Vestibular Disease - Anyone Ever Hear About This?

kittybear7

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Yesterday we had an AWFUL scare: our 17 year old KittyBear started crying and vomited big time. She lost her coordination - couldn't walk or even stand up - and her eyes were rolling and darting back and forth. We thought she was having a stroke and rushed her to our vet and he said it looked like Vestibular Disease. Huh? It affects the cat's balance and inner ear. He examined her and did an x-ray (ruling out any tumors). He said even though her symptoms looked horrific she should get over this. He gave her a shot for her nausea and 2 meds - Meclizine (.5 ml every 12 hours) and Zeniquin (.5 ml every 24 hours). Giving her pills is a nightmare so he gave us this in liquid form. Within hours she felt better. She even ate something. She was still unsteady on her feet so we took her to the litter box every few hours. I didn't keep her confined because she feels better with my other 2 cats nearby and I slept on the couch so I could hear her and check on her. Today she is much better but still wobbly so we watch her. I never heard of this before and it scared the s--t out of me. I really thought we were going to lose her.
Ashley
 

Furballsmom

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I didn't keep her confined because she feels better with my other 2 cats nearby and I slept on the couch so I could hear her and check on her.
Kudos to your vet!, and bless you for being there for your baby - what a loving mama you are, and I'm glad she and your other kitties have you!
 

DreamerRose

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It sounds very similar to vertigo in humans. Having had that, I can tell you it's horrible. The room spins around so fast you can't stand up. In humans, antihistamines clears it up, so I take a Benadryl every night.

She should recover and be fine, but it may require continuing medication.
 

qtpidani

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My dog had this a few years ago. Not to scare you, but it took at least 5 months for her to get mostly back to normal, and even after a few years, I think she still has some of the symptoms but has learned to manage them. Your cat could have a totally different experience though, and I hope for that!

It basically is like vertigo in a person, however, the area that causes this is by the brain stem. It's also called old dog syndrome. From what I read, animals just come down with for some unknown reason, and some get it because of a tumor. My vet did not recommend doing an MRI because he said that it wouldn't change anything except that we would be out a few thousand dollars and we would know if our dog did or did not have a brain tumor, but the treatment would be the same either way.

Our dog had a pretty severe case of it (falling when she ran, couldn't jump on the couch or bed, vomiting profusely). She was on prednisone to help with any inflammation, and then we had to put her on cerenia and sucrulfate too. I think there may have been another med as well, but I'm drawing a blank on it.

It was a really scary experience, even after we knew what it was. I didn't realize that this happened in cats too... I hope your cat recovers quickly from it!
 

babiesmom5

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I am so sorry about KittyBear. I can well relate!
My cat experienced the very same symptoms.

Back in 2016, one morning after eating, my 15 year old Calico cat lost her balance, could not stand up, just rolled over, vomited big time. Her eyes darted back and forth. I was scared, thought she was having a seizure. I rushed her to the vet where she was checked over, could find nothing wrong; told to watch her closely.

Next day, same thing happened only worse. I rushed her in again. Vet diagnosed her with Vestibular Syndrome and she was put on Phenobarbal, which is for seizures. This helped some, but not entirely.

Wanting to get to the bottom of this, I took her to a Vet Neurologist who performed an MRI of the head.
The MRI revealed fluid/inflammation in the left inner ear which was the cause of her losing balance and coordination. The vestibular system has components in both the middle/inner ear as well as the brain. Any disruption of this system leads to symptoms such as balance/coordination problems, circling, vomiting, abnormal eye movements (nystagmus), head tilt etc.

My cat underwent a Ventral Bulla Osteotomy in which a large amount of purulent fluid was removed from deep in her inner ear, likely the result of polyps.

She had to wear a cone around her head for about a week, but recovered nicely and this completely resolved her problems thankfully!

If your cat does not improve significantly in a short time, I would definitely schedule a MRI. This is the only way you are going to find out what is going on deep in the inner ear/brain. An X-ray will not see this. My cat had X-ray too but did not reveal this.

A word of caution too. If your vet puts your cat on Phenobarbital (for seizures) you will have to S-L-O-W-L-Y wean her off of it (it takes a couple of weeks at least),prior to any further diagnostics or operation. Knowing what I know now, I would not put a cat on Phenobarbital without an MRI first.

Watch your kitty very closely over the next several days. If you still see symptoms, schedule an MRI as soon as possible.

I wish you and Kitty Bear all the best!
 
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