Feline Cardiogenic Arterial Thromboembolism Prevention and Therapy

Feline cardiogenic arterial thromboembolism (CATE) is a devastating disease whereby 33% of cats survive their initial event, although approximately 50% of mortality is from euthanasia. Short-term management focuses on inducing a hypocoagulable state, improving blood flow, and providing supportive care. Ideally, all cats should be given 72 hours of treatment to determine the acute clinical course. Preventive protocols include antiplatelet and/or anticoagulant drugs, with the only prospective clinical trial demonstrating that clopidogrel is superior to aspirin with a lower CATE recurrence rate and longer time to recurrent CATE. Newer anticoagulant drugs hold great promise in the future of managing this disease.