UPDATE (GOOD NEWS): Well, it’s been a roller coaster of a day. I just got back from the animal hospital where it turned out that, when they told me Maggie was all better … they were right. When Jose and I left her last night she was barely conscious, could barely move, and couldn’t make a sound louder than a whisper. I got there this afternoon and, when they took me back to see her, I went to open the door to the cage and the three vet techs in the room said, “Watch out!” at the same time. There was a chart hanging on the door so she couldn’t see it was me when the door latch clicked and I got the fiercest hiss I’ve ever heard her make and a baring of fangs that would scare Dracula. And she wasn’t backing away – she was spoiling for a fight. Well, she stopped that with an “Oh, it’s you” look on her face. They had her in one of those e-collar cone things, not because they’d done a procedure on her, but basically as a kitty straight jacket to keep the devil cat from mauling them all. That’s my girl. Well, this is obviously a much better outcome than I was expecting. She’s home, did a complete inspection of the place and seemed satisfied. (She did hiss at my other cat to tell him to back off; I apparently am on probation because I sprang her from kitty prison.) Now, of course, we have the problem of figuring out what in the world happened and what we do to stop it happening again. The idiot doctor I talked to this morning forgot to mention that they had given her an anti-clotting medication – and she improved after that. (I was right about her not even having read the file.) So I’m still betting it was blood clot. I’m going to worry about that tomorrow, but am going to go to sleep now (which I was not able to do last night). I want to thank everybody for your very kind thoughts and suggestions and advice – and especially for how quickly everybody weighed in. That truly, truly means a lot to me. Chris Original Answer: Maggie's my 12-year-old cat. She was found by a cat rescue group when she was two weeks old, and almost starved, and I adopted her at 12 weeks. (She's been my best bud for twelve years -- she's a talker. Any of my friends and colleagues who call me at home know her well because, when I'm on the phone, she thinks I'm talking to her -- and, being polite, she talks back.) . Yesterday, at 3:30PM, she climbed up to the top of her cat tree/scratching post like the little acrobat she is, did a neat little turn in a circle, curled up in a ball and went to sleep. A little after 5, I was headed to another room and she tried to follow me (which she does), but started crying (not her usual voice) and couldn't get down. I picked her up and put her on the floor and she immediately started staggering, then fell over, and could not get back up. I rushed her to the vet. The first tests came back last night and we know that it is either a) an ischemic stroke (blood clot in the brain), or b) a saddle thrombosis (blood clot in the arterial branch leading to her back legs). I have all the medical background on these that I need, and I know that the right tests are being done. My question is if anyone has had a cat with either condition and, if so, did they recover? How well did they recover, and what was that process like for you and for them? My partner and I spent several hours with her last night in the animal hospital, and she's clearly distressed. (We have two even though Jose is severely allergic to them. My friend Martha says that when she dies she wants to come back as a gay couple's pet.) Pain is difficult to tell (they hide that so well), but she's not meowing, she's whimpering, her purr (rather than being continuous) comes in short bursts, then stops, then resumes, and it's pitched much lower than normal. Because of that, I suspect it's a brain event rather than a femoral artery blockage. The vet agrees, and we should know in a few hours. At which point I'll have a decision to make. If anyone can tell me about their own experience with this, I would be forever grateful. Thanks.

Oh, sweetie...I'm so sorry to hear this about your kitty! I've not experienced stroke or saddle thrombosis with any of my cats. I'm hoping you get a promising prognosis from your vet. I know there are decisions that are difficult to make. We've had to make a difficult decision this spring and also 3 years ago with our 2 oldest kitties. They really are "family" to us. Please let us know what you find out about Maggie!

# 9 offers some hope of recovery http://www.vetinfo.com/symptoms-cat-stroke.html

Chris, after reading your answer I'll regretfully offer this: it is always better to put an animal down a day too early than a day too late. You don't want to watch your best bud suffer. You will get through this a lot better if you put her needs first in this and give her permission to go on, if the vet says there isn't much hope. Yes, cats often live a little longer than this, but twelve years is a good age for a cat and her body is wearing down. Letting her go may be the best thing for her. I'm saying this from too much experience. The hardest one I suffered through was my first pony dying in my arms several years ago. I loved her like a best friend and a child. She got me through some of the toughest times in my life. I did not want to let her go. But she colicked badly and her chances for survival were not good, even with expensive and arduous surgery. At best, she might have lived another couple of years. At worst and most likely, she might have had a few pain-wracked weeks before she died. I chose to put her first and not my own terrible grief and loss. She died very quickly and painlessly. I still mourn, but there is no guilt in that mourning. I did my best to do the right thing by her. We have a rule in this house. No matter how deep our grief, we adopt a new animal immediately. Adjusting to a new animal keeps us from brooding on our grief and soon the new animal becomes precious and beloved. They carve their own place in our hearts. It eases the pain and it saves another animal from being put down for being in the shelter too long. You'll never have another like the one you have now. No other cat will ever take her place in your heart. But there is some new little kitten, or some older cat, whose time is running out in the shelter and who will be forever grateful for a home.

Oh, God, Chris. I am so sorry. It's not easy to lose a beloved pet, or see them in pain. We can't assume that the breaks in her purring, or the changes in the purring, are brain-related. It could simply be that she is in pain. Unfortunately, it does look brain-related, but I don't want to assume anything. The radiographs will tell that story. If it was in the arterial branch that supplies blood to her legs, it IS treatable. Depending on how long her legs were starved for oxygen, one or the other may have to be removed, at least partially. That's the thing, it could have been a partial block, not a complete one. Right now, no one knows whether that block was high into the gut, which can affect major organs, such as the lower intestines and bladder - both of which there are surgeries to correct. The good news is that, though it would be painful to you to see her lose a back leg, it won't be for her after she heals. She'll go on thinking she is queen of the household, just like always. Actually, we could learn from animals. They have something to teach us in regard to thier attitude over losing body parts. If it was an ischemic attack, did the doc say it was a TRANSischemic attack? Do you remember hearing that phrase? The difference being, a TIA affects both sides of the brain. You might recall whether she was trying to walk more on one side or the other, for this answer. The prognosis is not good for any brain bleed. Besides the fact that the tissue cannot recover from intracranial pressure (the blood has nowhere to go, so it presses on the soft brain), the areas of the brain that permit function of major organs is also compromised. There is no therapy, medicinal or otherwise, that can fix it. Let's not assume ANYTHING. We don't know where in the brain the clot was, if it was in the brain at all. That her motor function was compromised gives us a strong clue, but to what degree she is affected, we have zero idea. There is still hope, my wonderful friend. I will stay in touch with you as we go through this. I am here if and when you need me. +5

I'm really sorry. I hope your cat can be saved.

I do not relish the thought of having to deal with such a thing myself, my friend. I can only imagine the grief you both feel, as my wife and I have cats as well...and they are very much members of the family, not just simple pets. My wife and I have two cats, our oldest being about 13. (This would be Daddy's Baby Girl, officially known as "Puddin'", shortened to "Pud" (As in "Puddy Tat")). Both are healthy, but I dread the day one or the other takes a bad turn with her health and is dying. Not only because of the obvious grief, but because my wife and I differ somewhat on the extent to which we believe treatment should go. I could not stand by and let an animal suffer for something fatal or seriously life threatening. But my wife is the kind that would go through nearly any measure to save the animal, like she would if it were one of her own children. Understandable, but still... They are both part of the family, which is what would make such a thing so painful: Pud is Daddy's Baby Girl in every way, and Pumpkin is no less either. I have no experience with this kind of affliction. I'll leave this to others, as a couple have already provided what is surely excellent advise and research. The best I can do is offer my prayers for all of you. );

I asked Galeanda to take a look at this question she is an animal expert. http://www.answerbag.com/profile/?id=150611

I'm sorry to hear about your cat. Did they settle on a thrombus as being the cause of it? Are they going to place her on aspirin regimen? I've heard pros and cons about it. Some vets choose enalapril instead or used with the aspirin. Long term studies don't seem to show it works better than doing nothing and there is so much risk with getting the dose wrong. If you need to learn more about aspirin therapy, try this website: http://www.vin.com/vin_ce/abvp/html/saddle_thrombus.html It seems that most cats will reoccur with another thrombus in 6-9 months, not a good prognosis :-( Something you might want to look into is something that is used on both people and animals called Serrapeptase. The pet version is called SerraPet. This just might be something that you'd be better served. Take a look and see what you think. http://www.serrapeptase.info/testimonial.asp Search for the terms "throm" or "cat" and some things might come up. A suplement that might be helpful, too, is ginkgo biloba. IT's terrific for the circulation. I know that vets don't always offer much hope for cats. We were sent home with one cat with a "good luck" and "let us know what happens" kind of attitude and it took much research online to finally find help for him. I've suggested what I know for thrombus from just a little previous research for thrombosis in people. Just thought it was worth suggesting in case you are not left with much choice.