Ongoing issues and no answers

[Katiedavies95]

Hi everyone,
I’m new here and desperately looking for answers. My cat Alfie (11 years old in March) has been unwell since Novemeber 2021. Initially we noticed slight weight loss and then unsteadiness and balance problems. A trip to the vet and a full blood count later confirmed no issues. Vet was suspecting hyperthyroidism. Vet thought he heard a slight heart murmur and asked for us to go back for a heart blood test. We went back to the vet, this time we saw a different vet which felt that there wasn’t need for the blood test as she could not hear any murmurs. In the meantime we had decided to keep Alfie indoors to avoid injuring himself. Over Christmas he improved, he wasn’t as depressed and was happier in terms of engaging with us. His wobble had also improved. However, he began to sneeze. He would have sneezing episodes, approx 7 sneezes in one episode. Vet said to keep and eye. We thought it could be allergies so changed the litter and administered flea treatment. In January the unsteadiness had worsened and he also developed a squint in his right eye. Further vet appointments including a trip to the out of hours. Heart blood test done on our request and all came back fine. We were questioning nasal polyps as many of the symptoms made sense. We planned for him to have an X-ray and hopefully discover/remove a polyp. However, his condition had deteriorated, he was unable to use the litter tray without support, was falling over mainly to the right side, having accidents (urinating in places other than the litter tray) and overall a very unhappy and miserable cat. Due to his deterioration the vet was not happy to put him under anaesthetic and became less convinced that he had a polyp. Vet gave a 5 day shot of anti inflammatory steroids and over a weeks worth of antibiotics. His condition improved greatly over the 5 days, however then deteriorated again when the steroids had ran out. We have been prescribed oral (tablets) steroids ‘prednisone’ to give him over the course of 2 weeks. The vet is pushing for a referral for an MRI scan. He has so many symptoms and the vet is struggling to make sense of it. It’s looking like there’s a neurological problem such as a brain tumour.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Hi everyone,
I’m new here and desperately looking for answers. My cat Alfie (11 years old in March) has been unwell since Novemeber 2021. Initially we noticed slight weight loss and then unsteadiness and balance problems. A trip to the vet and a full blood count later confirmed no issues. Vet was suspecting hyperthyroidism. Vet thought he heard a slight heart murmur and asked for us to go back for a heart blood test. We went back to the vet, this time we saw a different vet which felt that there wasn’t need for the blood test as she could not hear any murmurs. In the meantime we had decided to keep Alfie indoors to avoid injuring himself. Over Christmas he improved, he wasn’t as depressed and was happier in terms of engaging with us. His wobble had also improved. However, he began to sneeze. He would have sneezing episodes, approx 7 sneezes in one episode. Vet said to keep and eye. We thought it could be allergies so changed the litter and administered flea treatment. In January the unsteadiness had worsened and he also developed a squint in his right eye. Further vet appointments including a trip to the out of hours. Heart blood test done on our request and all came back fine. We were questioning nasal polyps as many of the symptoms made sense. We planned for him to have an X-ray and hopefully discover/remove a polyp. However, his condition had deteriorated, he was unable to use the litter tray without support, was falling over mainly to the right side, having accidents (urinating in places other than the litter tray) and overall a very unhappy and miserable cat. Due to his deterioration the vet was not happy to put him under anaesthetic and became less convinced that he had a polyp. Vet gave a 5 day shot of anti inflammatory steroids and over a weeks worth of antibiotics. His condition improved greatly over the 5 days, however then deteriorated again when the steroids had ran out. We have been prescribed oral (tablets) steroids ‘prednisone’ to give him over the course of 2 weeks. The vet is pushing for a referral for an MRI scan. He has so many symptoms and the vet is struggling to make sense of it. It’s looking like there’s a neurological problem such as a brain tumour.

Hello K Katiedavies95 and Alfie and welcome to TCS! Although it is not cheap, at this point I would get the MRI. Have you looked into veterinary insurance for Alfie? There are many providers. Use your computer's search engine to bring up Veterinary Insurance listings and research them. Since this is a pre-existing problem, you may not feel this is helpful. How about CareCredit? Look that one up, too, and see if it applies for you and Alfie.
We are not vets here and the site owner and moderators would all strongly recommend Alfie's veterinary care team be the ones to give opinions, not any of us.
Eleven is not old for a cat; however, as with humans, illnesses can occur at any time in life.
Experts do recommend, and I strongly agree, that cats should be kept indoors only, all the time, for their safety and health, and your peace of mind. There are many dangers and risks in any outdoor environment, regardless of tradition or culture. I would never let a cat out.
Please keep us informed! My heartfelt *PRAYERS* for your Alfie.

 

[fionasmom]

If there is a neurological problem, and sadly this does sound as if it is, I would try to arrange for the MRI. That is about the only conclusive way to determine what is going on. I am guessing, guessing being the operative word, that if pred makes him feel better that it is helping his body to deal with brain swelling or inflammation in the brain or CNS. This is a complex issue, hence the MRI.