New here: drooling, tongue deviated, can't eat

Hello, I found this site trying to figure out what's wrong with my kitty. Morbo is a maybe 10 years old (rescued) Norwegian Forest cat, and has been with us for 4 years. He is I door only. He has been in excellent health in that time. I am now very worried about him.

5/23 he started drooling, clear, thin. 5/25 went to the vet - said he had some gingivitis. Started on Clindamycin twice per day for 10 days.
5/4 drooling improved over a couple days, but then worsened. One episode of vomiting and a couple of diarrhea after starting antibiotics. Drool now thick and hangs in strands from his mouth.
5/5 back to vet. Down 0.6lbs. Different doc says teeth don't look that bad. Does blood work which looks ok, and suggests cleaning and further inspection under anesthesia.
5/6 begins to have jaw trembling when attempting to eat and tongue deviates to the left. Refuses kibble and only eats wet food.
5/7 has dental exam under anesthesia. Down another 1lb. They find no problems. During anesthesia developed pulmonary edema, which resolved quickly after diuretic. Give an antibiotic injection.

At home after surgery he is clearly starving, but can't eat. He drops kibble and chunks of meat from his mouth. When I puréed the wet food, he licks a couple times then walks away. Drinking some. Can't tell if he urinated because he has cat siblings. The drool is as bad as ever, and the tongue is still deviated. I called the vet and they said it might still be post op stuff and call if he's not better in the morning.

At this point they have no idea what could be causing these symptoms, only that it's not his teeth or anything in his mouth. I am so sad because he's clearly starving and wants to eat. He also seems to be grooming himself almost obsessively. I'm worried there is something more serious going on, either neurologic or cancerous. What can I do for my guy? I'm at a loss of how to help him.

Hi there. I'm so sorry you're going through this with Morbo. 

I cannot stress enough that Morbo needs to eat. Cats are unique in that they can develop a serious, potentially fatal condition called hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease) when they do not eat enough to meet their daily caloric intake over a few days. If you notice any yellowing of his gums, eyes, and/or ears, you need to call your vet right away. If his eating doesn't pick up soon, he probably needs to start being assist-fed with a syringe. If you can get the prescription canned Hill's A/D from the vet, that would be ideal. But you can use other canned foods that have a fine pate. Some pet stores carry syringes, or you can get them from a pharmacy or even your vet. Here's a TCS thread that includes a video for syringe feeding: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/227858/syringe-feeding-lucky-video-if-your-cat-is-not-eating

I know you said the cat had a thorough exam under anesthesia. Did they check under his tongue, on his tongue, the roof of his mouth, and the back of his throat for any growths or ulcers? If you're not sure, check with the vet. It's important to know that they checked everywhere.

Did they do x-rays of Morbo's mouth and jaw? Sometimes FORLs (feline odontoclastic resorption lesions) are not visible to the naked eye and reside beneath the gumline. If this is the case, they can only be found via x-ray. They are very painful. The x-ray would also show any broken teeth or jaw fracture.

Could Morbo have gotten into any kind of poison or toxin (plants, etc.)?

You said the vet did blood work. Was it a full CBC blood panel? There were no abnormalities?

Does the vet think Morbo is in pain?

Nausea can cause hypersalivation, but I wouldn't think it would be this excessive for this long.

you probably need a new vet, and your cat definitely needs an iv. if u are in the U.S. this shouldn't be too costly or complicated.

Has your vet looked for an obstruction??????????????????????????????????????????

He had an IV on 5/7 during anesthesia. Not eating anything has only been going on for less than a day. Prior to anesthesia he was eating wet food.

They did an exam of his whole oral cavity. They said it's all normal.

No way he could get into anything toxic. We also have a toddler so that stuff is literally locked up, and he doesn't go outside.

They did a CBC which was normal.

They don't think he's in pain. And they gave him medicine for pain after anesthesia, and he still didn't eat.

They said the next step would be X-rays and repeat bloodwork.

He was only home from the vet for 4 hours before I called them again. And it's been less than 12 hours even now. I don't want to give the impression that I've let him to a long time without food and water..

i too considered FORL, which would have shown on x-ray.  it sounds like they didn't do any x-rays before cleaning... morbo would have to be under anesthesia again for the x-rays, which sucks.  it is imperative for him to eat though.  i know some people might recommend trying some tuna packed in water, see if you mix a bit with his canned food or put the water on top of his food, sometimes that entices cats to eat.  heck, see if he'll eat some of the tuna - he needs to have food in his tummy.  

i second the idea of syringe feeding - when i had to do that in the past, i would mix pate style canned food with the warm kitten milk so it was smushier and then feed that.  just be careful with syringe feeding, that the food isn't able to get into their lungs.  i used to mix up just a bit of food/milk at a time and feed a little every couple of hours during the day.

He's on his way back to the vet this AM. I called as soon as they opened. He really was not himself this morning, letting the toddler approach him without running away and showing little interest in his food. I'm really worried about him.

It may be time to insert a feeding tube.  This isn't difficult and allows you to push food directly into his stomach, much easier than syringe feeding and given his condition it may have reached the point where this is necessary and helpful provided he doesn't have any type of GI obstruction.  Also did they do xrays of his jaw/palette to rule out teeth issues that are out of direct view?

My husband took him to the vet, so this is all second hand. At the vet they syringe fed him with high calorie food, and he took it well. They gave us that to do at home. They also said his tongue is swollen, which may be from electrocution from chewing on wires? Which I don't understand why they didn't see yesterday during the cleaning. Also, the drooling has been going on for at least 10 days before the tongue deviation. They have him a NSAID for the swelling. They said if it's electrocution it will get better on it's own and to follow up on Monday. They didn't think they need to do imaging right now. They said it can take 48 hours after anesthesia for him to be "normal" again, but he wasn't normal before!

Since I wasn't there I'm going to call them. It doesn't make sense. If it's electrocution why would the drooling precede the tongue problem? They gave him an NSAID in surgery and THAT didn't help him eat after, so why would it help now?

bel138 said:

Not eating anything has only been going on for less than a day. Prior to anesthesia he was eating wet food.

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Oh, okay. I didn't realize it had only been one day.

bel138 said:

He's on his way back to the vet this AM. I called as soon as they opened. He really was not himself this morning, letting the toddler approach him without running away and showing little interest in his food. I'm really worried about him.

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I'm so sorry. I know you must be worried about him. I hope they're able to find out what's going on soon. 

bel138 said:

My husband took him to the vet, so this is all second hand. At the vet they syringe fed him with high calorie food, and he took it well. They gave us that to do at home. They also said his tongue is swollen, which may be from electrocution from chewing on wires? Which I don't understand why they didn't see yesterday during the cleaning. Also, the drooling has been going on for at least 10 days before the tongue deviation. They have him a NSAID for the swelling. They said if it's electrocution it will get better on it's own and to follow up on Monday. They didn't think they need to do imaging right now. They said it can take 48 hours after anesthesia for him to be "normal" again, but he wasn't normal before!

Since I wasn't there I'm going to call them. It doesn't make sense. If it's electrocution why would the drooling precede the tongue problem? They gave him an NSAID in surgery and THAT didn't help him eat after, so why would it help now?

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If his tongue is swollen, could he be having some kind of allergic reaction? I'm not sure about the electrocution. I guess it's possible, but seems like a long shot. Did you find wires in the house that looked chewed? Your questioning is warranted. I don't know. Personally, I wouldn't want to wait until Monday. I would demand x-rays and, actually, I'd probably get those and a second opinion from a different vet at this point. There are times when the vet we know and trust is just plain stumped. But since Morbo is not eating on his own, the wait-and-see approach does not sit well with me. They don't know what's wrong with him, but yet they don't think they need to do imaging, which would help confirm or rule out other potential issues? 

Well guys, after a couple more visits to a cat specific vet and the neurologist, Morbo has been diagnosed with a brainstem tumor. The neurologist says he's only seen 2-3 in his career. The location is inoperable, and even when chemo is done, the neurological effects are permanent. He will never eat or drink on his own. They also saw left sided weakness, which the vet says will progress to ataxia. Thank you for the information others have given.

bel138 said:

Well guys, after a couple more visits to a cat specific vet and the neurologist, Morbo has been diagnosed with a brainstem tumor. The neurologist says he's only seen 2-3 in his career. The location is inoperable, and even when chemo is done, the neurological effects are permanent. He will never eat or drink on his own. They also saw left sided weakness, which the vet says will progress to ataxia. Thank you for the information others have given.

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I'm so sorry.    My thoughts are with you.

I'm so very sorry.

wow...maybe the chemo will do more than they think it will...

He was confident that there was no treatment that would be fair to put Morbo through. The reason the regular vet thought his tongue was swollen is that the left side is atrophied, making the right look swollen. There is no fixing the atrophy caused by a neurological deficit. Nerves cannot regenerate. I am a human doctor, so the neurologist was quite blunt with me. It will not be pretty for Morbo. And his case is so rare that the doctor requested pictures and videos to teach even other neurologists, as well as his residents and students.

so you aren't putting him down? or you already did? either way, take care.

Unfortunately, Morbo has crossed the bridge.    You may express your condolences in Morbo's thread on the Crossing the Bridge forum:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/277930/my-pal-morbo