Did my senior cat's pain meds cause her stroke before she passed?

A stroke, vestibular disease, aortic thrombus clot, and brain tumors are all possible. I know you did not make that decision lightly. At 15 1/2 if she had started to have strokes then she probably also had heart disease and possibly hypertension. IF she had recovered then it is very likely that she would continue to have events in the future. While the “what if’s” can never be answered I think that you should be confident that you made the decision that you felt was best for her and what she was going through. The decision is never easy. I likely would have made the same choice. Take care and thank you for using Pet Coach.

Hello. I am very sorry for your loss. I do not think any of the medications by themselves, or in combination contributed to Kassie's death. None of the medications were given long enough to cause any kind of toxicity level, & all were appropriate for trying to help her. Please accept my condolences for your loss.

Oh goodness. I am very concerned about these signs- Especially his temperature. Strokes in cats most commonly happen due to underlying heart disease. If this is the case then treatment will not solve the underlying reason for the stroke. He may improve and you may be able to have more time with him, but unfortunately there is probably more than just the stroke as a problem. It is so hard to make these decisions about what to do in these situations. I try to ask myself If my Pet will be living the quality of life that I want for him. This usually helps me make my decision. I hope this helps you in whatever you decide to do. Take care and thank you for using Pet Coach.

Hello, and thanks for your question on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm so sorry to hear about your loss of Topanga. It's so hard to lose a beloved pet. It's difficult to speculate on all the "what-if's", what would have happened differently if Topanga had been treated a different way. However, if your vet suspected chronic kidney disease, that's a chronic, progressive, incurable disease, and nothing could have cured Topanga if that were the case. Additionally, it is a vet's job to help guide owners through the different options of treatment. If your vet gave you the option of treating Topanga from home with oral antibiotics, then I have to believe they thought that would give you a similar chance of improvement compared to the other options. With that said, the antibiotics were likely a "just in case" attempt to treat, just in case part of the problem with the kidneys was associated with a bacterial infection. But chronic kidney disease is rarely due to an infection - rather, it's an age related progressive disease that is common in cats. All in all, with the information you provided, I suspect you would have had the same outcome regardless of the method of antibiotic administration. I don't believe that your choice to treat her with oral antibiotics was the cause of her ultimately passing. I suspect it was simply the progression of an underlying incurable disease. I know none of that makes it easier to lose a loved one. It's so hard. But I hope this can provide some closure. I don't think you did anything wrong, and I don't think a different route of antibiotics would have changed the outcome. Hugs to you.

I'm so sorry to hear of your cat's passing. Heart failure is very common in older kitties. When the heart isn't pumping efficiently and/or when a clot moves to other areas of the body, the brain doesn't get the oxygen it needs. This causes disorientation and is likely why your cat was meowing loudly on the way to the vet. I doubt he was in any pain. And you did the right thing by taking him to a vet immediately. My thoughts are with you during this difficult time.

Hello. With urinary failure & heart problems, poor Frost certainly had his share of medical issues. I doubt very much that the Comfortis hastened his death. I think you have to know that you may have given him the best year of his life. You hope that a beloved pet will be with you for many years, but sometimes unknown & underlying issues will shorten that time. This is especially true with heart problems. Cats generally do not do very well with this, & since I do not know the details of either of his medical problems, suffice to say every day was a blessing to him. Rejoice knowing that he did not suffer a terrible cold death a year ago & he hopefully felt great love & comfort for the short time he was with you. I am so sorry for your loss & thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

First off, I'm so very sorry had to say goodbye to Lucy! It's always hard to say goodbye to a pet, and it also sounds like it was a tough experience for you. When cats are old and sick, a lot of times extra medication is needed to get the desired effect. It's because their system isn't working as well as it used to, and you can find yourself in a situation where more drug is needed than expected. I work for a home euthanasia service, and I've unfortunately had this happen to a patient of mine before where I have had to use three times the normal amount of sedative to get the animal fully sedated. It doesn't mean Lucy was healthy, and the vet wouldn't have put her down if she was healthy. It simply means she was very sick and her body couldn't metabolize the drugs normally, leading to more being needed. It's still upsetting to see, and I'm sorry your family went through that, but it does happen and we as vets cannot predict 100% how a euthanasia will proceed. While we'd like it to be easy and smooth, it doesn't happen that way all the time. I'm sure the vet did everything in their power to make it as comfortable as possible for you and her. Again, I'm sorry for you loss and I hope this helps!