly, but very important - has the vet actually found the cause of the stroke as it's important from the point of view of preventing future episodes to treat this ie underlying cause. Heart disease, which can limit oxygen supply to the brain ( appears as if this is what vet first believed in view of Vivitonin though sadly it didn't prevent another one ) high blood pressure are the main ones. Uncontrolled high BP can damage vital organs like the heart, for instance. If for example high BP is the cause ( and it very often is the primary one ) it would be advisable to rule out conditons like kidney disease and hyperthyroidism as it can be be a symptom of both. So I would have some full bloodwork done as well.

Recovery can take a long time so don't be too despondent. Hopefully someone who has been through this will be along soon to give more advice.

Thanks for the reply

He has been fairly constant in the extent of the ataxia this week its hasn't got much better. But he is and has always been aware of what is going on and is eating like there is no tomorrow.. He won't get on and off the bed and the ataxia is severe enough that I have to place him on and off things any attempt to jump off anything ends in a bit of rolling around the flooor

he has been back into the vet today and his heart rate is so fast he is dropping a couple of beats a minute so he has new stuff to help calm that down hopefully. His best day was Monday, pretty good walking after I got mixed up with the new drugs and he got a double dose of the Amlodipline on Sunday. It was worse again on Tuesday I did mention this to the vet.

Fluids I have compromised for now with watered down cat milk - not ideal but its better he voluntarily takes in 100-150ml of that then me stressing up both out getting just water down with a syringe.

Getting his heart rate down is the immediate concern and he is back to the vet again next week unless he loses his marbles as well as being physically wonky.

The ataxia is worse again today clearly he has had another episode- I am almost resigned to losing him now but still hopeful as it is still relatively early days he is still very aware and his eyes are OK. I am struggling with the fact that he recovered so well the first time but isn't at the moment. He was fairly recently had thyroid test as his heart rate has been high for a while but everything came back clear and there are no other indications however I think I want bloods done now to see if there is anything else that might be the cause.

he has been treated for a long while for chronic gingivitus Stomatis (or whichever way round it is) after his mouth flared up after having some bad teeth removed. his mouth looks sore at the moment but it is not stopping him form eating well. He is being treated with oral interferon plus manuka hiney to calm the mouth he was on metacam for ages but I have stopped that it didn't seem to make a difference.. Recently on the interferon he has got better on that side his weight is increasing

Its down to him at the moment but he doesn't seem to want to give yet up in the way I have seen in a couple of my other cats just before I had to have them euthanised he is still there in his eyes

Still eating with gusto but can barely stand up

Started today by peeingon teh bed as he can't move very well up there - 10 mins later treid and suceeded to stand up for a few seconds - huge improvement on yesterday - what a roller coasetr this is - so long s he is still fighting so will I

oh your poor cat, and you. must be terrible for you.

hope things start looking up soon!

I can't give any advice on this, however, I just wanted to say we have all our fingers and paws crossed here that your cat makes a good recovery.

Is your current vet absolutely sure symptoms are due to a stroke and not something else like vestibular disease? If it's the former do they know what caused it? It's difficult to know how much of the deterioration can be attributed to the medication but I'm not convinced the vets have much of a handle on things-that rapid heart rate and murmur needs investigation, for one thing. Also normally high blood pressure in cats is associated with conditons like hyperthyroidism and renal problems, though it can occur on it's own so I'm struggling with what actually caused it here.

I would definitely get a second opinion here. At this point in time he should be improving, not getting worse.

It seems to be stroke after stroke after stroke at the moment and there was a marked improvement his morning over yesterday

He did recover very fast (within 10 days) of the first episode

The heart murmur has been mentiond previously as has his fast hart rate although not something I woud necessarily notice as he is at home a very chilled kitty, the least stressy of all of them - a second opinion is easy the vet he sees only works weekends so I can get him in with the worsened ataxia without any problems