Do cats have strokes?

Question

A stray cat adopted our family a year ago. He has always come and go as he pleases and never been cuddly. He just started coming to eat from our other cats bowl he would never let anyone hold him and even petting him caused him to walk away. He is an older cat and has some gray hair.

All the sudden a couple of weeks ago his behavior started changing all at once. Suddenly he was spending more time inside, sleeping on the end of our bed and cuddling up to us and even jumping up in the kids laps. At first I attributed this to the death of our other cat. But then His Right eye seemed to be closed a lot and for the last 2 days I have noticed he is drooling but otherwise healthy. I am very worried because the death of our other cat was very hard on my children. I am wondering if the cat had a stroke and maybe some memory loss. I want to take him to the vet but he still will scratch if you try to pick him up so a car trip to the vet for a basicly wild cat is just not possible

Answer 1

yes cats have strokes. However, what you are describing doesnt sound like one. Usually, when animals suffer a stroke you see signs that appear as back symptoms. They have a hard time walking or cant use their rear legs. Their pupils will be 2 different sizes.. the right eye might have a dialated pupil while the other is large. Some cats do drool, but they should not in excess. Because he is a stray and he is older, you may want to prepare your kids for the possible but unfortunate death of this kitty. I dont think he is showing signs of knowcking on deaths door, but because he is a stray he could have feline aids (FIV), feline leukemia (FLK) or a number of other issues. Just give the kitty lots of love and food. A vet check would be good, but if you trap him and drag him to the vet, he may run off when he returns home and you may not see him again. Just take care of him the best you can and talk to your kiddos! ADD ON: I would not worry about rabies, not only is it very uncommon because vaccines have nearly wiped out its existence in domestic animals, but the cat would be going through stages that are much more severe than what you are explaining, and the cat would be dead after 10days... just didnt want you to freak out from the previous reply!

Answer 2

Yes, cats do have strokes. My cat's stroke was damaging enough that she became unresponsive to stimuli and had to be put to sleep. You need to get this cat to a vet regardless of the circumstances. Put on some heavy duty gloves and force the cat into a carrier. The animal could have serious damage done to his body from the stroke which needs to be checked out by a vet. Even if the cause of change in behavior is not a stroke, it still needs to be checked out.

Answer 3

Your kitty needs to get to the vet ASAP. Being a stray he could have a simple "cold" to one of many serious medical problems.
His being cuddly may just mean he is very comfortable with your family and is happy to be in with the warmth, comfort and love.
Every cat needs to have a test to determine whether or not they have contracted feline immunodeficiency virus or feline leukemia virus. Both are very contagious to other cats.
And, Yes, cats can have strokes although strokes are unusual in cats, they often result in paralysis of one side, paralysis of facial muscles or other discrete paralysis problems associated with the area of the brain that is affected.
The symptoms could occur with , hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), hyperglycemia (high blood sugar), hypertension (high blood pressure), seizure activity, heart problems, strokes (can occur when cats have low very high red blood cell counts, high blood pressure and toxoplasmosis, brain tumors, inner ear disorders, liver disease, hyperthryoidism, hypokalemia, cognitive dysfunction and probably other stuff.
A good blood panel with a complete blood cell count including platelet count and a complete serum chemistry panel including a total thyroxine (total T4) level would be a good idea as it would help to rule out most of the above problems.
Hyperthyroidism is sometimes linked to increased vocalization and increased activity and it could cause the other symptoms either by inducing hypertension or cardiomyopathy
It is pretty easy to check for this problem
in most cases so it is usually worth ruling out in an older cat with
behavioral changes.
A trip to the vet is NEVER impossible.. You can get a pair of thick gloves that come up the arms or you can wrap towels around your arms to pick the little critter up in, or perhaps something as simple as putting food in the cage when the cat is hungry.
I have delt with many ferral cats and it is not impossible just have to use your imagination PLEASE be sure to tell your vet and staff that the cat has a feral streak so they can better handle him.
I hope all this has helped. The short answer to this long story is
GET the CAT TO THE VET!!!

Answer 4

It is entirely possible - I would, depending on the age of your kids, explain that it's possible the cat's very sick and may be going to join the other kitty soon.

Couldn't hurt to see if there is a vet or a shelter in the area with a vet associated with them that might be willing to make a house call to get a better dianosis.

Good luck.

Answer 5

cats do have strokes, but it does sounds more like the cat has rabies. instead of taking the cat to the vet, try to see if you can take the vet to the cat.

Answer 6

yes