Cat Has Apparently Unusual Symptoms, No One Knows What's Wrong

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sperry01

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So we are at the ER. She had another episode. Didn’t seem as intense but I don’t know if it’s because it was less severe or if it was Bc she was more paralyzed/more severe.
 
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sperry01

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ER vet did a physical exam, put her on ECG for 15 minutes to appease me and sent us all home. He seemed confident that the very beginning of the video was a focal seizure and the rest of it (where she was alert but not moving/her limbs were moving outside of her control) was post-ictus. He said she would definitely be getting oxygen to her brain while in post-ictus, so as long as they don't escalate to grand mal, she wouldn't be in any immediate danger. He does NOT think it's her heart, said arrhthymia in cats are very rare, and that it's most likely a structural issue (brain).

Still waiting for the neurologist to call back, hopefully this morning. But now I've been sick to my stomach all night thinking that if it is a tumor and that's what been causing her seizures for two years, I feel terrible that I went against my instincts and played it "safe" instead of being more persistent. Now if that's the really the cause, I've wasted time that could have been used to prevent things from getting this far (though I don't know where "this far" actually is). I know I've never been negligent in her care, if anything overly paranoid and questioning every little thing, but that would be a lot of guilt and self-resentment to carry around.
 

PushPurrCatPaws

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S sperry01 , I wish I could give you a big hug right now. You can only do the very best that you know how, and that's what you have done. This is reminding me of something similar that happened to me with my last dear kitty and that is, I didn't follow my gut and get an xray at a certain time when I sensed something "was not right"... and, as a result, fast-growing abdominal cancer that would have likely been diagnosable (is that a word?) in the month of May, when I could have insisted upon an xray, ran rampant by July-August and I had no clue about it whatsoever until we took our cat to the ER a day before we had to put her to sleep. She already had diabetes and pancreatitis, and that is what is hard, S sperry01 -- when they have certain symptoms in any case, it is just really hard to *KNOW* what is going on at all times. Please don't blame yourself and have guilt (although I know from my own experience, that others could tell me that till the cows came home and I still felt rage and guilt for not following my instincts 100% of the time).

What did the ER vet say as to what you are to do at this point?

I'm really thinking a lot about you as you wait for the neurologist to call you...
:hugs: :( :vibes: :vibes:
 
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sperry01

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My vet called me from home last night. Neurologist saw the videos and called her last night. Based on the the videos, he seems fairly positive she has a lesion on the right side of her brain. I knew it was possible but I am still so devastated. He mentioned that if it is a meningioma, those are often operable and most costs recover really well, and average about 2 more years of life after the surgery. I guess eventually it will grow back as multiple lesions (in most cases), and then...yeah.

Or we skip the surgery and just do steroids and anti-seizure meds and it sounds like the expectation is less than a year, maybe a few months.

Here is the problem -- because her liver enzymes are elevated... unless they go down, there's a chance he will decide the MRI let alone the surgery is too risky, because of the anesthesia. Which at that point would kill me because I should have done these things months ago. Her liver was fine then and that wouldn't even be an issue.

I am not rich, but if after he does the scans and diagnostics, she is eligible and likely to have a good recovery, I will likely want to do the surgery. sounds like the majority of cats recover super well, with 50% making it two years. But even two years... she will only be 11. I know it's selfish...I've read so many stories of owners having hours or days or weeks and I'm devastated by two years, but I really can't imagine my life without her. I've been lucky (or unlucky in some aspects) to have really never lost anyone before. I lost one friend in a fatal car crash right at the new year, but I hadnt talked to her in a long time so it was painful but I know this will be so much worse.
Then I wonder, will she even be the same cat after the surgery? I've tried to do some research in past weeks but I haven't been able to get far before I break down and have to stop.

My heart just hurts. so. much.
 

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First off its great how much you love your cat and are willing to spend the time and money to try to heal it. It sounds neurological to me because you have tested everything else. The ProBNP test and echo ruled out heart issues and should have eliminated thyroid issues. The excessive grooming could be nervousness, have you tried separating the cat from any other pets in the house?
 

PushPurrCatPaws

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My vet called me from home last night. Neurologist saw the videos and called her last night. Based on the the videos, he seems fairly positive she has a lesion on the right side of her brain. I knew it was possible but I am still so devastated. He mentioned that if it is a meningioma, those are often operable and most costs recover really well, and average about 2 more years of life after the surgery. I guess eventually it will grow back as multiple lesions (in most cases), and then...yeah.

Or we skip the surgery and just do steroids and anti-seizure meds and it sounds like the expectation is less than a year, maybe a few months.

Here is the problem -- because her liver enzymes are elevated... unless they go down, there's a chance he will decide the MRI let alone the surgery is too risky, because of the anesthesia. Which at that point would kill me because I should have done these things months ago. Her liver was fine then and that wouldn't even be an issue.

I am not rich, but if after he does the scans and diagnostics, she is eligible and likely to have a good recovery, I will likely want to do the surgery. sounds like the majority of cats recover super well, with 50% making it two years. But even two years... she will only be 11. I know it's selfish...I've read so many stories of owners having hours or days or weeks and I'm devastated by two years, but I really can't imagine my life without her. I've been lucky (or unlucky in some aspects) to have really never lost anyone before. I lost one friend in a fatal car crash right at the new year, but I hadnt talked to her in a long time so it was painful but I know this will be so much worse.
Then I wonder, will she even be the same cat after the surgery? I've tried to do some research in past weeks but I haven't been able to get far before I break down and have to stop.

My heart just hurts. so. much.
S sperry01 , I am so sorry to hear this. It's heartbreaking.

The decision-making for this is no easy thing at all. I've found that it can really help if I jot down my thoughts plus any notes and questions I have, both when I am worried and anxious about the decisions I have to make but also when I am feeling calmer and more methodical. Figure out the pros and cons. Then compare the two lists of notes and thoughts/feelings. Go with your heart. Think of what you feel you can handle doing and what you feel you might regret not doing.

Thinking of you a lot.... :vibes: :vibes: :alright:
 

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Along with what PushPurrCatPaws PushPurrCatPaws said, also get advise from the Vets. They should be able to tell you if she'll be "the same" if they operate. And don't discount the fact that she's currently on Denamarin for her liver, so her values may go down substantially :crossfingers:.

Don't beat yourself up for not having that MRI earlier. You yourself said you took her to the neurologist in May and he didn't think it was necessary, right? :alright::hugs: You've done everything you can think of for her, and are continuing to do so. Take it one step at a time. Don't think of two years from now, or even a couple of months from now. Just think of right now. Work on the pros and cons, then take the next step. Whatever you decide, we'll be here to help you along.

As far as her Vet bills, maybe there is something in this article that can be of help: No Money For Vet Care? How To Find Help And Save Your Cat's Life
 
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sperry01

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After having basically a nonstop emotional breakdown Thursday night and most of Friday, I have managed to keep my crying outbursts to a semi-minimum the last couple of days. I still have cried randomly but mostly for a few minutes at a time only. Today has been more because I've been reading as many sites as I can regarding meningiomas and stories of other pet parents whose precious kitties went through the same thing.

My partner called the neurologist first thing Friday and scheduled an appointment for a consultation for Tuesday morning. She apparently already had the day off for an MD appt of her own, which she cancelled in order to bring our precious B to the neuro instead. I have been trying to get as much work done Friday and over the weekend as I can to catch up on workload and hopefully I can go with them. The plan is to not feed her that morning, just incase they can do her MRI the same day. I don't want to wait any longer to find out what's going on. I've somehow convinced myself the last few days that that he is probably wrong and its not a tumor and instead something that can be treated less invasively with a better prognosis. But after reading so many stories, I know in my heart... he's probably not wrong. He is an excellent neurologist (thankfully, because he's only one of two anywhere near me), and I am thankful we are able to have him evaluate/treat my baby girl.

I know that the surgery has the best prognosis when the patient has mild symptoms and the mass is small, of course. But I can't find anything online that differentiates between mild vs severe symptoms. I guess because every pet is different. But either we have failed to see them previously, or her episodes may be getting more frequent. The tremors on 9/21, then the focal seizure on 10/1, and another on 10/4. Previously, we had only seen one every few months. So that doesnt seem to bode well for her. But her appetite is high, she is drinking... but she's been a bit messy in eating her wet food the last few days. Usually she licks up every morsel but this morning when I picked up the bowls I noticed specks of food on the outside of the bowl and on the floor (it's usually only her brother who is a sloppy eater). I've also noticed her whiskers twitching a few times when she sleeps. It feels like she's been more isolated the last few days. She hasn't slept with me at night since mid-last week (she sleeps with my EVERY night). A couple of times I've picked her up and put her on her pillow but after a while she jumps down.
I don't see her walking in circles or pacing, but she seems restless. Moving positions constantly while laying down, or constantly re-arranging her front paws as if she's reaching for something. Still chewing on her front paws. I don't know if all of these things are just coincidental because of stress or if he will tell us that these are all indeed indicative of more severe symptoms.

I found her at a rescue and met her when she was just two months old. I didn't get to bring her home until she was closer to 3 months because a URI had caused her to gain weight very slowly and had to wait til she was eligible for her neuter. But now she's 9yr and 9 months, and she's been a fixture for basically my entire adult life. I strongly believe she saved my life at the beginning. As with so many cat-parents, my daily life has been altered for nearly 10 years to cater to these furry guys (it's their home, not ours lol) and I feel like I don't know how to survive without her. Not to mention I feel like J will fall apart. B can't stand him near her and they do not get along (not for years now), but even when she was gone just the 2 days at the emergency vet, he was beside himself. I'm also pretty sure he's going blind and has dementia. The only thing worse than losing B would be losing both of them even remotely near the same time.

I had a really hard time getting over Bianca's death, she was my first cat that I got in 5th grade (though I thinks he grew closer with my dad). When I left for college, she got sick and was diagnosed with diabetes. She held on for a few years until finally one day my mom called and told me they had to let her go. I was devastated and cried for days. But by then I had been moved out for 3 years and also had B and J already, so while it hurt, I know it was not as bad as it could have been. As bad as it will be this time. My partner suggested us getting a kitten to "keep them young" and to help me cope, but I nearly lost my shit on her. I told her she is never to mention that in front of my babies again (you know, because they can understand human language of course). I don't want them to feel like they are being replaced and just give up pre-maturely to make room for a new kitten(s). I know that sounds irrational to an extent, but I'm ok with being a little irrational.

This isn't so much an update as an emotional rambling, clearly. Just watching her constantly and holding my breath that nothing else happens before Tuesday *knock on wood* and that before week's end, we can have a definitive idea and can go from there.
Please cross all fingers and toes
 

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I'm rooting for you and your kitty!!! :crossfingers::crossfingers::crossfingers: So much love and well wishes are being sent your way!!!!!!:heartshape:
 

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We'll all be here anxiously awaiting an update :crossfingers:

:vibes::vibes::vibes::hugs::grouphug:
 
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sperry01

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We are T-15 hours until we see the neurologist and she just had another focal seizure about 40 minutes ago :( this one had to be less than 2 minutes but then she couldn’t/did move for almost 8 minutes afterward. She didn’t eat anything today. We tried give her denamarin tonight in a little wet food but she’s gotten too smart for us and ate around it. I hate that she didn’t get her denamarin but am happy she ate something at least.

This is going to be a loooong 15 more hours
 
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sperry01

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She had a total of 5 focal seizures last night within 3 hours, so we brought back to the emergency vet around 11pm and they have her hospitalized for now. Hospitalizing her might be overkill but she was barely recovering in-between (ie, she was conscious in-between but was not able to move or control her limbs/tail, and when she could she was not stable). Apparently she did not have any seizures overnight while she was there, but they are keeping her until at least her appt with the neuro today (he works at the same place). She will NOT be getting the MRI today because they use someone else's facility and the only days they do them are Monday and Wednesday, so we have to wait until at least tomorrow for the MRI.

They said we can hospitalize her again tonight or bring her home and then bring her back around noon tomorrow for the MRI. Of course we can decide later (the hospitalization quote I think is for 24 hours, so we have until 11pm), but I dont know what to do. I feel like leaving her there is mean but I also feel like its the best place for her because if they do escalate, they can help her.

Thoughts?
 

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Hi S sperry01 - I can't imagine the stress you are under :vibes: :vibes: :alright:
I think you are amazing.

My thoughts are that I really think bringing her back and forth repeatedly to the hospital could stress her out further... I think just keeping her there under the good care of the vet nurses and vet is a great idea. Not only is it like all hands on deck for your kitty there at the hospital, but it gives YOU an important break so that you can have space to cry, vent, calm yourself, and things like that. Which is REALLY important.
:redheartpump:
 
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sperry01

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PushPurrCatPaws PushPurrCatPaws Thank you so much for your feedback, it was really helpful. I was really leaning towards wanting to leave her there but felt like a horrible person.

They said she had no seizures overnight last night. We went to her appointment with neurology this morning. He said he examined her first thing and that the exam was underwhelming, except he noted that she was very wobbly when walking. We told him that she's only like that after a seizure and asked if it's possible if the ER staff missed her having a seizure(s) and he said its possible.

Wasn't able to get the MRI today, but she is scheduled for tomorrow. We decided to go ahead and leave here there tonight again instead of bringing her home. She would have been home around 3pm (after they took out the iv catheter) and then we'd have to drop her off again tomorrow at like 7am (45 min drive each way), and they'd have to re-stick her with a new catheter. I miss her like crazy but I think it was probably the better choice for her. If she does have seizures, she's there where she can get treated, and hopefully it's less traumatizing than two extra car rides.

The neurologist also advised we start her on Keppra today in the meantime, at least until/if we find the cause of the seizures and can hopefully treat the underlying issue. The yucky part is it has to be dosed every 8 hours which I have no idea how we are going to manage that with our schedules, but at least it seems far less damaging to the liver and other organs, so yeah.

Not much learned today but I feel like at least we finally did something to go in the right direction. I think we are up to about $7-8k so far since 9/21/18. Had I gone with my instincts before in June, we probably could have saved the ER visits and half the charges, but what can you do.
 

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S sperry01 I just now saw your original post.
I can't offer you any advice, but just know if I were there I'd give you the biggest bear hug you've ever had! :grouphug: You're doing so much for this little cat and that just makes my soul turn to jelly. People like you are the best.

I wish I could give you some advice or "been there" encouragement, but I can't.
I'm just rooting for you guys. :rock::redheartpump::redheartpump::redheartpump::redheartpump:
 
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sperry01

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aww thanks 1 bruce 1 1 bruce 1 , I appreciate the kind words :)
Let's face it -- I may be in a happy long term committed relationship -- but everyone knows that Biscuit is the real love of my life. I love both my fur babies and would do anything for them... but she and I have a special bond.


General update - She's done well overnight, no seizures. Yesterday when we visited her, her back foot was MASSIVELY swollen (like 2-3 times its normal size). When I asked they said she had a bandage back there before we saw her and she kept messing with it or something.... but the swelling has gone down, and she ate a little yesterday afternoon. She's doing well on the Keppra. Since all of her other scans/bloodwork are done, it sounds like she'll just be "relaxing" in her kennel all day until it's MRI time, which will be this evening (They dont yet have their own MRI, so they use a human facility and therefore all MRIs are done after the end of the day when they close). The neurologist himself will be there so if he sees a mass he will be able to give us a preliminary answer (then will wait up to 7-10 days for official report from radiologists). If it seems dire enough, we would discuss treatment options and if needed she could have surgery as early as this Friday. If no mass is evident, he would do a spinal tap to collect CSF tonight while she's under anesthesia. Dependent on what is found, and assuming there are no complications with the anesthesia, we should be bringing her home late tonight.

At least there's a bright side to being massively swamped at work - hopefully the day will fly by!
 
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sperry01

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Also, I forgot I had a question --- So Biscuit didn't eat really more than a few pieces of kibble all day Monday (I watched her nonstop on the webcam while I was at work). In the evening after the first seizure we managed to get her to eat one of the old flavors of wet food we still had (We put her on the I/D diet a few weeks ago bc of her liver, but she wasn't interested in that one). It was one of the little small cans and she ate maybe 1/3 of it. And yesterday she apparently "grazed" a few kibbles around 1pm. Now she won't eat all day today because of the anesthesia, and when we take her home, it's smaller portions for like 10-12 hours so she doesn't get sick. So that's nearly 3.5 days of barely any food. It's definitely better than none. But is that enough to keep her from getting fatty liver? I'm worried because especially if she does need surgery and they do it Friday, that will be even more time of her not eating. No one seems concerned about it but I know it can happen very quickly in cats and I dont want to solve a tumor just to fail her liver in the process.
 

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Not eating or eating small amount IS worrisome, but hopefully the Vets have taken that into consideration. Is she currently on an IV? If so, they may have nutrients flowing into it.

Is she normally on the heavier side, or is she normal weight, or even on the thin side? If she is not on the heavy side, she is much less likely to develop hepatic lipidosis. Let's just hope she feels like eating once she gets back home, because, unfortunately, one of the side effects of Keppra can be lose of appetite :sigh:
 

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Not eating or eating small amount IS worrisome, but hopefully the Vets have taken that into consideration. Is she currently on an IV? If so, they may have nutrients flowing into it.

Is she normally on the heavier side, or is she normal weight, or even on the thin side? If she is not on the heavy side, she is much less likely to develop hepatic lipidosis. Let's just hope she feels like eating once she gets back home, because, unfortunately, one of the side effects of Keppra can be lose of appetite :sigh:
:yeah:
(I'll use pancreatitis as an example, most of the time if that attack is bad enough the dog or cat is hospitalized and fed nutrients with a tube or IV only, no food or even water goes down them by mouth, to keep things like HL or other problems from happening. They sometimes lose weight, but once they're better and eating again the weight piles on, similar to a person who goes on a crash diet for a week, loses 7-10 pounds, then eats again and the weight comes piling right back on.)
If the Keppra does create a loss of appetite once she's home, you might ask the vet about sending you and her home with an appetite stimulant to get her eating again until she's well on her way to good health. Normally I don't hop on the wagon that treats drug side effects with other drugs, but this is urgent and keeping her eating is very important once she's back home. And it's not forever! :redheartpump:
 
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