Should I Take My Senior Norwegian Forest Cat to a Specialist for Saddle... (Vet Answered)
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Small Animal Veterinarian
Dr. Karyn is a small animal veterinarian originally from Australia, now based in the UK. She holds degrees in Veterinary Science (2010) and Zoology. When not helping pets, she tends to her 5 cats and garden!
The Question
I have a twelve year old female Norwegian Forest Cat. She has diabetes and is on Lantus 3units bid. She also has congestve heart problems and take Vetmedin and furosimide. The day before yesterday she started limping on he right rear leg. Within a few hours she was dragging her hind legs and panting from pain. We brought her to an emergency hospital They said she had Saddle Thrombus. We didn't want he hospitalized so they gave her a Exoxaparin shot and Clopidrogel, gabbapentin and buprenorphine for home administration. Both our vet and the hospital vet recommended euthanasia but we won't do that. Our vet said then to continue with the meds and hope in a few days it dissolves. Which he says is unlikely. Yet her anal temp is 98.7. He rear legs are still stiff and colder than the front legs .Should we take he to a specialist? What sort of specialist? My vet says they'll want to hospitalize her to see a specialist. What can I do from here? She's not in pain yet (after a methadone shot 15 hours ago) and is eating and in good spirits.
Quick Info about Kayla
📹 Vet's Video Reply (scroll down to see text answer)
Hi Stephen,
Thank you so much for writing in.
Aortic thromboembolism (ATE) is often called a ‘saddle thrombus’ after the shape of the aortic bifurcation where they most commonly form. They usually occur in cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a heart disease that causes the walls of the heart to thicken, altering the fluid dynamics in the heart, leading to the formation of clots (thrombi). The thrombus restricts or blocks blood flow to the hind limbs, resulting in painful weakness or paralysis of one or both hind legs, and the affected limb/s may feel cold.
Unfortunately, what your vet has told you is true, and most cats do not fully recover from an episode of ATE, and those that do often have repeat episodes within a short period of time. The fact that Kayla is already on medication for HCM tells me that these clots are forming despite treatment. This could be because her doses or medications need adjusting, or simply that we have reached a point where the disease is stronger than the treatment, which will happen eventually.
ATE is extremely painful, as it results in the blood supply to the hind limb(s) being cut off. Eventually, the pain is less as sensation is lost, but with a lack of circulation to the hind limbs, toxins will build up in the legs and cause further complications like tissue necrosis and sepsis. They are likely to develop more clots, which could cause further pain and suffering.
Even with intensive treatment to break up a clot, which can involve surgery, there is a very high chance that Kayla would soon be in the same situation within days, weeks, or even hours. In mild cases, rapid treatment with anticoagulants can delay the formation of further clots, but this also increases the risk of spontaneous hemorrhage.
Cats being treated for saddle thrombus should be hospitalized so their pain can be managed appropriately, and oxygen supplemented when needed. It is not a condition that I would recommend managing at home.
If you would like to speak to a vet one-on-one, you can make an appointment for an online consultation at PangoVet.com.
I wish I could be more optimistic about the prognosis, but I would typically recommend euthanasia in this sort of case.
I’m very sorry,
Dr Karyn.