de Laforcade, “and we occasionally use it to look for evidence of brain injury in a cat - bleeding in and around the brain, for example. For a number of reasons, however, this approach is infrequently used for diagnosing feline brain trauma at the Foster Hospital. Many of the ones we see probably just got slightly bumped by a car.” CT Scans for Cats with Suspected Head Traumaĭiagnosis of a suspected brain injury can be confirmed or ruled out by means of a computed tomography (CT) scan, which uses X-rays to create detailed images of internal structures, including the brain. I would suspect that there are many cats that experience head trauma and never make it to the hospital. “If a cat is unconscious,” she points out, “that would be uncommon and probably very severe. If that is the case, we worry that the head injury might be extensive enough that it has caused brain injury, so then we have to look for clinical signs that indicate that the brain might be swelling.”Ĭats that have experienced head trauma will tend to be collapsed and unresponsive, she adds, but they will not typically lose consciousness. They aren’t really responding to the environment. They are very depressed or minimally responsive. “Where we start to worry about brain injury is when we have cats that are exhibiting altered mental functioning. This is not usually a diagnostic challenge. The whites of the animal’s eyes may be red due to bleeding in the sclera, and the eyes can be so swollen that they actually protrude. de Laforcade, “we will look for evidence of trauma on the face - swelling, bleeding around the mouth or nose, and broken teeth. Upon admittance to the emergency room, an injured cat will initially be examined to see whether it is in shock - such signs as an abnormally rapid or abnormally slow heartbeat and pale gums. But that’s simply because young males have a tendency to roam - and any cat that goes outside its home is more likely than a strictly indoor cat to be hit by a car.” However, she points out, “If you look at the demographics, you may see that young male cats are at greatest risk. de Laforcade observes that all cats are vulnerable. Regarding risk factors for head trauma, Dr. We don’t see cats with head trauma every day, but it certainly can be considered a regular occurrence.” Any Cat is at Risk for Head Injury Or a vase or other heavy object can fall off a shelf and hit the animal on the head, causing concussion. A kitten can be accidentally kicked by its owner. A cat that sleeps on a couch can get sat on. These are the two main causes, but there are others as well. “Cats sit on windowsills in tall buildings and fall to the ground. Another relatively common kind of head injury - especially in cities - is something that we call ‘high-rise syndrome.’ “The animals we most frequently see are those that have been hit by a car or maybe even a bicycle. “Head trauma is fairly common in cats,” says Armelle de Laforcade, DVM, associate professor of emergency and critical care in the department of clinical sciences at Tufts and the overseer of emergency services at the Foster Hospital. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for cats of all ages to be brought in due to blunt or penetrating head injuries. Each day, dozens of injured or severely ill animals in urgent need of emergency medical care are brought by their owners to the Cummings School’s Foster Hospital for Small Animals.
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