Successful Intensive Management and Serial Clinical Progression of Severe Non-Exertional Heatstroke in a Cat Following Clothes Dryer Entrapment

Heatstroke is a life-threatening veterinary emergency that is rarely reported in cats, particularly when secondary to household hazards such as clothes dryer entrapment. This report details the successful intensive management and clinical progression of a single feline patient presenting with severe non-exertional heatstroke and concurrent blunt force trauma following approximately 20 min of entrapment in an operating dryer. Upon presentation, the cat exhibited severe hyperthermia (43.0 °C), circulatory shock, oral hemorrhage, and generalized seizures. The rapid initiation of active cooling and aggressive hemodynamic resuscitation prevented further life-threatening complications beyond the initial day of seizures, leading to clinical stabilization and discharge on day 6 at the owner’s request, with a full recovery confirmed at a recheck appointment on day 11. Furthermore, serial biomarker tracking during hospitalization revealed a continuous elevation in feline serum amyloid A (fSAA) accompanied by intermittent hyperthermia. This sustained inflammatory response suggests that feline heatstroke shares a pathophysiological mechanism with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). Ultimately, this case highlights the hidden but severe dangers of household appliances and suggests that early recognition and the immediate initiation of targeted therapy are critical for achieving favorable outcomes in feline non-exertional heatstroke.