Cat Shaking Like He Has Chills

lesliel76

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I have had so much cat drama lately.

This is what I am dealing with now. I have a cat Oliver who had a weird medical history of a rare bacterial infection in his spleen. He was on long term antibiotics did well and has been good for a little over 2 years now. Antibiotics stopped over 2 years ago.

I noticed him losing muscle mass lately so I took him to the vet. Long story but I had a bad experience with one and ended up at internal medicine in the end with another vet. Several panels of blood have been done and it is all normal. After 2 ultrasounds there showed to be something going on in the spleen again, lower intestines and was told crystals on the gallbladder but not to worry about them bc they were not big and did not seem to be the issue.

The spleen was fine needled aspirated once the first results came back inconclusive but the internal medicine doctor said he's pretty confident from the wording of the pathologist that there's nothing there. That it was a weird shape probably bc of his past.

It was concluded its GI upset and to switch to a hydrolyzed protien diet.

So I bought all these expensive foods and started him on it.

He doesn't seem to be improving. I can tell something is just funny about him. My biggest concern in this shaking which he had before when he was really sick. He shakes like he has the chills. He seems uncomfortable not in pain but not comfy. Not enough to really effect him he's just not relaxing super normal.

It's subtle and I can feel it on his body when I touch him. The tremors go throughout. Some very subtle head twitches too. Today I noticed in the morning. In the afternoon and night all these same things.

He is still eating but is not as good, playing some and overll acting somewhat normal besides the shaking. His fur is looking a little more dumpy.

I spent over 2 grand and doesn't feel like I should take him back bc what can they even look at? Is this neurological maybe? Has anyone experienced? Hes lost about 3 pounds too. I bought a baby scale to weigh him and it's gone down from 12.11 ounces to 12.8 which is not a ton but it's a consistent down. You can see the excess skin he had from losing the several pounds.

I'm worried and don't know what to do next besides monitoring. Also I just put his blood relates brother down for Cancer so I'm super on edge that I'm going to have to do it for him soon again.
 
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lesliel76

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So I just tried a heating pad for a bit to see if it's cold related and it definitely helped. So it is the chills....and he got up and walked away after about 30 min to an hour.

What I don't know if these chills are from a fever. My house is not that cold right now but maybe he has low blood sugar?

It's about 40 degrees outside and I have the thermostat set to 69. So to be cold seems odd. But the heating pad did help.

I was looking at the medical records it did say possible low blood platelets but could be clumping? Didn't sound like anything they were co concerned about right now. I'm attaching the summary in case anyone wants to take the time.
 

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Margot Lane

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Seems like you’ve really done your research. I’m no expert here, but If it is hypoglycemia you could give him a tiny bit of honey, maybe spread on the lips, but, I’d do whatever the vet says. I did just read that certain breeds of cats are prone to shivering. I’d be doing what you’re doing: making sure there’s a warmer warm place: cats are heat seekers. Was he very much bonded to your other cat? Perhaps some kind of mourning? (It’s 69 here, btw; as soon as I lie down my cat is all over me for the extra warm).
 

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Okay. So, what was he doing that warranted the HP food? Was it the weight loss only or was it also vomiting and or diarrhea? You said the gallbladder had crystals. Was there an abnormality of the intestines seen on ultrasound?

The platelet clumping is a common occurrence in cats with the current lab machines. But. abnormalities can be easily checked with a blood slide with a microscope. It literally takes a couple of seconds. Usually if the platelets are low, there will be other abnormalities in the CBC.

I strongly doubt he is hypoglycemic. You are only going to see hypoglycemia in an adult cat that isn't close to death, from a pancreatic mass or something of the sort. But that all checked out normal right? How long ago was the last blood test done?
 
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lesliel76

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Okay. So, what was he doing that warranted the HP food? Was it the weight loss only or was it also vomiting and or diarrhea? You said the gallbladder had crystals. Was there an abnormality of the intestines seen on ultrasound?

The platelet clumping is a common occurrence in cats with the current lab machines. But. abnormalities can be easily checked with a blood slide with a microscope. It literally takes a couple of seconds. Usually if the platelets are low, there will be other abnormalities in the CBC.

I strongly doubt he is hypoglycemic. You are only going to see hypoglycemia in an adult cat that isn't close to death, from a pancreatic mass or something of the sort. But that all checked out normal right? How long ago was the last blood test done?
Basically the food change is bc they can't find anything wrong and the only other area besides the spleen that lit up to them was the lower intestines on the ultrasound. But they said was minor with lymph nods around it swollen? Nothing significant to even list here I guess. But they did come in the room to mention it.

There has been some vomiting here and there. But nothing significant. No diarrhea.

They ran two in depth panels of blood at that visit on Monday. All came back normal.

I just went to check on him it's almost 3 am here and he's still shivering. I had a bed set up for him with a heating pad he isn't using of couse. He's a bit annoyed by me right now bc I keep checking on him so I don't even know where to set up the heating pad right now so I can sleep.

I am super worried because how can this shivering just keep going on like that. Also how to I show a vet and if I do take him in what would they even test for.

I did take a video of it it's subtle but you can see his fur shaking. I don't know if I can upload here. I will reach out to the vet tomorrow. I just feel like what can they do more besides aspirated the spleen and that area in the GI. Which how would that correlate with shaking like thi?

I can just feel something is off too. He just isn't acting normal. I want to ignore it and be like he's fine all the teat say fine but that shivering is not right and to not stop. Maybe he's chilled for a second but all day into the night?
 
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lesliel76

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I just tried a bunch of ways and can't upload the video of him shivering. I will call the vet and email I the morning. I don't know if the Dr will even be in till next week to answer. I'll bring him to the ER if he has to I just feel like what do they even check for.
 
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lesliel76

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Seems like you’ve really done your research. I’m no expert here, but If it is hypoglycemia you could give him a tiny bit of honey, maybe spread on the lips, but, I’d do whatever the vet says. I did just read that certain breeds of cats are prone to shivering. I’d be doing what you’re doing: making sure there’s a warmer warm place: cats are heat seekers. Was he very much bonded to your other cat? Perhaps some kind of mourning? (It’s 69 here, btw; as soon as I lie down my cat is all over me for the extra warm).
He was bonded to the other cat but we have been through a few deaths before and it never went like this. He is actually the one kitty that seems to understand it. You can tell its more physical health than emotional. It was in January I put his brother down too. Not that he should be over it but it's been too long. Yeah I don't know either but he's been doing it all day and still now.

I'm going to reaxh out to the vet tomorrow. Feel so lost as to what to do. Such a bizarre not helpful symptom. But you can tell he's not right he's not comfortable.
 

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Hi. Sorry you are having a rough nite. I have seen cats shiver, or tremble when they have an electrolyte imbalance. But if blood was checked recently, it would have shown that. I have seen them tremble when coming out of anesthesia, or if they have become too cold after a surgery. I don’t see normal cats that are just cold tremble, unless they are super cold and wet. So none of the above would be him. Sometimes the head tremors can be a form of seizure. It can be weakness. Is he purring? I have seen cats try to heal themselves by purring and that can make them tremble a bit.

It does sound like he needs to see the vet. If you have to, take him to an ER. Of course ER vets won’t be the same as an internal medicine vet, but sometimes you can get a good one. If it is something they can see and treat that is great.

The enlarged lymph nodes in the abdomen are concerning and with changes in the intestines, I wonder if anyone has discussed the possibility of intestinal lymphoma with you. It is common in cats. My own cat has it. Started as IBD and changed into lymphoma. I didn’t do biopsies because my cat wouldn’t have survived the anesthesia for the procedure. Even with biopsies, the results are not always helpful or accurate. If a sample is taken that comes back as lymphoma it can be determined as to large cell or small cell, but sometimes it comes back as inconclusive or not lymphoma but it is, just not where the sample was taken.

I chose to treat my cat for lymphoma based on the ultrasound results which were consistent with lymphoma. Thickening of the intestinal wall and enlarged lymph nodes. The chemotherapy is easy. A pill 3 times a week and Prednisolone every other day. Most cats respond well to that treatment. Along with Cerenia for nausea and I also do SQ fluids as needed for dehydration. My cats ultrasound was 2 years ago. So, if it is that, all is not lost.

I personally don’t think extensive testing is always best for these cats because it does stress them out and any anesthesia is always a risk.

Has your cat been using the litter box normally? If you think he might be cold you can take a temp, but once again, it will stress him out.

If you look at the insides of his ear flaps do you see even a hint of yellow? What color are his gums? Are his gums moist or wet, or do they feel dry and tacky?

If you are able to get a hold of your vets office tomorrow, and they can’t get you in, ask for copies of your records and lab and ultrasound reports to be e mailed to you in case you do wind up going to the ER. That way you don’t have to repeat tests.

I am sorry your boy isn’t feeling well. Please keep us updated as to how he does and what happens.
 
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lesliel76

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Hi. Sorry you are having a rough nite. I have seen cats shiver, or tremble when they have an electrolyte imbalance. But if blood was checked recently, it would have shown that. I have seen them tremble when coming out of anesthesia, or if they have become too cold after a surgery. I don’t see normal cats that are just cold tremble, unless they are super cold and wet. So none of the above would be him. Sometimes the head tremors can be a form of seizure. It can be weakness. Is he purring? I have seen cats try to heal themselves by purring and that can make them tremble a bit.

It does sound like he needs to see the vet. If you have to, take him to an ER. Of course ER vets won’t be the same as an internal medicine vet, but sometimes you can get a good one. If it is something they can see and treat that is great.

The enlarged lymph nodes in the abdomen are concerning and with changes in the intestines, I wonder if anyone has discussed the possibility of intestinal lymphoma with you. It is common in cats. My own cat has it. Started as IBD and changed into lymphoma. I didn’t do biopsies because my cat wouldn’t have survived the anesthesia for the procedure. Even with biopsies, the results are not always helpful or accurate. If a sample is taken that comes back as lymphoma it can be determined as to large cell or small cell, but sometimes it comes back as inconclusive or not lymphoma but it is, just not where the sample was taken.

I chose to treat my cat for lymphoma based on the ultrasound results which were consistent with lymphoma. Thickening of the intestinal wall and enlarged lymph nodes. The chemotherapy is easy. A pill 3 times a week and Prednisolone every other day. Most cats respond well to that treatment. Along with Cerenia for nausea and I also do SQ fluids as needed for dehydration. My cats ultrasound was 2 years ago. So, if it is that, all is not lost.

I personally don’t think extensive testing is always best for these cats because it does stress them out and any anesthesia is always a risk.

Has your cat been using the litter box normally? If you think he might be cold you can take a temp, but once again, it will stress him out.

If you look at the insides of his ear flaps do you see even a hint of yellow? What color are his gums? Are his gums moist or wet, or do they feel dry and tacky?

If you are able to get a hold of your vets office tomorrow, and they can’t get you in, ask for copies of your records and lab and ultrasound reports to be e mailed to you in case you do wind up going to the ER. That way you don’t have to repeat tests.

I am sorry your boy isn’t feeling well. Please keep us updated as to how he does and what happens.
Thank you I am having a rough night. It's so frustrating to not know how to help them. I know I can always take the ER. He's at that weird stage where he's stable enough for it to not be an emergency but something is wrong. In my eyes its an emergency but I kind of know the drill with them they do the test get your cat stable and send you home. At this point the test left to do are the needle aspiration of the spleen and or intestines.

They didn't mention lymphoma but I started to Google and it's very possible by what I read. It's funny bc when he went through this rate bacterial infection thing a few years ago that's what they initially thought he had. So it makes my mind spin trying to piece it all together.

Yeah I will speak with them tomorrow. I have had really bad luck with vets where I live. I moved 2 years ago and it's been one bad experience after another. Internal medicine guy was better but I wouldn't say I felt totally awesome about him either. He talked a lot and listened very little.

But if I keep hopping vets it will cause confusion probably.

To answer some of the other questions:

He does purr but that's not what's going on with the shivering I'm pretty confident in that.

His ears look pink on the inside not yellow. Is that good?

I can't get to his gums right now bc he's very annoyed by me and growling. So I'm going to let him be but when he's resting I'll take a look. I would like to think they looked at this at the visit but who knows.
 

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Yeah, good idea to leave him be and not pester him. Pink is good. Yellow would be jaundice, meaning liver or bile duct problems.
 
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lesliel76

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Just realized the vet is closed today. They are open tomorrow. If I have to ill take him to the ER today even though I'm so broke and just spent so much money but I can't watch him like this.

The ER is connected to the place I went to so they should have all his records. I just found him crouching in this cat tower just sitting there funny. Usual at this hour he is curled up on the bed with me. Something is super bizarre.
 

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Sounds like an ER visit would be best. Good thing they have access to his records.
 
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lesliel76

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Just realized the vet is closed today. They are open tomorrow. If I have to ill take him to the ER today even though I'm so broke and just spent so much money but I can't watch him like this.

The ER is connected to the place I went to so they should have all his records. I just found him crouching in this cat tower just sitting there funny. Usual at this hour he is curled up on the bed with me. Something is super bizarre.
Thank you yeah I'm here now. They don't have a ton of new answers but going to try some pain meds and antibiotics and then a follow up with the internal medicine doctor.

Will know more in a bit.
 

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Sometimes shivering like that indicates a build up of toxins in the bloodstream, but you said his bloodwork was good. This happened to one of my RB kitties who had CKD. Her kidneys were unable to filter out all the toxins in her body, and as a result, it caused shivering.
 

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Thanks so much for letting us know what’s going on. Think you did the right thing here.
 
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lesliel76

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So I brought him home after being there today I gave him a dose of antibiotics and gabapentin. He's worse than ever really shaking.

I wish I could upload the video.

I am on hold seeing if I should go back. I don't know what to do really. But it's getting worse now.

Can Gabapentin do this? Make shaking worse?
 

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When does the follow up w/ the internal medicine doctor happen? Or did it already at this last visit?
 
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lesliel76

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Wednesday but the way he looks tonight I'm honestly scared he's dying.
 

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No chance of pushing up the date/time? Can you call the vets back and tell them what you think? (Try to get some rest if you can, through all this— it helps you to think clearly). You are not alone.:alright:
 

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What does your vet think is the cause of shaking? Having a high fever can be one reason or neurological,partial siezures,from having a high fever or something else. Hope he feels better!
 
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