Cat stumbles around - Has balance issues

The problem:

One of our cats is stumbling around like he’s had too many cocktails. It’s like he’s drunk and wobbles around when he walks. Serious balance issues. It started ~1 month ago.

We took him to the vet today and the physical exam didn’t generate much. We are doing blood work and waiting for the results.

Has anyone else had a stumbling cat?

If so, what were the issues and how did you solve them?

Nothing in the cats’ environment has changed. They have lived in the same house with the same occupants for over 4 years.

Food diet has not changed.

Litter and litter box have not changed.

There is no change in food or water consumption.

Body weight has remained consistent. (No weight loss).

Additional info (stats):

Original owner of 2 male cats, bought at the local Humane Society in 1999.

Brothers from the same litter.

Mixed breed. Domestic Short hair.

They are fixed.

Indoor only.

They are ~13 years old.

~12 lbs in weight.

Thanks!

This could be a lot of things including a possible stroke.  Sounds like a neurological issue may be at play here.  I'd get the blood results and consult with the vet about possible neurological issues and see what the course of action might be.  Best of luck to you and sending best vibes
 

Well, the blood work came back. Nothing obvious in the results though.
He's not diabetic.
Liver, Kidney... all organs seem fine.
What was abnormal was his white blood cell content was a bit high, but this could be caused by stress (which is nothing new since this cat is scared of everything and typically hides when people visit our house). However, the level of abnormality was nothing out of control. Also, it seems he is slightly Anemic, but again, nothing out of control.
Viral tests were negative, so that is good.
The next course of action is to put him on some antibiotics in case there is an inner ear infection. He's now on 25mg of Clindamycin for the next 10 days. Hopefully, this solves the problem.
There is some discussion of steroids if the Antibiotics fail.
Someone on a different cat forum mentioned the possibility of FIP, but the Vet thinks it would be rare since that is reserved typically for outdoor cats and our cat is 100% indoor.
Another option is to do a Blood pressure test, since this is fairly inexpensive.
The expensive options are ultrasounds as well as imaging his brain, but honestly, that's way too expensive for my budget, not to mention he's 13 years old and has had a great life.
In the meantime, he's still wobbly and hopefully the meds will kick in soon.
 

Check out Feline Vestibular Syndrome.  Or Dizzy Kitty syndrome.  Have dealt with this twice.  Usually happens in the heat of the summer and many times after a URI.

Last August, in the heat, my cat Barney was stumbling and contorting his body is all kinds of weird shapes. Rush to the vet.  And it was diagnosed as FVS.  I can't remember exactly what meds were given, but he recovered very well...has to do the the fluid in the ear canals.

It left him with a head tilt that has just recently cleared up.

I hope this is an answer for you and that is what your kitty has.  It is easily treatable.

Good luck with your kitty.

I thought about family medical history. It's a good chance these brothers came from a litter of a stray cat. So, I called the Humane Society and asked about pulling the records from 1999. I asked for the information on their parents as well as getting info on the owners of their siblings. They laughed. I laughed. lol
Too bad they don't have genealogy.com for cats.

So, we are roughly 4 days into the meds. No immediate sign of improvement.
Still wobbly.
Wish I could post a video of what he looks like when he wobbles.
 

sounds neurological to me too. What meds is he on?

farleyv said:

Check out Feline Vestibular Syndrome.  Or Dizzy Kitty syndrome.  Have dealt with this twice.  Usually happens in the heat of the summer and many times after a URI.

Last August, in the heat, my cat Barney was stumbling and contorting his body is all kinds of weird shapes. Rush to the vet.  And it was diagnosed as FVS.  I can't remember exactly what meds were given, but he recovered very well...has to do the the fluid in the ear canals.

It left him with a head tilt that has just recently cleared up.

I hope this is an answer for you and that is what your kitty has.  It is easily treatable.

Good luck with your kitty.

Click to expand...

This is interesting to know.  I have never heard of this before, or at least don't remember hearing about it.  Thanks for posting this.

cat182 said:

I thought about family medical history. It's a good chance these brothers came from a litter of a stray cat. So, I called the Humane Society and asked about pulling the records from 1999. I asked for the information on their parents as well as getting info on the owners of their siblings. They laughed. I laughed. lol
Too bad they don't have genealogy.com for cats.

So, we are roughly 4 days into the meds. No immediate sign of improvement.
Still wobbly.
Wish I could post a video of what he looks like when he wobbles.
 

Click to expand...

Hmmm...  So the vet didn't mention a possible neurological issue?   Sending recovery vibes and please post an update if you can 

NutroMike said:

Hmmm...  So the vet didn't mention a possible neurological issue?   Sending recovery vibes and please post an update if you can 

Click to expand...

Yes, seems like the first things a Vet would check would be for fluid in the ears, or neurological issues.  I hope it's only fluid, & nothing serious.

Keep us posted!

Can cats get Parkinson's Disease?

I'm observing him in the window ledge right now and his body occasionally jerks. He mimics the movement of a human with Parkinson's.

Weird.

It's hard to tell if the meds are having any affect. They certainly seem to make his stools NOT smell. lol

Did you ask about Vestibular Syndrome??  It sounds so much like it to me.  Very common in the hot summer.  My cats stumbled, fell, circled.....like they were drunk.  All because of the fluid in the ear canals.

We live on the ocean where the temperature is mild. In fact, the temp ranges from 52 at night to 72 during the day. There is no "hot summer", so can't imagine that is the problem.

Meds have been consumed and there is no sign of improvement.
Someone earlier recommended doing a blood pressure test.
Can someone explain what a blood pressure test would indicate and why it is necessary?

Thanks!

cat182 said:

We live on the ocean where the temperature is mild. In fact, the temp ranges from 52 at night to 72 during the day. There is no "hot summer", so can't imagine that is the problem.

Meds have been consumed and there is no sign of improvement.
Someone earlier recommended doing a blood pressure test.
Can someone explain what a blood pressure test would indicate and why it is necessary?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

As someone w/ high blood pressure myself, It can give you dizzy spells, if to high. I would imagine it would be the same w/ an animal.

It's probably a simple test for the vet to do, so I would have it done asap, just in case, for your poor kitty, or to rule out.

You may want to P.M. LDG, her kitty Flowerbelle is dealing w/ high b.p. She will have more in-site for you, & is very knowledgeable.

Good luck! Keep us posted!

Vestibular Syndrome is common in the heat, but is not limited to it.  One of my cats had it in the winter.  So, please don't dismiss it before investigating it further.  It is a possibility that should be ruled out.

So, we did the blood pressure test today and it was normal.
We will hear from the Vet on Monday with the next set of options.

His hinds legs seem weak and he still wobbles.

We're going to put the cat on steroids and see if that helps.

The steroids aren't doing anything.

He's still stumbling around.

Hind legs appear to be weak.

Can't judge his jumps.

It's probably neurological (from a stroke perhaps).

Not sure if anything can be done at this point.

Hey. I'm so sorry. From the lack of further posts i'm guessing it's not good news. I was really hoping this had a happy ending. Not only for you and your cats, I admit: mine has had symptoms that in a lot of ways match yours (minus the rolled back eyes). Recently, I made posts about this and it prompted the suggestion to test for cryptococus. And then he tested positive. The maddening thing is that the vets still don't want to treat it - not until a second test for confirmation. The test has only a 10% chance of false positive, but the fear of the effect of the medication is doing wonders to everyone's determination lol... Truly, it's so nerve-wrecking... If the test comes back negative, I don't even know what I'll do, because again I won't have a diagnosis and can't treat him...

The good thing is that he has had improvements since the worst of the neurological symptoms (maybe an Cerebrovascular accident, caused by meningitis, caused by the crypto?) But I sense him again slowly getting worse. And he loses his appetite