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Snocat's Story |
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Snocat's Story
In the early part of 2009 Snocat began losing weight and not acting quite like herself.
Dr. Gail Vial of Kensington Veterinary Hospital diagnosed Snocat with hyperthyroidism and began medical treatment using Tapazole. Although Snocat’s thyroid hormone level came down, she was still not quite herself. In
August 2009, she began to stand in corners, vocalize and was less sociable. Dr. Vial referred Snocat to The Sams Clinic for neurological evaluation. On neurological evaluation Snocat was found to be circling to the right, was weak in the left front and hind limb, and had decreased vision and feeling on the left side of her face. These findings suggested that there was a problem on the right side of her brain.
An MRI was performed and revealed a large mass in the olfactory and frontal regions of the brain. The tumor extended from the right to the left side taking up about ½ of the cranial vault and was compressing the brain. Below are two of the MRI images.
TI-weighted, postcontrast MRI image in a coronal plane of Snocat's head and brain. The tumor (meningioma), is outlined in a broken yello line and the normal brain size in blue. The normal tissue of the cerebrum is severly compressed by the tumor, (green arrow). Coronal plane images are taken from the top to bottom.
TI-weighted, postcontrast MRI image in a saggital plane of Snocat's head and brain. The tumor (meningioma), outlined in broken yellow line, takes up about 1/2 of Snocat's cranial bault. The normal tissue of the cerebral cortex is severly compressed by the tumor, (shown byt he red arrow). Saggital plane images are taken from side to side.
Meningiomas in the cat are amenable to surgical removal because they are often benign and relatively easily removed. Long-tem outcome is typically measured in years. Snocat had surgery the following day to remove the large meningioma. Because of the extent of the tumor, an endoscope was used to help guide the removal of the tumor and assure that it was as completely removed as possible.
Snocat gradually recovered to be the cat that her family knew. She has gained weight and is now playing and doing the things that Snocat used to do.
Snocat going about her daily cat duties
Snocat and her 'mom' taking time for a cuddle
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