Unwell little guy

[Hayleystring]

Hi All,
Our one year old male cat became very suddenly unwell today. He is at the vet overnight for blood tests, but they have suggested a neurologist at £4,000 for tests alone. The vet wasn’t able to say with any certainty why he has become so unwell so I am reaching out to see if anyone has had the same symptoms with their cat. His symptoms came on very suddenly within half an hour and he is a house cat with no new food or plants introduced into the house.
His first symptom was that he was using his paw funny. He kept turning it so his paw pads faced the ceiling, but when I felt around his paws he didn’t show any sign he was in pain.
Next he started to walk into things and trip over. He had slightly runny faeces
He was meowing more than usual
When we took him to the vets, they observed that he was walking in left hand circles.
His eyes appear normal. But he was very dazed and taking himself to a quiet place despite being a massive attention seeker usually! He also stopped jumping up onto the bed etc and was very laboured trying to climb onto low surfaces
Any help massively appreciated - thank you

 

[vince]

Besides being neurological, it possibly could be ear-related, especially walking around in circles. Did he keep his head tilted to one side consistently? Given the other symptoms, it's a remote possibility and would be easier to treat, I think. Keep positive!

 

[daftcat75]

Unfortunately, you can't really tell what it is until he's had an MRI. Krista's neurologist said with neurological symptoms, it can be one of four things, and none of them can be determined without the MRI:

1. infection (can be middle ear which cannot be seen on a visual exam, or more rarely, a brain infection)
2. inflammation or tumor
3. stroke
4. idiopathic ("we don't know what caused it"). Not that you want this one. But you can't get here until you have ruled out the others. Undiagnosed is not the same as idiopathic.

If you can't afford the MRI, your vet may be able to prescribe a course of antibiotics and steroids to see if it responds like 1 or 2 (infection or inflammation.) Unfortunately, besides being guesswork, it can take a long time for either medicine to show results, if either are going to show results at all. In the meantime, you can ask what kinds of things you can do for him to make him more comfortable. Is he still eating or does he show signs of nausea from all of this?

 

[Caspers Human]

Is it full-on ataxia? (Loss of balance and coordination.)

The first thing I would suspect is a problem with the cat's vestibular (balance) organs in the middle/inner ear. An infection, inflammation or a parasitic infestation (ear mites) could easily cause this.

The second thing I would suspect is poison or toxicity from something that the cat go into. If a cat got just a few licks from a glass of wine or beer, that could be enough to make it sick. Dogs actually like the taste of beer but more than a lick can make them sick...as a dog...

I don't see why some cats might be attracted to food or drinks like that, too.

After that, it could be anything.

There is a good article from Pet MD that talks about ataxia and what the causes and cures might be:

Ataxia in Cats (Loss of Balance in Cats)

Dr. Ellen Malmanger discusses ataxia in cats, also known as loss of balance in cats, including why your cat might lose its balance and steps you can take to correct it.

www.petmd.com

 

[fionasmom]

I am sorry that this had happened to you and am only adding my own opinion to the very good suggestions which have already been given.

The first symptom, the turning paw, is what caught my attention. I had this happen to two different cats...one who had a seizure, and one with untreated (vet's fault which I still feel compelled to add) heart condition which lead to a thrown clot. The first cat was a rescue who already had cryptococcus when I found him.

As for the neurologist and the cost, this is standard; however, it might be possible to have a discussion with the neurologist as to which tests may be more valuable, which might be long shots, where would you get the most information? He may stick to his story that you need to come up with the entire amount, but it is worth a try. Most specialists I have taken cats and dogs to see have a pretty good idea what is going on when they see the animal, based on their experience and specialization, so pushing a little is not out of the question.

 

[Caspers Human]

A good vet would rule out the obvious causes before ordering extensive testing.

Ear mites can be ruled out easily, by looking. Heart problems might be ruled out with a stethoscope. Toxicity or injury can also be ruled out fairly quickly. It should be possible to rule out illnesses like FIP either in the office or with one round of testing.

The idea is to rule out all the easy stuff before going on to to more complex things.

Has your vet done this and given you their report or are they just “shotgunning” a whole bunch of tests?

 

[Hayleystring]

I cannot thank you all enough for all of your responses. Sadly we had to put Feta to sleep yesterday, as we did ask for extra tests which all came back negative, but he deteriorated very quickly and we couldn’t bare to see him in pain. X

 

[fionasmom]

I am very sorry for your loss. Feta lived a wonderful life with you and I hope that you can take comfort in that.

 

[Caspers Human]