Cytocentesis Complications?

Hi,

I had to take Grace to the vet today after some straining and dribbling in the litter box. She was better this morning but I wasn't taking chances. She went pee normally this morning and luckily she didn't go again before the appointment. So I opted for a full urinalysis. She checked out okay while there. The vet did note some irritation in her ear and he sort of had to "dig" a bit with the otoscope as she kept turning away. He wasn't overly rough or anything. Then he took her in back to get her sample and also express her anal glands as they were quite full. She went through a lot. The vet's thinking is she was licking her glands which led to infection due to licking in that area.

Fast forward to when we returned home. She was fine, ate very well and played. About 3 hours after the appt, I fed her and she jumped up to see me. I was on the phone at the time and I felt a jerking motion against me and I thought she was vomiting to be honest. Then however, I looked down and she had sort of flattened her ears and her head was almost "swaying" and she looked a bit shaky. I placed her on the floor to see if she was stable on her feet which she was. She also snapped out of it and has been fine again so far. Could this be some kind of pain reaction to the procedures? Or perhaps due to the looking around in her ears? I just feel this can't be a coincidence that she went through all this today and suddenly displays this odd behavior. I am going to call the vet first thing in the morning to get his take but any advice is appreciated. Thank-you.

Hi,

It is impossible to tell online what could be going on. If you look at her eyes is one of her third eyelids up? Are her pupils the same size? When you look at her eyes are they still or do they go back and forth uncontrollable. Is she still active? Is her appetite still good. Is she still using the litter pan? What did the vet find with the testing done?

Hi @Quiet! Thank you for replying. Yes her eyes were fine during the incident and after the incident. There was no dilation, no "dancing eyes" as in vestibular issues. No third eyelid is visible. She is doing fine still, eating and going to the bathroom like normal, no extra trips to the litter box either. She also is eating fine. She is a bit spooked still from the experience yesterday so she is hanging back a little.

Grace does experience what I call facial tics since her first ear infection last summer so it will be a year with those in August. She also experienced a head tremor last November which I attributed to some meds the doctor had put in her ear. The doctor thinks all these issues are related to her ears but this episode was a bit different than what she has experienced prior. I am still awaiting his callback on the results and wanting to see what he thinks is going on. From some research, it seems cytocentesis can affect the vagus nerve so I am wondering if that's a possibility.

My Boo did a similar thing when he had an ear infection. It only happened a couple times where he'd tilt his head slightly, flatten his ear, and shake his head a little. This was sometimes followed by a vigorous scratching in his ear with his back foot. Like Quiet said, there's really no telling since none of us saw her do it, but my guess is that her ear is irritated not only by the original irritation, but also from the vet digging around in there. 

GoHolistic said:

 
My Boo did a similar thing when he had an ear infection. It only happened a couple times where he'd tilt his head slightly, flatten his ear, and shake his head a little. This was sometimes followed by a vigorous scratching in his ear with his back foot. Like Quiet said, there's really no telling since none of us saw her do it, but my guess is that her ear is irritated not only by the original irritation, but also from the vet digging around in there. 

Click to expand...

Yes, basically what the vet said, but as always, thank you. He feels like her ear was further irritated in the exam. He doesn't believe there was any connection between the cytocentesis and her "episode." She has not exhibited the same behavior since Monday, although last night she had a rather strong jerking spasm in one of her paws while dozing next to me. I was asleep myself and it woke me up which means it was very powerful. I admit I was half asleep so my memory is fuzzy but I was awakened by movement and looked down to see her paw moving, like in a trembling type motion. Does this just seem like sleep twitching? I'm still kind of nervous I can't even say for sure she was dead asleep because she was sort of lying against me but her head was upright and then she just jumped up, stretched and yawned. It's possible that the jerking just woke her up too.

Also, her urinalysis was totally normal, "perfect" as the vet put it. He believes that the anal glands are the issue and were making her believe that she had to pee, putting pressure down there. I'm not sure how that fits in with the fact that I saw her dribbling small amounts of urine in the box though. He did say if the behavior continued to call him because she could have an infection in the lower tract that might not show up in the urinalysis and he'd put her on a course of antibiotics. She was okay Monday-Thursday and overall did seem to feel better once her anal glands were expressed. Then yesterday though, she was back to squatting. I just don't get it. She isn't constipated but she was definitely in the "position" to go. I know that full anal glands can make a cat feel like they have to go number two but she already went. Also, I don't get why she is still having these issues if her glands were drained. Grace's behavior lately is just downright confusing. I wish I could figure it out. Unfortunately the vet was closed for the holiday so I have to wait until Monday to ask questions about what her latest issues. Any other ideas/advice is appreciated though.

I do think that her head twitching with the ears being flattened certainly was from the vet visit that day and she has some minor irritation in her ears from them being examined. Usually ears flattened and head shaking is from something going on IN the ears. :nod: Plus - she did have that stressful day. I am glad to hear that the urinalysis was normal. I guess I would assume the straining may have been from the glands being full and that Grace was trying to empty them herself. So she is on an antibiotic though? For a possible lower UTI? Then, that could be the reason why she appeared to be squatting/straining yesterday. I know that you are seemingly dealing with a gamut of unexplainable health concerns with Grace and it is not easy when you can't get a definitive answer. SO frustrating and nerve wracking. I am sending mega vibes, as always, :rub: for dear Grace!!! and for her momma!!!

p.s. I do think the paw flicking was just her dreaming. And, even if she appeared to be waking - I still think it was just that. But, I do know that her trembling and twitching this past year has been upsetting more to you than to her. I don't think it bother's Grace one bit but it is us who want the answers as to the cause. Hang in there and your doing a great job with Grace and I hope that she feels better soon and gives her momma a break soon !!!!! :cross: