Feline Saddle Thrombus.
I had never heard of it before, then one morning in September 2022, my 16-year-old cat, Joey, ate breakfast and cleaned his plate. He was absolutely fine. I left for work and got home around 3:00 pm to find him by the door as he always is and dashed off when I came through it, as he always does.
At 6:00 pm when I fed my cats again, he didn’t show. I thought, well, that’s weird but he did clean his plate this morning so maybe he’s just not hungry. By the time 10 PM rolled around and he hadn’t come out, I went hunting for him.
I found him in the closet and when I pulled him out, I knew something was wrong. When I tried to get him to stand, he would put all his weight on his front legs and hunch down. He could walk but did not want to. I had no idea what was wrong with him.
Not knowing what to do, I took him into the kitchen and fed him. He ate pretty well but at 2:00 am he projectile vomited. I know what time it was because he was in bed with me when it happened. From that point on, he was not interested in eating. The problem is if cats don’t eat for 24 hours, fatty liver disease can set in. I pulled out my feeding syringe and began hand-feeding and watering him.
Alicia and I got him to the vet first thing Monday morning. We had to leave Joey there because he didn’t have an appointment. I got a phone call about an hour later from our veterinarian (who has been doing this for a very long time). He has seen everything under the sun, and I wholeheartedly respect his professional opinion.
Feline Saddle Thrombus Comes Into View
He told me, “In my opinion, Joey has thrown a Saddle Thrombus (blood clot) and probably suffers from Cardiomyopathy. His tail is nonresponsive, he can walk but not well, his back feet are cooler in temperature than his front, his ears are cold, and I can’t detect a femoral pulse in either hind leg.” He also said his cardiogram had detected a skipped beat in his heart. He told me his condition was grave and he suggested I put him down.
My first question was, “Is he in pain?”
He didn’t think so because Joey never cried out, but he did say if the saddle thrombus began cutting off the circulation to his hind legs, he would be. He also said Joey may go on his own. If his heart skipped a couple of beats, that would be the end. There was no way we would put him down in a vet’s office. If we were going to do it, it would be done in our own home.
So, I went and picked up my boy and brought him home. Anyone who knows me knows I believe wholeheartedly in the body’s ability to heal. Once I got him home I got to work. I spent the entire day researching and researching some more about feline saddle thrombus, what causes it, and what to do about it.
I immediately gave him liquid trace minerals in water with a syringe because the heart runs on electrical impulses and liquid trace minerals conduct electricity. Not only that, but the heart needs magnesium and liquid trace minerals have lots of it. I didn’t want his heart to stop before we got a chance to give him a chance.
Based on my existing knowledge and my research on feline saddle thrombus, I started him on an insane amount of vitamins and minerals, wild salmon oil, and probably the most important, Taurine.
I also started him on Nattokinase (an enzyme extracted from fermented soybeans that is shown in studies to dissolve blood clots) to help dissolve the saddle thrombus.
He was a sick little boy and Alicia and I both told him, “If you want to go, Joey, you can go.” Then I told him, “But if you want to stay and fight, I’ll fight with you.” He chose to fight. I watched this boy go from a shell of himself who wouldn’t eat, drink, or even walk, to eating like a horse in just 10 days.
Every day, I watched as a little more of him came back as the cat saddle thrombus dissolved. I felt the warmth return to his feet and ears. I watched his ability to walk return and the life return to his tail.
On night eight, he woke us up at 5 AM meowing in the living room. I thought, “OH NO!” But Alicia went to check on him and found him playing with his toy and vocalizing at it.
I will say this…I’ve known the power of nutrition for a long time, but this even shocked ME! The rapidness of his return is mind-blowing. I think the influx of massive amounts of nutrition helped his entire body heal. Every day he gets better and better.
I don’t ever want my boy to experience a feline saddle thrombus again or any of my other cats. They all eat raw food mixed with wet food, I mistakenly thought that provided enough nutrition. I was wrong. I have since added a supplement mix to their raw food and extra Taurine to it as well as wild salmon oil.
I read that if Cardiomyopathy is the result of a Taurine deficiency and hasn’t progressed too far, it may reverse itself when the deficiency is corrected. Studies have found no upper tolerance level for Taurine in cats. What their bodies do not use they flush out. So I am loading them up on Taurine as Taurine is crucial for their heart health. Cats can not produce Taurine on their own, much like humans can not produce Vitamin C. They HAVE to get it from an outside source.
If you have cats, know that Cardiomyopathy and the feline saddle thrombus that results from it are a major issue for them! Even young cats can suffer from these blood clots. What I have learned about this is horrifying!
Cats as young as six months old are getting heart disease and suffering from debilitating feline saddle thrombus. Many cats suffer paralysis in their hind legs and severe pain as a result. Joey was really lucky in that way, perhaps because he was on a raw food diet.
From now on, my cats get extra Taurine, and a good vitamin and mineral supplement! An ounce of prevention is still worth a pound of cure! With any luck, no more episodes with saddle thrombus or cardiomyopathy.
Update: January 10, 2023.
Joey continues to be in good health. He is a very active 17-year-old boy cat. The only difference is that he is way more attached to me now than he ever was before he suffered a saddle thrombus. Looking back, this episode occurred after I had been out of town for seven days.
My gut tells me he wasn’t eating enough and certainly wasn’t getting enough taurine. He is an interesting eater. He likes to stalk his food, the only problem is, the two other cats who scarf it down while he is busy stalking. I think they stole a few too many meals from him.
UPDATE: March, 29, 2024
Joey is 18 now and still doing well. As a senior cat, he sleeps a lot. He still stalks his food, but we make sure he always gets his extra taurine, liquid minerals, and added vitamins! If you have cats, no matter how old they are, start them on these few supplements and make sure they eat a healthy diet.
How about you? Have any tips you’d like to share? Join our pet community for free and join the conversation below!
Are you looking for a Pet Professional for your cat care needs? Check out our pet business directory now!
If you love cats as much as we do you’ll want to check out our Cat Care Resources!
