Walking sideways

I'm new here so here it goes. We have 4 cats and have a problem with something the vets cannot(or will not) tell us a cause of.

One of our cats ate something that causes them to walk sidways, stumbling, cannot control their motor functions. They have their head tilled sideways. We give them some Albon and they will come back to normal with hours or days. Depends on how soon they receive the treatment. 3 days of meds and they are fine,, though if we get it to them late(hours later) the will take longer to bounce back to themselves.

Has anyone ever heard of this? or what causes it. We think it something they eat outside but we don't know.

Thanks
Fluffee

Sounds neurological
have they done testing for that..i mean thats like an obvious sign, not to insult the vets or anything .

test done. It weird Our vet we use for the need now stuff has no clue what it is. For fixing and shots I take all our cats to the SPCA here in Central Fl

I would get a 2nd opinon if available. I know financially it can get costly but maybe another vet has had a case like this before.

Sounds like you may need to see a specialist.

Honey, I don't understand this. Are you sure it is something they ate? What is Albon and did the vet give it to you for the cats?

EricaNicole put it right.....it sounds neurological. I don't understand how a medication can stop a neurological disorder.......unless it is seizures of some kind?

In any event, you need to see another vet. Something is not right here. Do you have to give the medication more than once?

Albon is a type of sulfa antibiotic.

Is your vet sure the cat doesn't have an inner ear infection? What about E. cuniculi, a parasite that causes many different neurological symptoms? Do cats get that much? I know it's a problem in rabbits.

I agree that you might need a specialist, or maybe just a better vet. Has your vet said anything about consulting with specialists/experts? Some will readily do that, others appear to have a superiority complex that prevents them from asking for help like that.

I would HIGHLY suggest a SECOND opinion.... Yes it may cost a bit more but call and talk with the accounting person and see about payment arrangements...

This is the first I have hear about a parasite in rabbits. Now you have me wondering. 3 of our cats have gotten this, Figget and she got 4 doses of Albon and was fine within half a day. Dakota, who does have a seizure problem and he was back in shape(for him, bless him) within a couple of days. Lilil, who now is strictly an indoor cat took the longest at a week. All got Albon for 3 days. The vet is a good general vet and good pricing for us poor folk . He was real good about fixing Figget's broken skull. She fell out of a tree. We do have a warren of wild rabbits in our yard so that was never connected them with this. As for using the Albon, my husband found this to be the best, and the vet cannot explain why it is working on them for this. We keep Albon in the house for the cats when they get into fights.

Thank ya'll so much for writing back on this, your ideas help sooo much.

Fluffee

I'd get the vet to check their ears, as Naturestee said it could be a middle ear infection or something similar and often there are no external signs. This can cause head tilts and walking sideways or in circles. Treatment for this can apparently be difficult as antibiotics by the usual routes are not always effective. Sometimes the vet will irrigate and introduce the antibiotic into the ear itself and sometimes a permanent head tilt can be left after fairly successful treatment.

Fluffee,

Are you using flea collars or any other kind of flea products on your cats?

Frontline, and this does not cause that. We clean their ears often, Figget the worst about ear problems. They all seem to get better after a few days of antibotics. My husband said he had one cat that got this and never got better and it was before he knew about the Albon working on them. Next time I talk to our vet I am going to ask him about the rabbits. Dakota we watch because of his seizures when he was a kitten. He is the sweetest of the bunch we have.

Thanks again, ya'll have given me food for though over this.

Marcia