Wobbly Cat (maybe Cerebral Hypoplasia?) Videos Included!

hellagoose

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Hi, my 7 or 8 month kitten has started getting worse in terms of being wobbly and losing balance in the back half of his body. We took him to the vet, and he found nothing physically wrong with him, his legs, or his hip. And the kitten does appear to be in any pain. He had a hoarse meow as well, so the vet gave us antibiotics thinking it could possibly be a sore throat that was affecting his balance, which we have now finished with, and the hoarse meow is no better, and the wobbly-ness seems at least as bad if not worse.

We just had a hurricane where i live (south florida), so the vet has been closed, but we will be taking him back this week, hopefully for blood work.

But my question is does this look like cerebral hypoplasia? I took videos (see below). Or what else could it look like? To me it looks similar to mild cases of CH i've seen online, but the thing is, it has definitely gotten more obvious in the past month. From what i've read, CH should be very noticeable from when the kitten starts to walk. This kitten for sure has always slipped and slided a bit more than my other cat, and fallen off things (i thought it was just because he was so rambunctious, more so than my other cat as a kitten), but it has without question gotten more evident and severe in the past month, and from what i've read that is not the way CH usually is? Is it possible that just as he has grown the CH has affected him more because hes further from the ground or something like that? Any advice or opinions would be very appreciated, this all has me very worried and nervous!

 
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Kieka

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From the videos it looks like the problem is only his lower half. I would suspect some sort of injury to the spine or punched nerve type thing along the spine. CH is usually apparent early on and affects the whole body. Typically it gets less pronounced, not more. I don't think that is what you are looking at.

Did your vet take xrays?
 
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hellagoose

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Thanks for the reply!

Yes, it is definitely a lower half thing! And no, he did not take x-rays, he felt his spine and legs and hips, and thought everything felt normal, and that he was not in pain.
 

Kieka

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I'd insist on xrays. My cat broke his leg last year and between how the brake was positioned and my cats own stubborn personality the vet didn't think it was a brake immediately. I asked for the xrays and this was the image a

It wouldn't take much. A fall and landing wrong plus some swelling around the spine to compress a nerve. That would explain the back end slipping. It looks more like your cat doesn't feel his feet or is having sudden loss of strength. Which would also be something related to an injury. I could see an infection in the brain or spine too but I don't think it is balance directly affected.


I don't understand how a sore throat would affect balance. I've had a rabbit who had a serious ear infection and lost her sense of balance. The last few years of her life we had to keep her in a smaller area without corners she could hurt herself on (she was happy though don't worry we wouldn't have kept her alive if she was suffering, she had a bonded mate who helped her around). From that experience I can say that when balance is affected by something in the head you see distinct changes in how the head is held. Movement is more the front end having problems while the back end follows along. Distinctly different from what your videos show.

I am obviously not a vet and this is based on past personal experiences plus some education in basic biological mechanics. Personally, I'd ask for xray and maybe even a second opinion or a specialists referral from your vet.
 
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hellagoose

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Ok, i'll definitely ask the vet for x-rays. Any idea how much that might cost?
 
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hellagoose

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If this is going to be a long term situation, that is definitely something i'll consider!
 

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If you have some runners kicking around-move them onto that floor tonight. It will make it SO much easier to move. The traction from the carpets will probably increase mobility. I had an elder cat who had bad arthritis and smooth floors were bad for her. So I bought some cheap floor matts at Goodwill for $5 and they were all over the place. It definitely helps. I bought a big runner rug from the bath section because the backing is rubber and really hard to move-we still have that rug in the kitchen. The brats occasionally sleep on it and claw it up LOL. I don't mind.
 
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hellagoose

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Thats a good idea! i'll try that, thanks.

As for the pinched nerve or spinal injury theory...if that were the case would he still be able to jump around, jump onto the bed, and on his cat trees and stuff? Because he still does all that, it's a little harder for him than it used ot be it seems, but he does it, which is also one of the reasons i thought he is not in pain, but maybe he is hiding it, i don't know.
 

Kieka

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Yes, he could still jump and climb. Check out @_gochloego_ on instagram. That cat had her back completely broken and can climb and get around just like any other cats. Cats are extremely adaptable and will adjust to anything. When my boy broken his leg he was jumping and running like nothing happened within a week. He initally had a surgery to put a pin in the leg. He played and ran so hard that the pin failed and came out of the bone. He was still acting like nothing was wrong when the leg looked liked this.

He ended up with another surgery and cage rest this time.

I could be completely wrong but I would feel better if it was ruled out. If your vet still thinks it is just a balance issue from an infection in the throat I really would get a second opinion.
 

denice

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It looks like cerebellar hypoplasia but it doesn't sound like it. Cerebellar hypoplasia doesn't get worse and there is no pain associated with it so I think this is something different.
 
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hellagoose

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Kieka Kieka wow, thats amazing. ok, i'll definitely ask the vet to do x-rays too, along with blood work. I've read that sometimes diabetes or something like it can cause something similar too? i don't know.

denice denice , to be clear, i have no reason to think he is in pain, and the vet didn't think he was either. But yes, it definitely became more severe about a month ago, which is why i didn't think it totally matched CH.
 

Kieka

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Anything is possible.

If the xrays don't show anything you might want to ask about an anti-inflammatory medication. If it is something like sciatica in humans with a nerve pinched then it wouldn't be visible on xrays but anti-inflammatory medications can help and they are highly unlikely to cause any harm. Kinda like doing antibiotics just incase it is an infection.
 
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hellagoose

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Update!

I took him to the vet earlier this week, where he did blood work, and the results came back normal. I then took him back yesterday to get an x-ray, and they came back largely normal, but the vet did say there was a very slight something he noticed between "11 and 13" whatever that means? But he thought it was very minimal and unlikely to be the cause of the issue. He was very convinced that the cat was in no pain, and all the joints, and hip, and everything was perfectly fine. So he was pretty convinced it was CH.

I pushed back and said that from everything i have read CH does not get worse, and that my cat has gotten worse. He said that he has seen many cats with CH, and that it affects all cats differently, and he has dealt with cats that it does start to affect as they grow. He recommended i go to a neurologist which he would recommend. My take on it is that he strongly believed that it is related to the cerebellum, and is using CH as a catch-all for anything having to do with the cerebellum...when perhaps some form of cerebullar degeneration would make more sense in my case? I asked if i he could provide anti-inflammatory just to see what happened as recommended here, and he did, along with more anti-biotics.

So, i wake up today, and my cat is noticeably better. Definitely still wobbly, and far from 100%, but a noticeable improvement from the past week. So i call the vet, and he now thinks that if there was noticeable improvement, it is very possible that it is indeed related to whatever he saw in the spine between '11 and 13', and asked me to take videos of him for the next few days, and then go to then take them to the office so he can see them, and possibly prescribe some other anti-inflammatory that i could give him every other day.

First of all, thank you to Kieka Kieka for telling me to push for the x-rays and the anti-inflammatory! And i'd love to hear opinions and ideas on what to do next!
 
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Kieka

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I am really glad to hear that there appears to be some improvement with the anti-inflammatory. I would keep on that medication for now and the videos. It might be worth it to make the appointment with the specialist just to confirm. But between something being a little off on the xrays and the medication helping it sounds like an injury.
 
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hellagoose

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Thanks! So, im curious, how long an injection of dexamethasone would last?

I believe that is the anti-inflammatory that the vet gave him on Thursday. On Friday he was noticeably better, on saturday still noticeably better, but as of last night (saturday night), he started declining again and today he is almost back to where he was on Thursday prior to the shot. Would this be normal as the dexamethasone wears out? Or should the affects last longer? Or is that totally dependent on the dosage that was given by the vet in the injection?
 
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Kieka

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It could be that when the antinflammatory wore off, the swelling came back and pressed again. It could be that just a treatment or two is enough to allow the body to heal. It could take a few weeks for the swelling to fully go down. It could be that a long term low level treatment is needed for a longer period. I don't know that medication specifically but in my experience with injectable medicatipns for cats (pain and antibiotics) its usually 72 hours before it wears off.

Responding to the antinflammatory does help point to something injury related. If your cat was a human the doctor would likely instruct to continue the antinflammatory for a few weeks while the body heals. Bruises and swelling can take a few days or a few weeks to go down and stay down. I fell down some stairs a few weeks back and it took nearly 5 weeks for my ankle to not be swollen and 7 weeks later I still have a bump where my shin hit. If after a few weeks it isn't better off medication then surgical options may be explored. But that is a human where you can talk and find out answers to help pinpoint the problem.

For cats, talk to your vet about a medication you can do at home. Maybe see the specialist to have a different look at the x-ray and see if there are other options.
 
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hellagoose

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Thanks Kieka Kieka ! i appreciate your help so much.

Would you happen to know anything in particular about a dexamethasone injection and how long it would last? I'd call my vet but he is closed today, so i am planning on calling tomorrow.

I found this online (Can a Cortisone injection cause my cat to urinate everywhere? - Questions & Answers | VetInfo/QA) which says it stays in a cats system for 2-3 days from a Vet answering a question, which would make sense then that he has started getting worse again now because its been about the time frame...but i never know what to believe online! lol
 

Kieka

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72 hours sounds right to me. My cat got a pain medication after his surgery that lasted for 3 days before it wore off.
 
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