cat sick [vets no help... mystery?]

Raven, our 7 year old hasn't been doing so well lately.

in the past 3-4 months, she has been very "warn down" and not playing like she use to. symptoms include...

-weight lose [from 8 pounds to 5, indoor cat]
-right eye membrane over lapping the eye a bit
-not very active
-back legs twitch every 30 seconds when she lays on her side
-can't sit comfortable
-can't lay down easily, more like falls on her side
-unbalanced

...we have taken here to the vet several times and they haven't found anything. did blood work, nothing. and Raven is such a scaredy cat, she won't move around for the vet to show him these symptoms and she won't even vocalize [like she does when my wife checks her back legs/hip] when she is hurt. he did find a cyst on her stomach, he checked it... nothing. we just found another cyst [the first one never went away]. the vet put her on a anti-flammatory and they helps a little, but wears off after 1 day.

she stopped greeting my wife at the door after work and she has started to lift her left side of the mouth up [like a snarl]. we're done with the vet, we're going to look into a cat specialist, but we're hoping to do some research first [since we stumped the vet].

any help/suggestions welcomed.

I would go straight for a second opinion, would do the research later when you have some answers, as none of what you have posted is normal. Is she spayed?

First of all, welcome to TCS to you and your family. This is great advice. I would strongly recommend that Raven be assessed by a Feline Specialist. Please feel better, Raven!

I would definitely also recommend seeing the cat specialist.

The symptoms do seem very similar to those in cats with neurological disorders, like strokes or vestibular disease. That snarl you see on the left side of her mouth sounds to me like she's trying to open her mouth and the right side is partially paralized, sort of like when you have novocaine. That would make sense since it seems her right eye has lost some muscle control.

I am not a vet, and can not say what it is for sure, but I think the symptoms are indicative enough that if the specialist doesn't know what is it, isn't sure, or doesn't mention the possibility of some neurological disorder, you might consider at least asking about it.

Here's a link to vestibular disease. I'm trying to find a good one for strokes, but will post this in the meantime.

http://www.thepetprofessor.com/artic...le.aspx?id=365

Good luck and let us know.

Again, this is not a replacement for the specialist, but just information for you. You might want to read through this site about neurological disorders:

http://cats.about.com/gi/dynamic/off...Fcatneuro.html

Here's another link for vestibular disease:http://www.marvistavet.com/html/vestibular_disease.html
I think seeing a feline specialist is a good idea. Please keep us updated.

I second the feline specialist (or at least another vet, one of mine changed vets twice before the 3rd vet knew what was wrong with him and seemed much more up to date on diseases and other 'inflictions' a cat can have, and our other cat is now going to a 4th vet as we can't get him an appointment at the third one because they are so busy.

thanks everyone. we are seeking a cat specialist and done with the current vet. and we will make sure they have a neurologist on hand to check out Raven.

we weren't waiting and or trying to find the cure first, we just wanted some info to help us understand what she might be going through.

thanks again and we will keep everyone updated.

Can I also make a suggestion of videotaping the symptoms that you are seeing at home so the specialists can see them to to help with a diagnosis. We have had clients do this when we can't find anything, but know there is something wrong.

I was going to make the same suggestion, if you can use your cell phone or a digital camera and video tape Raven during the episodes. Best of luck with the second vet.

No words of advice, but just want to wish you well in your search for a 2nd opinion. We had to do that last year with my cat and I just LOVE our new vet! Hope you & the vet figure it out quickly and are able to find a treatment for your kitty.

Stephanie