First off, I am so glad that I found this forum. Secondly, I am a complete mess and need some help. I adopted my 2yr old cat, Lenny, from my boyfriend's old roommates, who sadly were extremely neglectful pet owners...like change the litter box every two months neglectful. It was so infuriating. I would step in whenever I was there and change his litter box, make sure he was fed. At one point, he was infested with fleas, and when they didn't do anything, I got him on a prescription flea medicine. Anyways, they called me exactly two weeks ago and told me that poor Lenny had been peeing blood for awhile. They went on to say that he'd been straining in the litter box for a couple months. They said they couldn't deal with it and asked me if I wanted him. WHAT?!?! I was furious that they had not taken him to the vet to see what was wrong and gef him some relief. I immediately said yes, and he was at my house the next day. That night I noticed he was crying when in the litter box, which they had failed to mention. The following morning I got him into the vet. After a urinalysis, bladder ultrasound, and an abdominal xray, he was diagnosed with a very large bladder stone. They got him into surgery the next day. This was so unexpected and my boyfriend and I were in no way prepared to pay $1500, but we did it, because Lenny is worth it. Fast forward a week, and I notice that Lenny is shaking his head pretty frequently. I'm not sure if he had done it previously, but I noticed it for the first time a week ago. I thought it could possibly be due to the fact that he had a collar on from surgery, so I waited until four days ago, when it was time to take the collar off, to see if he was still doing it. Unfortunately, he was. I got him into the vet again the next afternoon. I requested to see the owner of the practice. He told me that his ears looked fabulous, and that there was no sign of infection or ear mites. He asked me if he had been scratching them, and I told him I had seen him scratch them a few times. He told me that that wasn't a lot. I asked him if it could be an ear polyp, and he told me no, and that he would be able to see it. I asked him if he could always see polyps, and he said yes. He then told me if I'd like, he could send me home with some ear drops to help with itchiness...so I got those. $73 later, and I was back home with Lenny. He is still shaking his head. He does it mostly after stretching, when he first wakes up, after being petted, and after eating. I've never had a cat before, so I don't know if this could possibly be normal behavior. When my dog was doing this, along with spinning around in circles, he required major surgery for bulging ear drums. I'm so sorry this is so long, but I am a mess, and I wanted to give you all the back story. I am obsessing over the head shaking and reading every internet article known to man. I'm worried that my vet wouldn't have been able to see a polyp if it was on the other side of the ear drum. I read that that is a possibility, but that normally if it hasn't broken through the ear drum, it causes a head tilt, unequal pupil sizes, and loss of balance, which he does not have. Should I push for an xray? It says that sometimes in order to visualize behind the ear drum, that a CT scan is required. I don't have that kind of money right now. He's acting totally fine, but I can't stop worrying. What should I do? Does anyone have a car who shakes their head occasionally? Can it be normal? Thank you so much to those who actually got to the end of this novel.
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1st time here...Cat shaking head....in tears....please help!!
- Thread starter Luvmylen
- Start Date
Hi
L
Luvmylen
Welcome to TCS.
Thank you for rescuing Lenny from that awful situation, you really are his saviour.
So, he shakes his head a few times a day, usually after being petted or after waking up? That doesn't sound like anything to worry about to me. Most cats give themselves a shake and a stretch when they wake. A quick head shake after eating and being petted are normal too. My cats do the same thing. If he seems fine otherwise and the vet isn't concerned I don't think you need to be either.
Keep an eye on him, if you notice that his ears seem very dirty or have a strange smell it could mean that he has ear mites or a fungal infection. But just shaking his head occasionally isn't a sign that there is anything wrong with him.
Thank you for rescuing Lenny from that awful situation, you really are his saviour.
So, he shakes his head a few times a day, usually after being petted or after waking up? That doesn't sound like anything to worry about to me. Most cats give themselves a shake and a stretch when they wake. A quick head shake after eating and being petted are normal too. My cats do the same thing. If he seems fine otherwise and the vet isn't concerned I don't think you need to be either.
Keep an eye on him, if you notice that his ears seem very dirty or have a strange smell it could mean that he has ear mites or a fungal infection. But just shaking his head occasionally isn't a sign that there is anything wrong with him.
I agree with the above. Headshaking isn't normal, but he may have something like allergies and they itch. As long as he isn't scratching them to the point of drawing blood, I'm sure it's minor. It could be that the cone was touching his ears at times, and causing discomfort, which will take a while for him to get over, or even from the anesthesia used during the surgery. Which may be affecting his equilibrium for a while. Especially since it has only been a couple of weeks. It could be excessive ear wax, which my cats get quite often. If he was on any kind of meds, even antibiotics, those could be affecting him too. Use the ear drops, and when he is comfortable, get him used to you examining his ears. If you see ear wax or any kind of discharge, use a cotton ball that is moist with warm water and swab his ears out, he won't like it at first, but mine quickly got used to it. Never go deeper then you can see, just the outer canal to be safe.
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- #4
I can't tell you what a relief it is to hear you say that. Thank you so very much. I was freaking out because I love him so darn much and want to finally give him a good quality of life, but I needed to get him healthy first. I've done everything the vet has told me to do....like changed his diet to prescription urinary diet canned food, and bought him a water fountain to drink from ( poor Lenny was forced to drink out of the toilet before), but this head shaking was really worrying me because of course everything online said it wasn't normal. When he's awake and walking around though, his head shaking can be as much as 10 times an hour. Unless he's stretching, or just waking up, it's a very mild handshake, but it's definitely there. Do you think that's okay?
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- #5
Thank you for your quick response. I didn't think head shaking was normal either. I know that I'm even more paranoid about it because that was the first symptom my dog had before things got very bad, and very quickly. I haven't noticed that his equilibrium is off at all. For all I know, he's done this for a year and no one ever noticed. I checked his ears for a foul smell and wax buildup before taking him to the vet, but there wasn't any. The vet said his ears looked perfect....that's when I really started to worry about a polyp, because apparently they can be normal in younger cats, but the vet told me that he would be able to see something abnormal in the ear canal. Do you think that's true?
Yes, vets can see much more then we can because they know what to look for. And the cats are scared and let them look. He may have some residual anesthesia affects yet. I do agree with keeping him well hydrated. And maybe applying some soothing oils of some kind once in a while. I know there are all kinds of homeopathic meds for ear problems on Amazon for cats, you might want to research them.
I really don't think 10 times an hour is normal. Observe him closely for the few days and see if it increases or decreases. If it increases I would call the vet and tell him and see what he wants you to do. If it decreases, it may be getting better. All the luck!
Agree, cats shake heads after eating/petting etc. Thats pretty normal. Well done for taking him on, but has anyone looked inside his mouth? you might focus on ears because of your past, but he could have something in the mouth or tooth,.
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- #9
I believe they thoroughly looked in his mouth before incubating him for his surgery a couple weeks ago.
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- #10
Thank you. Your response makes me feel a little better. Does your cat shake their head after waking up and stretching as well?
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- #11
Thank you. I will definitely do just that. Sometimes, it's a little less than that, and just a tiny little shake, but definitely when you pet him, he gives a pretty good shake. Does your cat shake his head a good shake after you pet him? Thank you again for responding so much.
