Distemper help

I'm new to the forum, and have joined to get some advice about this. We are obviously seeing the vet about this, but I was wondering if I could get some additional advice or information.

We have a 12-14 week old kitten that we found abandoned - by his mother, we think, outside a farm. He was about 2 weeks old when we got him. We did all of the regular care stuff and immediately took him to the vet to get checked out and get shots. Everything looked fine except for the fact that we initially noticed a little shiver/tremor that he displayed, but we put it down to him being cold and not being able to regulate his temperature. About 4-weeks ago the shiver started getting worse, we took him to the vet and at that point the vet said he had distemper, and gave him the vaccination for it anyway. I wasn't too concerned, but things have since got much worse over the past week, to the point now where he has difficulty walking, eating, using the litter. It really is pitiful to watch him. We are taking him back to the vet today to get some blood work done.

Does anyone have any experience with cats that have this virus? From what I read, it sounds as though he may have got it while his mother was pregnant, as this way of getting the virus normally leaves them brain damaged without the use of regular motor skills. However, he also went through a bout of diarrhea 4 weeks ago, and again from what I'm reading, this could have also been when he got the virus.

I guess my main question is will he ever be "normal" again, or at least improve to the point where he can live somewhat of a normal life? Some of what I read suggested this not to be the case, but other articles said that cats can adjust for their lack of coordination over time. As I said right now it is pitiful to watch him. I'd also appreciate it if anyone could let me know where I could find some good care information about this.

Thanks in advance for your time with this.

Jim

Can you tell if he was born with this? Is it more of a shiver or a "wobble"?

We are not 100% sure either way. When we found him at approx. 2-weeks old, he had a head tremble - very slight, and like I said we put it down to him being cold. About 5-weeks ago, he had a bout with some sort of virus that gave him the runs etc. He seemed to get over that in about 5 days, and went back to his previous state with only the slight head tremble. It was during this bout with the runs that he was vaccinated for the distemper virus. The vet said he thought the tremble was due to distemper, but that it was customary to vaccinate against it anyway. The vet indicated at this point that it shouldn't get any worse, but that he would be like this for the rest of his life. This wasn't too bad to take, since he was still at the point where he could do everything that you would expect from a kitten.

However, the past week has seen him go downhill really fast. Now it's not just the tremble, which has got much worse, but also a bad wobble that makes it impossible for him to walk without tumbling over. The best way I could describe it in human terms is that he appears to be very drunk - hard for him to stand up, walk, use the litter, eat and drink - no coordination whatsoever. The only way he is comfortable right now is when he is at rest laying down or being held. At that point the tremble seems to dissapear.

Thanks

Jim

It sounds like it could be progressive cerebellar hypoplasia, congenital CH (Which is something they can live with for a whole lifetime, though movement is impaired) or cerebeller ataxia. I would take him to a new vet for another opinion, preferrably a feline specialist or feline-only practice.

I cannot offer any advice, but thank you for watching over this little one and I hope they are able to cure him soon.

Originally Posted by lionessrampant

It sounds like it could be progressive cerebellar hypoplasia, congenital CH (Which is something they can live with for a whole lifetime, though movement is impaired) or cerebeller ataxia. I would take him to a new vet for another opinion, preferrably a feline specialist or feline-only practice.

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Thanks for the advice and help. Sounds like you are an expert - vet? I'm getting ready to take him to the vet and will mention it to him. Are any of these conditions that you mention diagnosed from blood work?

Are the cerebellar hypoplasia and cerebeller ataxia curable or treatable? Also, would any of these or the CH have been evident before this past week if he had any of them? I'm just astonished since he was relatively normal until a week ago.

I'll be sure to get a 2nd opinion as well.

One thing I forgot to mention, is that breathing sometimes sounds labored - makes a heaving noise when breathing. Does this narrow it down for you at all?

Thanks

Jim

Originally Posted by jimhighlander

Thanks for the advice and help. Sounds like you are an expert - vet? I'm getting ready to take him to the vet and will mention it to him. Are any of these conditions that you mention diagnosed from blood work?

Are the cerebellar hypoplasia and cerebeller ataxia curable or treatable? Also, would any of these or the CH have been evident before this past week if he had any of them? I'm just astonished since he was relatively normal until a week ago.

I'll be sure to get a 2nd opinion as well.

One thing I forgot to mention, is that breathing sometimes sounds labored - makes a heaving noise when breathing. Does this narrow it down for you at all?

Thanks

Jim

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No, I'm not a vet...I do a lot of work with a shelter in which 75% of our cats are special needs. We have some CH kitties that I work with there. I'm pretty well-versed in feline maladies, though I am by no means formally educated in the field. I don't diagnose...but I do a lot of post-diagnostic work with these kitties.

From what I know, none of the conditions are curable. With Congenital CH, though, the cat will learn on its own to compensate for the disability. These cats are happy and healthy in every way except for an underdeveloped cerebellum (the part of teh brain that controls movement) and won't experience any discomfort beyond the wobbles. Sometimes, we'll do a little supplemental physical therapy with the Congeintal CH's but it's not always necessary. They do perfectly fine on their own for the most part. Progressive CH is less common from what I've been told by our clinic manager, but the prognosis isn't that good. In this case, their brain activity will eventually deteriorate to nothing. Ataxia I have almost no experience with, but I understand it to be similar to Congenital CH in terms of prognosis. If this cat has been doing this since you got him and he was 2 weeks old, my inital guess would be that he was born with it. But you can never be sure unless you talk to a vet.

Labored breathing is definitely something to talk to you vet about. It could be related to the condition or it could be signalling any number of secondary conditions.

Good luck at the vet!