- Joined
- Aug 16, 2013
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- 203
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Hi I'm new. I just went through a traumatic experience and lost my beautiful 14 year old cat to cancer. Now only a little over 2 weeks later, I am worried about my 5 year old cat Grace. She always has been very healthy, healthy weight, eating drinking, using the litter box. Last Thursday I noticed her scratching at her ears like they were extremely itchy. She seemed okay for a couple of days so I passed it off at first. Then on Saturday night, she seemed very bothered. She was tilting her ears and her head. I was very concerned about something being terribly wrong. I'm the type of person who thinks of the worst case scenario first. Anyway, I had to wait until Tuesday until the vet was in to take her in for her ears. By then I had noticed she had licked a patch of her stomach bald and it was quite irritated. She was also kicking out her front and back paws at random times like some odd spasm. I was beside myself thinking she was dying. When I took her to the vet, I told him all my concerns. He's a great vet and person in general. He told me she has a double ear infection and he suspects allergies as well. He prescribed steroid ear drops and also a 6 day course of prednisone. He said he suspects the kicking and grooming to be from her being quite itchy based on what he saw. Well I took her home and was giving her the meds and everything, still worried because I just don't have a lot of confidence in vets at the moment. (I've been through a lot!) She seemed okay on Wednesday, although I still noticed the foot thing, well mostly her front paws, so I decided to call him but he wasn't in so they said they'd call Thursday. So right before he called yesterday, I observed that when she was standing up, she had a slight tremor in her head. Before she was vigorously shaking her head but this was a light tremor, like in Parkinson's patients. Her face appeared a little twitchy as well. Well I almost lost it. Actually I did by vomiting from fear. Sorry to be too TMI but I am very neurotic with my pets. Thankfully he called not soon after and I explained it to him. I mentioned seizures or brain tumors or cancer. He emphatically told me she does not have cancer and he thinks it is highly unlikely to be a seizure. He said he thinks it's just the infection working through her system and to give it time. He said she might have had this infection for awhile and neurological symptoms can be present with infections. He also told me his cat is a twitcher and is otherwise healthy. Grace however, has not always been a twitcher. Needless to say I am still concerned. He doesn't think she needs further tests at the moment. I haven't even been sleeping, barely eating from worry. Her appetite is great, probably even moreso with the steroids. However, she does seem to be sleeping a bit less. As an asthmatic, I take prednisone and know it can cause lack of sleep but I'm not sure about cats. She also seems a bit more subdued but she was very frightened by the vet and does not like when I administer her drops. Last night was particularly frightening though because I haven't been feeling well and got up to check her. She was on the kitchen chair, seemingly still awake, the poor thing. I bent down to talk to her and noticed she was having the slight tremor again and she also got a slightly harder jerk that moved her head. I don't know now if the meds might be doing this or what. I have done internet research and all I get are scary diagnoses. He tells me she'll be fine but I don't know what to think. I just wish I could sleep at night. Any help would be appreciated.