Very Nervous About Cat with Ear Infection

[feralvr]

I see the head tilt and agree that this is ear related and I think since the tilt degree is increasing, then the infection has progressed - possibly to the inner ear. The drops sometimes need to be given for up to four weeks before you will notice improvement. Question - did the vet ever do a head xray? (I can't remember if that was done or not)

More internet reading but an article I thought was good http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1+2123&aid=1564 I honestly DO believe that all of Grace's twitches, tilting, etc. is caused by this ear infection. From what I have read and know, ear infections can be very tricky and sometimes the causes are even more tricky to resolve. I had no idea that allergies could be one of the causes - so addressing her allergies is a good place to start which you are doing! I think you have a good vet but IF you feel unsure, you can always take her records for another opinion elsewhere - just for peace of mind for you. I know my vet understands when I need to do this and actually, I think he appreciates it! Especially, if he feels at a loss for what ever reason. Not saying that is your case here with your vet and Grace, though. I am, again, sorry that you and your Grace are dealing with this upsetting problem but I think you are taking good care of her and keeping up with the drops because I think that is very important and for the full duration.

 

[worriedsomuch]

Thanks for the article @Feralvr I appreciate it! I am getting the sense as well that ear infections are difficult to diagnose and treat, especially if they are in the middle ear. I have been doing some research of my own and it does seem cats can develop a tilt with middle ear problems. However, this can also happen with Feline Vestibular Disorder and unfortunately, brain tumor.

I read some sad stories which struck fear into my heart again. There is a brain tumor web site for people who have cats with tumors or who have passed from them and one story sounded eerily similar to Grace with the head tilt. The cat was just 7. My vet did call me last Friday after I e-mailed him the picture. He said he wanted to speak to me personally which was very kind of him. He said this is representative of her ear problems and I need to stop dwelling on the idea it's a tumor. I asked him again and he said it was "very unlikely". I also asked about FVS and he also said that he believes she is too young for that too. However, I read about kittens being stricken with it so I'm so confused!

He said if she had FVS, I'd know it. He then told me about the "dancing" eyes and the other symptoms. He also told me that Grace would have very bizarre behavior too if it was indeed a brain tumor. Even though I've read all the symptoms, it left me uneasy hearing them from him. He told me to keep up with the drops and to check in after Thanksgiving. He told me to feel free to call before then too, if anything. He did say too that the drops might make her a bit "tilty" too. He said, as well,  that if it was a brain tumor, after 3 months of her symptoms, there would be a progression. However, to me there has been. She went from small tics to larger tremors to tilting.

I want to much to trust him but I just don't know.

The vet never did an xray, no. Also, unfortunately, the drops don't seem to be helping much. Yesterday I thought for sure they were finally working. I came home from work and her head was so straight. She sat on the table with me while I had some tea. Then when I was done, she sat in my lap while I watched TV, purring away. I saw no tics, tremors, or anything. She was so normal. I ended up taking a little nap but when I woke up, she was tilting her head a bit again. This went on, off and on throughout the night. Then last night, she ran when it was time for the drops. The vet suggested 7-10 days of them but I think I might be done. After the drops, she hid and I couldn't even get her out! I didn't fall asleep until 12 and I have to get up at 5. I ended up getting up at 4 and nearly burst into tears when I saw she was still hiding. I called her and thank God she came out. When I left this morning, she ate her breakfast fine and went to go bird watch. I just don't think I can keep putting her through this. I feel like I'm not helping her. Also, if it's like @LDG said maybe drops aren't the answer. Maybe she needs something else. I'm just so discouraged. I want this tilt gone for good and all her other issues too.

 

[denice]

Please go ahead and finish the drops.  My kitty gets a pill at the same time every day and I often have to chase him down because he knows it's pill time.  It's the same thing as with an antibiotic for us he needs to finish the whole course or there will be bacteria left behind that mutate and are resistant to that antibiotic.

Just take things one at a time.  Continue with the drops and the novel protein limited ingredient diet, see how it goes and then take the next step if needed.

 

[feralvr]

It is possible that the drops may not be helping but they can't hurt either and I have read that sometimes they need to be given up to four weeks, not just 7-10 days. The hardest part, I think, is for us having to medicate a kitty so very often. Also, keep this in mind. When I have to use ear drops, it makes me feel a little off balanced and wanting to tilt my head, so what I am saying, is that the head tilt may or may not go away because you are using the drops.

Also, to me, it seems you are not trusting you vet completely at this point. I would for sure have a head xray done before going to see a neuro and am, in a way, surprised that your vet did not suggest this in the first place. :scratch: Could be wrong on my part, but I thought that an xray was indicated for an ear infection that is not responding to initial antibiotic medications. Maybe time for a second opinion? You can easily collect copies of all of Grace' tests from the vet's office to bring along.

Ramping up those vibes!!!!!!!!

 

[worriedsomuch]

Thanks @Denice and @Feralvr The doctor said to do the drops for 7-10 days so I had already done 8 days but I figured I would do the 10 since hopefully that would be better. I wouldn't just abruptly stop in the middle. I ended up chasing her down again last night, under a couch and felt like I was hurting her when I had to pull her out. She looked so pathetic

I actually ended up hurting myself too but I cared more about her. I gave her the drops for the 9th day so I'm debating about tonight. I still don't see an improvement. Also I forget to mention about when I took her in before Halloween. The vet gave her this goopy stuff for her ears that he told me that it would last several days. This is when I started to notice the tilt (which I attributed to the stuff working it's way through her ears) and about a week and half later, she got the tremors in her head. I'm now questioning if this is all connected and if maybe the stuff in her ears is causing her more issues. After the drops too, she went back under the couch, and I went to check her again. She was sitting there relatively unscathed but purring. I felt so upset because I thought, why is she purring? Is she in pain? Trying to comfort herself? I know she wasn't purring because she was happy to see me, that's for sure. She seemed fine this morning, ate really well and then went to take a nap in her bed. It's very bad weather here so no birds for her to watch.

Also, I think you're right about not trusting the vet and I might do the second opinion or the neuro consult if anything since they'd probably know a lot more. I was planning that for maybe right after Christmas but if it has to be sooner, we'll see. I'm not sure on the X ray. I mean the vet is guessing essentially it's still her ears because whenever I take her in, he sees redness. The first time he immediately told me both were infected, the other times, he said it was more mild and more or less allergy irritation, rather than infected. His next choice is a cortisone shot but I'm scared! Should I be this worried about getting her one?

Thanks so much for the vibes and a happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Hopefully Grace will have a good one and I hope you all have a good one with family, friends, and your cats too.

 

[feralvr]

Also, I think you're right about not trusting the vet and I might do the second opinion or the neuro consult if anything since they'd probably know a lot more. I was planning that for maybe right after Christmas but if it has to be sooner, we'll see. I'm not sure on the X ray. I mean the vet is guessing essentially it's still her ears because whenever I take her in, he sees redness. The first time he immediately told me both were infected, the other times, he said it was more mild and more or less allergy irritation, rather than infected. His next choice is a cortisone shot but I'm scared! Should I be this worried about getting her one?

Thanks so much for the vibes and a happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Hopefully Grace will have a good one and I hope you all have a good one with family, friends, and your cats too.

I don't think it is a bad idea at all to get that second opinion at this point. THEN, you will be reassured, once again, that your vet is treating the right problem with Grace. Most times, the second opinion can be worth it's weight in gold, IMO. Both for the cat and for the owner's peace of mind. The more research I do on ear infections the more I realize that it can be a very, very long and arduous process to treat. Poor Grace and Poor momma. I know this is hard for you, hun.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU TOO! Much to be thankful for, right??!!!!! :heart3:

 

[worriedsomuch]

Hi,

I just thought I'd update. I hope you had a good Thanksgiving.

I kept Grace on the drops for the full course. Unfortunately the tilting was still there,which was very disconcerting. However, it did seem less at times and as if she went a whole day looking fine but then tilted again the next. Then she started to have a really good stretch: no tics, tremors, or tilting so I thought, great, she's better. Then unfortunately yesterday, she had some minor facial tics, not a huge deal. It was like one and that's it, plus her head is straight and her ears are too. Then she started to doze off on me and her poor little body jerked twice! I wasn't sure if it was sleep starts or what. She just kept purring as if it didn't faze her. Then (the scary part) her head jerked twice. It wasn't the same as the pronounced tremor she had before but still odd. She sort of scrunched her face too. She was still dozing at this point but it kind of woke her up. I am going to mention this to the vet but I'm not sure if it was just sleep jerking/twitching

I did get a second opinion of sorts from the other vet in the practice. She's new and I think I'm going to take Grace in to see her. I spoke to her on the phone last Friday and she seemed great. She told me she thinks at this point, it's inner ear related and she might need that antibiotic orally. I'm a tad nervous about giving her more meds but she's going to see her in another week or so. This new vet has limited hours at the office as of now but she seems pretty knowledgeable about neurological stuff and the ears and wanted to see Grace.

I'm a bit unraveled at the moment since now two of my others have diarrhea and I'm scared about viruses and losing my babies. With so much going on, I haven't even tried the hypoallergenic food.

 

[goholistic]

Thanks so much for the update. Well, it seems there may have been a tad of an improvement then? 

Good luck with the other vet.

I'm sorry to hear about your other cats and their diarrhea.

  Do you want to start a new thread about them?

ETA: Nevermind! I just saw the other thread! 

 

[worriedsomuch]

Yes, there is an improvement with the tilting, thankfully *knocks wood* However, her twitching/tics are still there. She was also sleeping or more like dozing on me again yesterday and got those jerks that I mentioned. She also scrunched her face up again. Not sure if this is just normal sleeping/relaxed stuff though. She also had when she was awake what I thought was a tremor in her paw but it was out of the corner of my eye so I'm not 100% sure. I'm just so stressed out between her issues and now the diarrhea problems. It's certainly turning into a sad Christmas season.

 

[worriedsomuch]

Well just when I thought it was safe to say Grace was doing really well, something happens. Grace was having a really good stretch again, straight head, no tics or tremors, and I was glad because her two "sisters" have me on edge with their diarrhea. Anyway, early this morning she had a very odd episode. I wasn't sleeping so well worrying about my other two and their problems, when I was awakened by a licking noise. I look down and I see that Grace is licking the bottom of her food bowl which I left out after giving her a bit of dry food last night. I didn't think too much of it since she's done it before and I figured she was hungry given that it was 6AM and during the week, when I work, she eats at that time. However, then after licking the bowl, she kept smacking her lips and shaking her head looking extremely bothered. I immediately jumped up and followed her. She went under the Christmas tree and began pawing her mouth. My heart sank and I thought, oh God she ate something bad. She then began to furiously groom her front paws, like not the normal grooming, it was very rough. Then she licked the base of her tail and left spit on it, she was so rough. There was no drool coming out of her mouth that I saw so I started to think, is this like an episode of FHS? I'm hoping some members such as @Ritz or @GoHolistic can respond because I know they have cats with it. Then it was so odd, she began looking at the tree skirt as if she was hallucinating and seeing something there. Mind you, she was coherent, when I talked to her she acknowledged me and her eye size was normal. Then she sat down on the tree skirt, flickered her ears rapidly and shook out her head a bunch of times. She also blinked her eyes 3 times very hard (not like the tics, but stronger). I'm not sure if this was voluntary but it did look voluntary not like she couldn't control it. Also, all the while, she was still smacking her lips a lot. I just am at a loss as to what this was. It lasted probably 2-3 minutes tops. She then came to cuddle with me and I petted her and she was fine. She also came back to bed with me and peacefully went to sleep. I hope this wasn't a form of a seizure. She seems okay now and she ate well this morning too, very hungry. I just can't take much more of this. I feel like all my cats will be gone by Christmas. Sorry to be overdramatic but I am really struggling here.

 

[goholistic]

It's really hard to say. This could have just been a one-time thing. Boo gets FHS episodes multiple times a day. He does not smack his lips or blink his eyes hard. He mainly gets the "back rolling" and twitching of his back and flank area. He'll start licking his flank frantically and start running around as if to get away from it. I know it bothers him and sometimes even me calling him and trying to distract him doesn't work.

Nobody really knows what truly causes FHS. When I was researching, the "causes" were all over the place - anywhere from a neurological issue to allergies to dental pain! Many people try to address the allergy component first (food, fleas, contact allergy). I know Grace is having issues with an ongoing ear infection and possibly some allergies. I'm trying to put Boo on a hypoallergenic diet to see if it helps with a few of his issues. The vet wants me to give it 2-3 months and see if there is any improvement in some of the symptoms he's been displaying. Then we can reevaluate.

 

[worriedsomuch]

Thanks for responding. How is Boo doing with his tics? I'm just at a loss as of what this was. It could be a one off, as in it will never happen again but I don't know. Perhaps she had a crumb from her cat food at the bottom of the dish stuck in her mouth and it triggered her to go into a frenzy. I didn't want to discuss this yet with they vet as I already have been calling steadily due to the diarrhea issues with the other two. It'd odd because my eldest cat is going to turn 10 in a couple of months and on Halloween, she also was licking her lips a lot and pawing her face. I know this also can be a sign of nausea. She had thrown up a rather large hairball early in the day so I think that contributed. Her teeth looked okay and she's fine now. I haven't seen it again. I'd hate to think Grace is nauseous. I know cats can get nauseous sometimes if they don't eat on time. However, my cat that passed in July from probable intestinal lymphoma exhibited morning nausea which I contributed to his need to eat. He would always be fine after he ate.I think this was the beginning of his issues. I now wish I had delved into his issues sooner

I did watch a vid on Youtube  here and saw a cat with FHS doing the whole head shake/ ear flicker thing as well as appearing to see things on the floor. I think the cat was even smacking its lips at one point. Some of it was similar to Grace. I kind of doubt that this was in relation to her allergies. I'm really unsure as to what this was. The lip smacking and blinking have me so upset. She's been fine otherwise now aside from grooming fiercely again for a moment earlier. I guess all I can do is keep a watch on it. I have to take my cat in to the vet Monday most likely so I will bring it up to him and see what he says.

 

[goholistic]

 
How is Boo doing with his tics?

Well, actually, I haven't noticed them as much, lately. However, I'm back at work and really only have weekends to observe closely. I did see him have the increased respiratory rate thing yesterday, but there weren't many (if any) facial tics with it like there usually are. 

If Grace is eating, then I doubt she's nauseous. Like us, eating is the last thing they want to do when they are nauseous, along with grooming. My cat Caesar will paw at his mouth when his chin acne is itchy. Boo's FHS is very similar to that in the video, except he doesn't get the floor-biting/hallucination thing. He'll also dart off into another room because he's bothered by it.

 

[sarah ann]

Take a deep breath and calm down. I really doubt your cat has anything wrong other than a few allergies.  You are going to stress yourself out with constant worrying.

I have a cat with severe allergies. He gets ear infections. So did my dog who had allergies.

Ear infections are common with allergies and generally respond well to ear drops. I've never needed to give oral antibiotics for ear infections, but you may need them with a deeper infection.  Ear cleaning and antibiotic drops will help clear it up, as will figuring out what your cat is allergic too.

Head tilting is normal with painful ears. I've never noticed my cat twitching but the ear drops do make him itchy!  Head tilting is also normal. I have one cat who has learned to tilt his head as it makes him look more adorable and he gets attention. (Remember the movie bolt?). So if you rush over to the cat and give it attention for tilting it's head... You are teaching the cat to do that! My dog also tilted his head when he heard something he was curious about- he did it since he was a puppy.

As for the allergies:

My cat gets antihistamines. These are tricky as some work better than others. The vet should be able to give you a list. 2 weeks for each one, and monitor how much the cat is scratching. After that you pick the one that works the best without side effects.  Allergy meds do cause sedation, they do cause enlarged pupils, and they do make your cat sleepy. So you want one that causes the least amount of side effects and to use the lowest possible dose.  I often experiment by taking them myself before giving them to my cat and I always start at 1/2 the recommended dose (for my cat).

A limited ingredient diet is also worth trying. As is extreme house cleaning- vacuum once per week, dust, and wash all bedding, blankets, pet beds etc.  Dust mites are a common allergy so you may need to buy dust mite covers for your pet beds (they sell them as pillow covers for people) but they work on pet beds too.

The ear infections will return until you find a way to get his allergies under control.

One other thing I will mention is if he coughs, or vomits a lot, or coughs like he has a hairball (without producing a hairball) it could be feline asthma. I also have a cat with asthma. She has done great without medications, as long as I keep the house cleaned and vacuumed.

Do not panic if the ear infections return. It will take time to determine what your cat is allergic too.  Of all health problems I would rather deal with allergies than anything else. They are annoying as you generally end up with a few ear infections a year, but it is something you can learn to control.

Allergy shots are a consideration if house cleaning, special diets, and antihistamines or prednisolone doesn't work.

I was tested for allergies and I am allergic to dust mites.  My entire family has allergies. My mom is allergic to cats.

As for diarrhea, food allergies/intolerance can cause that.

Sorry- I just noticed your cat is a girl. Guess that is what happens with insomnia!

Take care, and please try not to stress so much. Not everything is life threatening.

One other thing... Jerking the feet and twitching is normal when sleeping. So are jerks when falling asleep.

It sounds like your cats are very well taken care of. Are you generally an anxious person? You may need something to help with that.

 

[worriedsomuch]

 
Well, actually, I haven't noticed them as much, lately. However, I'm back at work and really only have weekends to observe closely. I did see him have the increased respiratory rate thing yesterday, but there weren't many (if any) facial tics with it like there usually are. 

If Grace is eating, then I doubt she's nauseous. Like us, eating is the last thing they want to do when they are nauseous, along with grooming. My cat Caesar will paw at his mouth when his chin acne is itchy. Boo's FHS is very similar to that in the video, except he doesn't get the floor-biting/hallucination thing. He'll also dart off into another room because he's bothered by it.

I'm glad that Boo is doing better. Grace's tics returned on Sunday night again. *Sigh* She had some fairly strong ones while purring as they really got her facial whiskers near her mouth going. Then she had just one yesterday. I notice these tend to be a precursor to when her ears are going to start bothering her so hopefully this isn't the case. She hasn't done any of the weird lip smacking thing which is good.

 
It sounds like your cats are very well taken care of. Are you generally an anxious person? You may need something to help with that.

First, thanks so much for the reply and all the info. I am working with the vet to figure out how best to deal with Grace's allergies. It's helpful to know someone else has a cat with these types of issues. I, too, have a cat with Asthma. It's actually Grace's sister, Delilah. Also, yes I am a very anxious person unfortunately. I've been a nervous wreck lately, especially since losing my cat in July and then worrying about my other 5 to varying degrees.