Involuntary movement spasms

[gpfr88]

I have a 3 year old rag doll who over the last week has started to show involuntary movement spams that I can’t seem to find anything about it. They generally happen while she is sleeping and or resting but awake. All other behaviour with her is normal and unchanged. She is a indoor cat.

I took her to the vet and they say it could be possibly be a ear infection and treating her accordingly, even though her ears checked out to be clean.

See the video below to see the violent spams. Has anybody seen this before in cats?

 

[susanm9006]

It doesn’t seem like a spasm to me. In each of these instances there is a noise coming from somewhere that seems to startle her awake.

 

[FeebysOwner]

It doesn’t seem like a spasm to me. In each of these instances there is a noise coming from somewhere that seems to startle her awake.

Just because the other cat is not reacting means nothing. Some cats are more sensitive to noises than others. I don't know what is behind those noises, but you would do your cat a favor and get rid of them.

 

[gpfr88]

The noises are actually coming from her and or made by her (There is a video / audio sync delay) This happens to her all day long, and all night long, constantly doing the same thing. It is affecting her sleeping (and ours too)

 

[cat nap]

The noises are actually coming from her and or made by her (There is a video / audio sync delay) This happens to her all day long, and all night long, constantly doing the same thing. It is affecting her sleeping (and ours too)

Poor cat.
I honestly thought the noises were coming from some sort of renovator's air gun, nail gun, roofing gun...or door slamming.
(just like the above members observed...and causing her to startle awake.).

But since you mentioned...that she is making those noises...(and that there is a video/ audio sync delay)...then I think your cat needs to be looked at for:...Feline Asthma,....Reverse Sneezing....Coughing....or Polyps in her nose or throat.
She may even have some 'hairball issues'...but it just looks too severe...to cause her to cough like that...and gasp for air...and startle herself awake.
The 'gasping for air' is worrisome...and she licks her lips...afterwards.

She really needs to be seen by a Specialist...who deals with ear, nose and throat in cats.

Has your Vet seen this video?...because...if not...send it to them...and ask for a specialist consult.
Did your Vet do some sort of culture...on any ear discharge and prescribe any antibiotics...if they think it's an ear infection?

All the best, ...for your cat, and you.
Please update...if you get any answers...or whenever you can.

(Edit to add:....Have your Vet look at the video...at the slowest speed possible...and mark the times...that she has the violent spasms. (it almost looks like she is having some type of seizure...before she coughs...but I am not a vet...so really would not know.) wishing the best for your cat...and really glad that you noticed these episodes...and got them on video.
you are a very observant cat guardian.

 

[gpfr88]

Hello,

Yes I showed the vet the videos. The vet inspected her ears but found nothing. She put her on antibiotic called Doxycycline. There has been no improvement at all since starting it yesterday.

She does these spams sometimes when she is awake just resting with us on the sofa etc, but seems to happen 95% of the time when she is resting and trying to sleep. However the few times we have seen her do it while she is awake, she twitches her head and almost looses balance before she recovers. You can see it in the video where she is clearly awake at one point and she is turning her head then she snaps over quickly like she lost balance.

We are going back to the vet on Monday for follow ups.

 

[gpfr88]

Here are 2 clips from this morning. All noises are made by her. No outside noise.

 

[cat nap]

Hopefully it is just an infection,...and the Doxycycline will take care of it.
(Ear infection would make sense if her balance was off.)

(Even a Dental infection, Dental abscess, or sinus infection could cause sneezing or coughing...but I would think that other symptoms like drooling, mucus discharge, and less of an appetite, would be there, too,...though sometimes cats can show only minimal signs.
They are so good at acting all okay, even when sick.)

Does she get any of these type of spasm attacks while Playing?

And when did you notice that her coughing was so loud?
Has her coughing just started recently?
Is it like a hacking cough?

Does she ever just throw up some furballs? after she coughs? and have you noticed any... or a lot of fur...in her poop?

She does these spams sometimes when she is awake just resting with us on the sofa etc, but seems to happen 95% of the time when she is resting and trying to sleep. However the few times we have seen her do it while she is awake, she twitches her head and almost looses balance before she recovers. You can see it in the video where she is clearly awake at one point and she is turning her head then she snaps over quickly like she lost balance.

(at first it reminded me of sleep apnea...but she's not snoring...and then I saw her awake...and having a spasm...I thought maybe Feline asthma...but an infection that causes drainage or mucus buildup...could also obstruct her breathing.
So can Polyp growths.)

Another strange thing is that it's kind of difficult to get a counting of her breathing rate...or respiration.
(I can't actually remember what the normal respiration rate for a cat is...but it seems easier to see your other cat's breathing rate...since his fur is black against the white background...but hers seems to be a lot slower.)

If you watch her closely at around the 13:24:52 ,mark...then you can see her slightly twitch...right before having a violent spasm.
That kind of looks neurological...because of the twitching...but then again...maybe an infection can cause all these signs.

So glad that you are taking her back, to the Vet, on Monday.

Hopefully, they can also look at her Heart rate, breathing rate, and even though it might be expensive...maybe do a Complete Bloodwork...since at least bloodwork...could show infection ...and ask your Vet if they think doing any bloodwork...to check Heart proBNP...would be worth doing. Unless they have new types of tests to rule out other problems, too.

I'm still going to be hoping that over the weekend she just gets a lot better, and the antibiotic kicks in.

 

[cat nap]

The last two videos look like they are Neurological...those sounds are not coughing at all...but just her hitting the bed.
I'm still going to pray...that it's just an infection...and will go away by Monday...or at least get a lot better.
Sending your girl...total positive Health vibes.

 

[gpfr88]

Hopefully it is just an infection,...and the Doxycycline will take care of it.
(Ear infection would make sense if her balance was off.)

(Even a Dental infection, Dental abscess, or sinus infection could cause sneezing or coughing...but I would think that other symptoms like drooling, mucus discharge, and less of an appetite, would be there, too,...though sometimes cats can show only minimal signs.
They are so good at acting all okay, even when sick.)

Does she get any of these type of spasm attacks while Playing?

And when did you notice that her coughing was so loud?
Has her coughing just started recently?
Is it like a hacking cough?

Does she ever just throw up some furballs? after she coughs? and have you noticed any... or a lot of fur...in her poop?

(at first it reminded me of sleep apnea...but she's not snoring...and then I saw her awake...and having a spasm...I thought maybe Feline asthma...but an infection that causes drainage or mucus buildup...could also obstruct her breathing.
So can Polyp growths.)

Another strange thing is that it's kind of difficult to get a counting of her breathing rate...or respiration.
(I can't actually remember what the normal respiration rate for a cat is...but it seems easier to see your other cat's breathing rate...since his fur is black against the white background...but hers seems to be a lot slower.)

If you watch her closely at around the 13:24:52 ,mark...then you can see her slightly twitch...right before having a violent spasm.
That kind of looks neurological...because of the twitching...but then again...maybe an infection can cause all these signs.

So glad that you are taking her back, to the Vet, on Monday.

Hopefully, they can also look at her Heart rate, breathing rate, and even though it might be expensive...maybe do a Complete Bloodwork...since at least bloodwork...could show infection ...and ask your Vet if they think doing any bloodwork...to check Heart proBNP...would be worth doing. Unless they have new types of tests to rule out other problems, too.

I'm still going to be hoping that over the weekend she just gets a lot better, and the antibiotic kicks in.

These spasms only happen when resting or sleeping. She poops, pees, eat drinks and acts normal throughout the day. It is only when she is resting or trying to sleep when this happens. She plays normally and never does the spasms while playing.

She has never coughed up a furball in her entire life. When she was at the vet, they checked her teeth, ears, heart rate etc, no problems physically that they could feel or see.

 

[di and bob]

It may be time to do a simple x-ray and see if everything is alright. They are much cheaper than a CT scan. If x-ray and blood work is normal, then a neurological workup. Antibiotics take several days to start working, she may need a prednisone injection too, which has helped many of my cats.

 

[gpfr88]

Here is a example of her what appears to be off balanced briefly while sitting and awake (@45 secs mark). I really hope it is just a inner ear infection as what the vet originally thinks.

 

[cat nap]

Here is a example of her what appears to be off balanced briefly while sitting and awake (@45 secs mark). I really hope it is just a inner ear infection as what the vet originally thinks.

I really hope that it's the inner ear, too,...and that the antibiotic does it's job.
It's just strange, that while searching online...nothing similar comes up.
Perhaps it's the specific 'search words used'...but I would have thought that something similar would show.

It does sound like you have a very good Vet.
(Members here, have sometimes mentioned, or advised...that people should ask their own Vet...to consult with a known University team of Vets...if cases that are not as common. I'm not sure about costs of university Vet fees, and such,...but at least it may be an option.)
I'm still just going to hope that these episodes will go away.

I do find your cat amazing, though,...because even with these troublesome episodes,...she still manages to catch herself, and not fall over.
(in the past, I did have human Vertigo, where I was sitting or laying down...and the whole room felt like it was spinning. Such an awful sensation. But for humans, they use a method called the Epley method...to cause the inner ear crystals to go back into place. I wish they had something this easy for our cats)
The closest thing I found, online, was Feline Vestibular syndrome...but the cats in the videos...have a lot of difficulty walking...so this looks nothing like your cat.
check out...video #3....on this site: Feline Geriatric Vestibular Syndrome | LoveToKnow
Not the same, at all, but similar...in only the slight head movements.

Sending your cat Mega Health Vibes...that whatever this is...goes away soon.

 

[gpfr88]

A little update. The antibiotic treatment did nothing. There has been no change. Her regular behaviour is normal as described before, still the playful kitty as usual. Our vet has now put her on Surolan which we put into both of her ears twice a day, if there is no improvement by next week, then the vet is going to do a CT scan as the next step.

I put together a condensed video showing the movements, hopefully somebody has recognised this before:

 

[cat nap]

A little update. The antibiotic treatment did nothing. There has been no change. Her regular behaviour is normal as described before, still the playful kitty as usual. Our vet has now put her on Surolan which we put into both of her ears twice a day, if there is no improvement by next week, then the vet is going to do a CT scan as the next step.

I put together a condensed video showing the movements, hopefully somebody has recognised this before:

Thanks for the update, G gpfr88
I was so hoping for it to be better.

Has your Vet already done Complete Bloodwork ?
Does the Vet suspect partial seizures or absence seizures...epilepsy?
Could your cat have accidentally gotten into any toxic substances, plants, cleaners, medications, chocolate, too much catnip...etc?

Still will be sending mega health vibes, that your beautiful cat gets better.

 

[gpfr88]

Another update:

Still no change. She is booked for a CT scan on the 3rd of January.

To answer the last question, the vet did not do any blood work and she is a indoor cat, she was not exposed to any toxic substances, plants etc that we are aware of.

 

[cat nap]

Another update:

Still no change. She is booked for a CT scan on the 3rd of January.

To answer the last question, the vet did not do any blood work and she is a indoor cat, she was not exposed to any toxic substances, plants etc that we are aware of.

Your Vet definitely does things a little differently than some of our vets.
(Ours kind of always does the Blood work first...to rule out any metabolic issues...and to see where the electrolytes are at.)
Perhaps it's because your Vet is waiting for the antibiotic/Surolan to take effect.

I will still be hoping, praying, and sending health vibes that your cat gets way better...in these two weeks before her CT scan.
She's just adorable looking, and in one of the videos...your other cat actually goes and touches her back, after an episode of spasms,...as though he or she is saying, "it's okay, I've got your back".

 

[gpfr88]

A little update, we moved up her appointment to today, they drew blood and found nothing. She is now scheduled for a MRI tomorrow to rule out tumours, and they are going to draw some fluid from her brain to test for a brain infection.

They suspect she has partial epilepsy but they are doing the above MRI and tests to rule out tumours and or infections. If the results tomorrow show nothing then she will start medication for managing epilepsy.

 

[cat nap]

A little update, we moved up her appointment to today, they drew blood and found nothing. She is now scheduled for a MRI tomorrow to rule out tumours, and they are going to draw some fluid from her brain to test for a brain infection.

They suspect she has partial epilepsy but they are doing the above MRI and tests to rule out tumours and or infections. If the results tomorrow show nothing then she will start medication for managing epilepsy.

Thank you for the update.
Sending you all the Best...for tomorrow's results.

Not sure if this would be helpful or not...since a definite diagnosis has not been confirmed...but doing a "Search"...in the upper right hand corner of the Cat Site...brought a number of threads concerning 'seizures or epilepsy in cats':
Search Results for Query: seizures or epilepsy in cats
The one I found very helpful was post #3...from '@ white shadow'...where they mention some other online groups that deal specifically with cats with epilepsy. (the first link is no longer available, but the second link works.)
Seizures - Need Advice/experience With Seizure Medications

You may already know about these online groups...but if not...I'll just post the link here (a big thanks to 'white shadow')
Epi-Felines (For Owners of Cats with Epilepsy or Seizures)

Another thing that may be useful...is the mentioning of using an EEG machine...which some Veterinary Neurologists...or clinics might have. It's worth asking your Vet...or Specialist about.
What is an EEG? — Live Oak Veterinary Neurology
(they use these type of machines when doing 'sleep studies', and looking for seizures in humans,...but I'm not at all familiar with their use in cats.)

Again, all the best...for tomorrow.

 

[gpfr88]

Update : MRI was today, she has no tumours and no infections. She was diagnosed with partial epilepsy

she is now starting Phenoleptil.