Your veterinarian may recommend transferring to an ICU-type setting for continuous monitoring. In addition to paralyzed and painful rear legs, they often also are suffering from heart failure. Additional testing, such as bloodwork, hormone-level testing, urinalysis, and a blood-pressure reading often is recommended to determine the root cause of the inappropriate blood flow in the brain.Ĭats suffering from a feline aortic thromboembolism require intensive and aggressive therapy. If your dog’s heart is healthy, your veterinarian will evaluate her brain function and may refer her to a specialist for an MRI or CT scan to check for brain blockages or bleeding. Your veterinarian will perform a cardiac evaluation to determine whether your pet’s episode is due to syncope or a stroke and may recommend chest X-rays, an electrocardiogram, or a cardiac ultrasound to differentiate between the two diagnoses. Strokes often are confused with a fainting episode known as syncope that also is due to a lack of normal blood flow to the brain, commonly caused by heart disease. Prompt diagnosis and treatment is critical. If your cat or dog is showing any signs that potentially indicate a stroke, contact your veterinarian immediately. What should I do if I think my pet has had a stroke or saddle thrombus? If your dog has a stroke, signs often appear suddenly, but may differ widely, depending on the area of the brain affected. What are the signs my pet might be having a stroke?Ĭats tend to have dramatic signs if they experience a saddle thrombus, including:

Your veterinarian can help determine your dog's or cat’s risk. No specific breed has been linked to a higher incidence of strokes, but breeds prone to the diseases above might suffer from higher stroke rates.

Cushing’s disease (hyperadrenocorticism).

Dogs and cats who have been diagnosed with the following diseases are at increased risk of a stroke: Our pets don’t eat greasy foods, smoke, or drink alcohol, which are the most common risk factors for many human stroke victims, so pinpointing the exact cause of strokes in dogs and cats is difficult. A common and dramatic condition in cats called feline aortic thromboembolism, or a “saddle thrombus,” is caused by a blood clot that lodges in the aorta (the largest artery in the body) right before it splits to provide blood to the rear legs, causing the cat to become suddenly and painfully paralyzed. Blood clots can block vessels in any part of the body. Can clots lodge in blood vessels outside the brain? Other situations, such as trauma, disease, or clotting disorders, can cause vessels to rupture and blood to leak into the brain. This material can become lodged in a blood vessel, preventing blood and oxygen flow, which causes the tissue around the blood vessel to die. Most strokes involve blood clots, but some are caused by tumor cells, bacteria, and parasites. Dogs will exhibit different neurological signs depending on damage severity and the part of the brain affected. What is a stroke?Ī stroke occurs when a blood vessel becomes blocked or narrows so blood and oxygen no longer are carried to the brain, causing brain cells to die. Unfortunately, pets usually experience strokes on a grander scale than people and require immediate veterinary attention. Pet owners often don’t notice signs of a mild stroke in their companions since animals can’t tell you when they feel dizzy, lose sight in one eye, or have memory problems.

Cats and dogs can have strokes, but they seem to occur less frequently in pets than in people.

Signs of head trauma in dogs