Traditional treatments of blood clots (i.e. saddle thrombus or arterial thromboembolism) for cats typically involve medications, including pain management and blood clot prevention. In some cases, surgery may also be an option, but is rarely successful. These treatments tend to be expensive without any guarantee of a successful or complete recovery, and can be dangerous. Although these treatments are available, The cat’s body may dissolve the blood clots on its own without any intervention. It's important to note that these treatments and medications are often used to prevent future blood clots in cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).

Common blood thinning medications are often prescribed for prevention of blood clots. However, there are no current prescription blood thinners available that guarantee prevention of blood clots in felines. Aspirin is typically prescribed for prevention of blood clots although it is extremely toxic to cats and should only be prescribed and administered by a veterinary surgeon. Plavix (Clopidogrel) is also another widely used medication that may prevent blood clot formation in cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Medications previously used by veterinary professionals include tissue-plasminogen activators (tPA) and Streptokinase. Side effects of these drugs vary, but can often make their use debatable. Most commonly, they can cause cats to become vulnerable to tissue damage as blood flow is suddenly restored to the limbs. This is known as reperfusion injury, ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) or reoxygenation injury and can cause fatal complications. As these drugs are designed to dissolve clots, hemorrhaging can be another adverse side effect. Both of these drugs come with high costs and must be administered within two hours of formation. TPA and Streptokinase have both been discontinued in treating feline arterial thromboembolisms (FATE).
Ultimately, the standard treatment for blood clots include blood thinners for prevention of new clots, pain management and heart failure treatment. Sadly, less than 40% of cats with ATE survive and recurrence is more than likely, often leading to the decision to euthanize.

Fortunately, there are recent studies investigating newly developed novel treatments for blood clots in cats that have shown promising results. Learn more about these treatments

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