Cat suddenly walking "drunk", falling, vet says probably neurological

scullynmaxmom

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My 17 yr old girl was doing very well until 5 weeks ago when she started drooling and wouldn't eat. After 3 expensive vet visits and meds that weren't helping, they finally found ulcers on her tongue, and tested for Calicivirus (it tested positive). I did Sub Q fluids, many meds, and syringe fed her until she started eating on her own again. This past week she finally seemed back to her usual self -alert, eating well, playing, etc.
Then today I noticed her hind legs seemed weak. It progressed to all 4 legs, her falling when she'd try to jump up on the bed, and stepping off the bed into thin air (I caught her). Took her to the ER AGAIN. they said vitals are good, no strange eye movement, kidney function is good. But she can't walk hardly at all. They did the test where they bend the foot and she tried to stand that way, she didn't move it back to the proper position. She has been shaking her head a lot. The ER Doc thinks neurological , so I left her at the hospital so she could be seen first thing in AM. The ER Doc could not find any easily identifiable cause.so they'll do X rays, CBC, and blood panel.
I borrowed 1,000.00 for the last illness and so far 500.00 for this. I don't know how much more I can borrow (or how I'll pay it back), but this kitty is my world right now. Lots of others things are bad right now and her purr and love is sometimes the only light in my day.
So before the neurologist calls with recommendations, I'm wondering if anyone else has been through a similar experience. Anything relative will help.
 

denice

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There is a form of calicivirus that causes arthritic symptoms.  It's usually found in young cats and it doesn't explain the head shaking or the way she was walking off of the bed.  I hope you do find out what is going on before you run out of money.  That is unfortunately a common issue for pet owners.
 
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scullynmaxmom

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Now they are saying she can't see, either. To do an MRI on her brain would cost 1800-2500.00, which I just don't have. So they want me to give antibiotics in case it's an infection, and just watch and hope she gets a little better. So I have to safety proof the bedroom and then go get her. I've only slept a few hours and I'm so very sad. My girl can't see or walk much.
 

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awww... I feel for you...I'm so sorry for what you are going through. When Min was sick my world was turned upside down...I couldn't eat... or focus on anything else... it's just horrible when you love our furbabies so much and feel so helpless. She was only 10... it's so awesome your baby has had lovin from you for 17 years!! I hope wisdom comes to you to know what to do... always know we can only do so much and really need to focus on is it really helping "them" or "us" by trying to go to extremes to make them better... and any decision you make to move forward with... is based in love, so it's ok :)
 
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scullynmaxmom

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Thanks so much. I thought they were going to tell me to put her down last night. But the Dr. Said that she is actually in very good shape for her age, and not in any pain, so they wanted me to see if she gets better. Apparently some cats with strokes do get better. Two years ago I had to put her fur companion to sleep due to kidney disease. She had been getting worse and one night had grand Mal seizures. That was awful to watch, and I don't want anything like that to happen again. I'm glad that I found this site though. Hopefully it will help me.
 

mnm

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kudos to your vet too... that's really great that he wants to stick with her through to give her the chance to see if there's progress!
 
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denice

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It's certainly worth giving her some time to see if there is improvement.
 

catwoman707

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It's certainly worth giving her some time to see if there is improvement.
I do agree. If she is not in pain or suffering, then it is well worth giving her time, see how things go.

Maybe she walked off the bed due to her lack of eyesight? Could be.

See how she responds to the antibiotics, make sure she is always well hydrated too. 

An MRI may or may not show you what's going on in her head, if it is, and will not necessarily be able to change what it is either, but only might give you something more definite. Not a cure though.

At her age, especially. It doesn't mean anything that I say this, but I'd say that if a 3 or a 5 year old began these symptoms it would be very unusual and require researching it until it's found out why.

Just try to keep a level head, don't let her suffer, think of her life from her perspective rather than your heart, and enjoy her :)

It would be great if the antibiotics made her back to her normal self :) It's always worth a try.
 
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scullynmaxmom

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Well she's home and settled in, it was quite a busy day. She can still jump great, and is walking better than the night I took her to the hospital. But the eye sight is definitely not there anymore. I had removed any furniture that I thought she might fall off of, but she still kept jumping on the bed and trying to get to things that weren't there, like her window perch. She has always got up on it by climbing onto the bed and either jumping from there, or climbing on top of the headboard, which is flat like a bookcase. So now she just climbs up on that "bookcase" and looks for her perch. She can just as easily fall off of that while I sleep. So I'm trying to decide if I should put her perch back. I always kept a bowl of water beside the perch, so that gives her extra reason to look for her perch.
I have a feeling that I won't be sleeping very deeply for the next few days.
 

catwoman707

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I would def put her perch back.

Keep in mind, these are things she is very familiar with, and knows exactly where they are, how much space she has on it, and so on.

The bed, well it's alot larger and not as easy to calculate, which would likely be why she walked off of it.

Smaller things are alot simpler.

Glad she is home, and hope she will continue to improve!
 
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scullynmaxmom

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Yes, the perch came back. She is navigating very well today, but she hasn't done a lot. She's staying in bed. It is so weird that she can't see anymore and the whole thing is making me so sad. I just want to stay home and lay in bed beside my girl.
 

catwoman707

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Then you should :) It will do both of you alot of good :)

It's okay, of course we don't want our kids to lose their sight, but there's no pain involved and being familiar with the home for so long it's much less stressful for her.

Just don't go moving things around too much :)
 
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scullynmaxmom

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@ScullynMaxMom
 how is your girl doing these days?
Thanks for asking, she is doing much better. She is walking just fine, jumping everywhere. Her sight seems to be working for some things. She sees large movements, and can find her way around new objects in her path. But if I move my finger close to her eye there is no response. Odd, but as long as she is looking healthy I'm happy as could be! I keep a close eye on her these days, and give her lots of love. She's my baby girl.
 

catwoman707

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Well this is a great update!! So glad to hear she is doing much better, thank you for the positive news! :)
 
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