- Joined
- Apr 29, 2014
- Messages
- 10
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- 2
Some of you might remember my first post on tuesday, thinking poor Kitty (yes, I think I forgot to share his name being Kitty) was constipated. Thank you all so much for your concern.
In the old thread, I pretty well outlined what the vet's response was from the first visit - physical, check, xrays, good, bloodwork, great, echo cardiograph, no blood clots. His only notable "tested" traits were having a heart murmur, and his temp was a just under normal.
Meanwhile, he had what appeared to be a severely weakened leg and extreme off-balance while trying to sit up or walk around. We aren't sure if it's really a weakened leg, he can still stretch (with great effort) the affected leg, can still tell when you're tickling his foot, and so on. He has a definite swinging of his butt & trunk area while he's walking. His eyes aren't twitching around, and no visible head tremor, though he does appear to favor turning his head one direction instead of the other (he still CAN turn his head either direction if something interests him enough) - it doesn't look like a head tilt, rather a reluctance to turn his head one way.
With little else they could do, they explained it could probably be a brain tumor, bleeding in the skull creating pressure against the brain and/or nerves, or something else along those lines. His then treatment was a shot of steroids that lasts a couple days, and keep him comfortable.
Well, when we got home, his condition worsened. His off-balance way of sitting up seemed to get worse (in that he couldn't sit up without falling over, unless he was leaning against a cushion or in my arms). He couldn't really walk along on his own, unless I set him down next to a wall to lean toward.
Day 2 showed a bit of improvement, his attitude seemed to be a bit more confident, had a few fits of playfulness, even if he was also still dealing with the frustrating off-balance, walking, and sit-up moments. He seemed to have a bit more confidence walking; still just as much swinging of his butt and showing what appeared to be a weak leg, but a little less falling over.
Day 3 showed still a bit more improvement, in attitude and everything. Still not quite got the balance figured out, but not falling over nearly as much. He started getting his butt swinging motions a little more under control, and walking more in a straight line, with a little less leaning toward the wall. Most noticeably was how he could turn himself around, and lean toward the wall on his "weak" side, without falling over, was the big sigh of relief that he's getting better, bit by bit, day by day.
Day 4, today, still baby steps of improvement. He's branching off from the walls while walking around more, and getting more control over swinging his butt around. He has much less trouble (but still far from normal) sitting himself up and going from laying to standing. He hasn't fallen anywhere near as much, and has gotten some successful climbing & very small jumps in (so far he seems to have more trouble getting down from where he gets up to). Every spot he likes to get up to has a big pillow stair case, he's got those pretty well figured out (but he prefers trying a jump more than using pillows!).
Considering how bad he was on the first day we noticed anything, and how much better he is doing today, it's like two entirely different cats - he's made a lot of progress, even if he still has a lot of recovery to do.
Tomorrow we're going back to the vet's office, mostly so they can give him another steroid shot (one that should last closer to 3-4 weeks instead of 3-4 days), just in case it is any kind of inflammation problem. In between the times I'm watching over him, or my roommate, I've done a ton of looking around online trying to match the symptoms up; and I feel at least modestly confident in the vet's initial "could be a brain thing" diagnosis. But given how much he has recovered compared to when symptoms first suddenly appeared, I'm personally leaning toward a vestibular syndrome.
If anyone has information about either brain issues, or vestibular issues, Kitty and I would be eternally grateful!
In the old thread, I pretty well outlined what the vet's response was from the first visit - physical, check, xrays, good, bloodwork, great, echo cardiograph, no blood clots. His only notable "tested" traits were having a heart murmur, and his temp was a just under normal.
Meanwhile, he had what appeared to be a severely weakened leg and extreme off-balance while trying to sit up or walk around. We aren't sure if it's really a weakened leg, he can still stretch (with great effort) the affected leg, can still tell when you're tickling his foot, and so on. He has a definite swinging of his butt & trunk area while he's walking. His eyes aren't twitching around, and no visible head tremor, though he does appear to favor turning his head one direction instead of the other (he still CAN turn his head either direction if something interests him enough) - it doesn't look like a head tilt, rather a reluctance to turn his head one way.
With little else they could do, they explained it could probably be a brain tumor, bleeding in the skull creating pressure against the brain and/or nerves, or something else along those lines. His then treatment was a shot of steroids that lasts a couple days, and keep him comfortable.
Well, when we got home, his condition worsened. His off-balance way of sitting up seemed to get worse (in that he couldn't sit up without falling over, unless he was leaning against a cushion or in my arms). He couldn't really walk along on his own, unless I set him down next to a wall to lean toward.
Day 2 showed a bit of improvement, his attitude seemed to be a bit more confident, had a few fits of playfulness, even if he was also still dealing with the frustrating off-balance, walking, and sit-up moments. He seemed to have a bit more confidence walking; still just as much swinging of his butt and showing what appeared to be a weak leg, but a little less falling over.
Day 3 showed still a bit more improvement, in attitude and everything. Still not quite got the balance figured out, but not falling over nearly as much. He started getting his butt swinging motions a little more under control, and walking more in a straight line, with a little less leaning toward the wall. Most noticeably was how he could turn himself around, and lean toward the wall on his "weak" side, without falling over, was the big sigh of relief that he's getting better, bit by bit, day by day.
Day 4, today, still baby steps of improvement. He's branching off from the walls while walking around more, and getting more control over swinging his butt around. He has much less trouble (but still far from normal) sitting himself up and going from laying to standing. He hasn't fallen anywhere near as much, and has gotten some successful climbing & very small jumps in (so far he seems to have more trouble getting down from where he gets up to). Every spot he likes to get up to has a big pillow stair case, he's got those pretty well figured out (but he prefers trying a jump more than using pillows!).
Considering how bad he was on the first day we noticed anything, and how much better he is doing today, it's like two entirely different cats - he's made a lot of progress, even if he still has a lot of recovery to do.
Tomorrow we're going back to the vet's office, mostly so they can give him another steroid shot (one that should last closer to 3-4 weeks instead of 3-4 days), just in case it is any kind of inflammation problem. In between the times I'm watching over him, or my roommate, I've done a ton of looking around online trying to match the symptoms up; and I feel at least modestly confident in the vet's initial "could be a brain thing" diagnosis. But given how much he has recovered compared to when symptoms first suddenly appeared, I'm personally leaning toward a vestibular syndrome.
If anyone has information about either brain issues, or vestibular issues, Kitty and I would be eternally grateful!
