cat has a twitch / tremor in his body involuntary

babykitty77

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Its like a pulse that radiates through his body and it contracts almost like a surge of electricity ever so slightly he seems to  do it mostly when he is on his side or relaxed * but not asleep its by no means a my cat it dreaming sleeping twitching.  I dont know what to do, ive gone to the vet she basically said IDK? what it is bye.  this just started 2 weeks ago he is 6 years old.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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Did you mean to open up another thread on the same topic? 
 
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babykitty77

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it was an accidental duplicate thread, 

magnesium seems to be helping another vet in AUS recommended it, we will see.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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Very cool on the magnesium.  How did you find that out?
 
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babykitty77

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well i immediately started a detox drops and immune booster , and my previous research on my other cat with seizures magnesium and taurine helped, i asked a holistic DR. in australia they seem to be teh best as the do zoo and wild animal diagnoses and she confirmed to try that. cant say its done with but it is helping we will see i also removed all fish out of his diet as cats devlop problems with to much fish, * on littlebigcat.com
 
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babykitty77

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Approximately 27% of the body’s magnesium is contained within muscle tissue, and 60% is contained within the skeletal structure – providing a reservoir for adequate supply in times of need. A deficiency of dietary magnesium severely affects cardiovascular, neuromuscular, and renal tissues, and contributes to calcium deposits in the kidneys (kidney stones), in blood vessels, and in the heart. It can also be the cause of gastro-intestinal disorders, irritability, irregular heart rhythm, lack of coordination, muscle twitch, tremors, and weakness. The symptom picture of long term dietary deficiency of magnesium is very similar to a deficiency in calcium, including muscle cramps, high blood pressure, and malformation of the bones.
 

finnlacey

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Is your cat on any medications that could be causing this? I've seen several medications cause tremors and twitching before.
 
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babykitty77

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I would never have my cat on medications im more of a holistic approach person with my cat and my life, so no he is not any medications.
 

lycan709

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Is the magnesium still helping? Is my cat doing the same as your cat?


 
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babykitty77

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first thing i would do i  cut out all dry food, cats just dont function 100 percent on dry

avoid to much fish products

integrate some raw food like Radcat

wheat grass

I believe is either a deficiency or excess of nutrients 

i also get acupuncture

rescue remedy both calcium and magnesium on different days 

as well as animal apothacary detox blends and immune booster

ps no foods with byproducts like science diet or iams
 

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Hello, How is your kitty with the tremor doing? My 10-yr-old male, Jack Black, is having spasms. "Holistic" vet is recommending phenobarbitol to help him and strongly recommends Advantage. I also lead a holistic lifestyle and have had great success using this approach on myself and family. But the continuous seizures are getting to me.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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Hello, How is your kitty with the tremor doing? My 10-yr-old male, Jack Black, is having spasms. "Holistic" vet is recommending phenobarbitol to help him and strongly recommends Advantage. I also lead a holistic lifestyle and have had great success using this approach on myself and family. But the continuous seizures are getting to me.
Hi, and welcome to TCS.  This thread you have posted to is over 3 years old, so you may not get any responses
.  You might be better off starting your very own thread to tell us what exactly is hapening with Jack Black, and WHY on earth a "holistic" Vet would be recommending phenobarbitol and Advantage for spasms.  That seems very odd to me. 
 

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I've posted on your other thread, 77, but for those here.... I've found information from a youtube poster whose cat had this same issue, and she explained how these involuntary shakes went on for 4 years before finally evolving into seizures, blood-filled eyes, and other terrible symptoms.  She ended up losing her cat, but they discovered after it was too late that it was the tick-disease Ehrlichia!!!!  So, PLEASE get your cats tested for it to confirm whether that is the culprit.  You don't want to lose your cat.  My kitty and her brother are having these same symptoms and I've been researching endlessly online, to no avail, until now.  So, to the vets this week for testing!  Please post an update on your kitty for us.  :)

Another cat found on youtube... commenter discusses the ehrlichia:

 
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lycan709

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This video is of my cat, Lycan. I had him checked for tick related diseases and he had exposure to Lyme. However the treatment for Lyme disease almost killed him, so we stopped. The vet is not convinced that he has Lyme disease, just that he has been exposed to it at one point in time. We have found nothing else and continue to treat him with prednisolone and phenobarbital, which seems to work.
 

katforcats

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Hi Lycan!  Thanks for posting again!  So what was the Lyme protocol that almost killed him, was it doxycycline?  I have found numerous cat owners posting online about their cat having this same kind of problem, and all of them post that their vet has no clue what it is!  I find that so odd!  Maybe this is an undiscovered diagnosis?  Or, maybe just a rare symptom of something common?  But, tick diseases are well-known for effecting people/animals differently as well as mimicking diseases of various organs and such.  I'm still suspicious - my cat and her brother have this issue, though neither have ever been outside.  Their mom, however, was a stray when she was found pregnant, and the tick diseases (spirochete bacteria) certainly can travel to the babies in utero.  So, that is still my first suspicion.  Otherwise, I wonder about Frontline damage.  But, these shivers have been on-going since she was a few months old and she is now 14 months old.  Surely some vet out there knows what it is.  I'm continuing to research.  I don't want to spend $1000 for tests that all come back normal (even tick diseases hide well on tests), so I want some kind of idea on what tests to get done.  I'll post my progress for other kitty owners that come to this thread.  :)
 

lycan709

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Yes, it was Doxycycline that almost killed him. It was horrible! He stopped breathing. I thought we had lost him:( I think it's a disease that has not been discovered. I have spent $30,000 looking for an answer and have consulted vets and specialists all over the world. I've researched everything, and even took a vet administration course to learn more. No one seems to know. I will not put Lycan through any more tests until his quality of life is no longer acceptable with the current treatment. I will make him happy for whatever time he has. Maybe they will discover the cause and treatment some day, but Lycan will not be the guinea pig.
 

katforcats

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OMG, wow!  $30,000 and vets around the world, and still no answers??  This blows my mind!  I've been researching this issue constantly, and wonder if I've narrowed it down some.  Hopeful thinking!  LOL.  But, this past week I've really dug through the internet, read all kinds of pages in vet pathology and neurology books online, and I think this particular kind of shiver may be connected to genetic and/or toxic damage to the Purkinje cells  (just an example, though I've read one page after another from different sources:  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3230555 ).  I've got a few PDF articles on these cells and before I can share the info correctly, I need to read it again to make sure I've got the facts straight.  But, these cells are in control of electrophysiology from the cerebellum, and also control the sodium and calcium pumps.  They refer to the purkinje cells as a 'toggle switch' control center that alternates the cats nervous system, via the calcium channels, between excitatory and inhibitory synapses.  It makes perfect sense that when this isn't working correctly that the in-between state of awake and sleeping is where this issue arises!  At least in my opinion.  I'd be happy to share the PDF's with you if I can somehow send you the files.  If you still have access to any of those specialists vets, then maybe sharing these articles with them might get them thinking about this.

My neighbor, who has my kitty's brother, who is also having these same relaxed-state shivers, just picked up Doxycycline for him yesterday as the cheaper attempt to treat him, in the event it is related to some kind of tick pathogen.  What was the dose you had and how long did your kitty take it before it started causing him problems?  I want to share that with her.  I fortunately have my little girl on insurance, and it pays 90%, so if I have to go through many tests and specialists, at least I'll have it covered, hopefully!

Keep posting - we need to get this information out there, and I'd like to stay in touch since our cats are both suffering from this!  We've gotta figure it out!  :)

~KAT
 

lycan709

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Omg! Yes, please share!!! I will definitely give this info to my specialist (neurology). My email is [email protected]. I don't remember the dose, but I know it was on the higher end. He almost died after three days. We had it in liquid form because the "pills" were damaging to the throat. Yeah, the liquid was just as horrible. I will never go near Doxycycline again.

My other cat, Sylas, has cerebellar hypoplasia. I never really considered that the two disorders could be related. CH does not cause pain or discomfort though, whereas Lycan's abdominal spasms seem quite bothersome. I hope we find some answers!

Abdominal propriospinal myoclonus. I'm looking into that
 
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astromuji

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Hello, tremor friends. I've checked in on different tremor threads on here before but finally decided to post. My guy Astro is almost 10 and has been having what I call 'the shakes' for about five years now. They only happen when he's lying on his side or back, and sometimes they appear more as twitch/spasms and sometimes as full tremors. Vets have said the tremors are idiopathic and nothing to worry about, since his blood work and urine tests are always normal.

However, Astro has gone from shaking only once in a while to shaking every day when he's lying down, so I've been more concerned lately. He looks like many of the tremor videos I've seen posted here, and he never seems bothered by the tremors when they are happening. Sometimes he's relaxed, but sometimes he's very alert. He'll groom himself or goof around as he's shaking.

I'm wondering if any of you notice your shakers get worse after a stressful event. Astro is a nervous cat, so anything even a little activating sends him hiding, and in the past I'd always notice his shakes a few hours or the next day after something scary has happened. I'm also wondering if any of you ever saw the article from 2014 that found two cats that have 'white shaker dog' syndrome--http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24027050. It's not quite the same as this issue, as shaker dogs shake all the time and also have intention tremors, but the syndrome does get worse with stress.
 
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