what would you do

Boni developed a seizure disorder in Feb. We cannot diagnose why as we are in the Caribbean and there are no MRI's and what not. She was on valium but was a zombie. We tried pheno but her seizures are daily sometimes 2-4 times and sometimes very violent with her cutting herself and thrashing. The vet said there is nothing else I can do. I can take her to my former home to a US vet but it is 15 hours door to door and honestly I do not think she can sit in a carrier so long.

It kills me to see her seizures. The vet says she does not suffer during the seizures and they do not hurt her.

She went from a happy outdoor cat to a indoor cat doing nothing. She won't play, the other cats are afraid of her and she is not happy.

What would you do??

Would your current vet be open at all to a consultation with vets at a US vet school, such as Cornell, to see if maybe there's some other avenue of treatment or research you could try there, without the long trip back to the States? Or, maybe you could check with one of the US vet schools and see if you could fax records, etc., and they could provide some advice to you directly?

It's frustrating - there's a lot of advances in medical treatment of animals these days, but it isn't equally distributed, even within the US - and we all want the best available for our babies.

Originally Posted by darlili

Would your current vet be open at all to a consultation with vets at a US vet school, such as Cornell, to see if maybe there's some other avenue of treatment or research you could try there, without the long trip back to the States? Or, maybe you could check with one of the US vet schools and see if you could fax records, etc., and they could provide some advice to you directly?

It's frustrating - there's a lot of advances in medical treatment of animals these days, but it isn't equally distributed, even within the US - and we all want the best available for our babies.

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THat is a good idea IMHO ... also can you find a "medicine man " of the animals ??? I have a seizure disorder and take and use natural rememdies ... my dog is epileptic and he get natural and pheno

Our island is Dutch..and it may seem uncaring but I don't think the vets will go that route for me. We have no medicine men. Sigh...and I was told she would need a rabies shot 30 days PRIOR to travel. My trip is Sept. 2. We do not have rabies on island either but..

No, not uncaring - maybe 'virtual' consultations are just getting more common here and in some other countries, than just everywhere. Sort of like my last mammogram - all digital, and schlepped around to three radiologists across threee hospitals.

However, nothing ventured, nothing gained - I might still check schools like Cornell or Tufts to see if they have a sort of outreach program or consultation program - or, maybe better, whatever vet school you guy went to, or schools in the Netherlands. I'm sure you don't want to put the guy on the defensive or make him feel as though you're scorning his skills, but there may be some specialists off the island who could share a few ideas with him. I swear I just saw an article in the October Cat Fancy magazine about seizures and epilepsy in cats - really did sound like there might be a few advances made, although I seem to remember what your vet is doing is protocol when first dealing with seizures.

Could you get the records and maybe just happen to make an appointment at some vets here during your visit just to get their take on the situation? I realize you're already going above and beyond - I'm just trying to think of ways to get some more opinions for your baby.

Good luck - I wish you strength to keep caring for your baby.

I wish I could give you all a snapshot of this..there are no records. There is a record of my visit on a computer with what was prescribed and what I paid. The vets here treat symptoms and that is it..there are no diagnostics at all really aside from xray and surgery and BASIC blood work. I appreciate all you suggest. I tried contact vets stateside and no one will work with me w/o seeing her. If you have a specific name of someone who will, I am so happy.