My cat had seizures, and is now very uncoordinated and unbalanced. We took her to a vet but cannot afford blood work and other tests. Help please!

[athlyt17]

Yesterday morning around 5 am, I went upstairs to get some sleep. My kitty was sitting up on the landing where she usually does. I went to pick her up, and as I did, i picked her up from here belly along with back hip support but something happened. She flipped out and kind of rolled in my arms, trying to jump out. I don't know what set her off, maybe I accidentally did something when picking her up. She jumped out of my arms and landing on the ground, but not on her feet.

Then she looked really scared and started what looked like a seizure. Her paws went far out in front of her, she was backing up (into a wall), and her neck was twisting back and forth with her chin to the ground.

After, she seemed totally out of it, almost like she had no idea where she was or what was around her. She then went to my room and hid. I sat next to her worried, comforting her. For about five minutes she still seemed disoriented and then she walked into my closet looking scared again.

Another seizure. I tried to comfort her as much as I could. I pet her gently and noticed that she had been losing a significant amount of weight, and was very bony. She had been losing weight over the last couple weeks, but it was never THIS bad. We have accessible food & water all the time for our cats.

We took her to a vet as soon as we could. However our vet didn't have a doctor in, they sent us to another place. We brought her in asap. After a few minutes a lady came out and talked to us about prices for exams/tests, and they were incredibly steep. Currently unemployed, our household has no money to pay those kind of prices.

The vet did however simply look at the cat and said it might be neurological. She said that blood work and urine tests could help us find out what it is. They also sent us somewhere else where prices may be cheaper.

[Dean Vicksman, D.V.M.]

Thanks for coming to Medhelp for advice, it is obvious that you care for your kitty a lot.  Unfortunately this is a very difficult case to solve with out diagnostics tests like blood and urine.  Because you have noticed significant weight loss I am fairly confident that the initial blood and urine tests will help to narrow down the causes.  Many communities have subsidized veterinary clinics that can examine your pet.  Many of these hospitals and clinics are Non-Profits and handle cases just like this.  Also many of these hospitals work on a sliding scale based upon income.  If you live in a small community it may be hard to find.  Most large metropolitan areas have such hospitals.  So my advice would be to search for one in your community. I think they will be able to help you.
Thanks,
Dr Vicksman

[athlyt17]

Later on, she would be laying on her stomach, and then out of nowhere, flip over once or twice, like she didn't know which was was up.

This doctor also recommended blood work, and If we had money to pay for it, we would have done it. They then recommended a simple 'Shotgun' antibiotic approach. They gave us Amoxicillin as well as Clindamycin Hydrochlorida to give to her every twelve hours.

She has not been seizing anymore, but seems quite unbalanced and disoriented. She tends to lay up against walls, I'm guessing because they provide her support.
Please help by sharing any ideas you may have of what it may be, comments, suggestions, and insight.

I would also like to ask that your prayers be with us.

[athlyt17]

We have tried looking for these places but came up with nothing.

We live in a rather large community and have called numerous places.

Maybe you could help me find a place around the Vancouver, WA area?

[Dean Vicksman, D.V.M.]

I would contact the The Humane Society for Southwest Washington ( 360-693-4746) or The Washington State Veterinary Medical Society( 425-396-3191) and see if they can give you the name of a referral.  They will not be able to see your pet but probably would be familiar with subsidized veterinary care in your community or state.
Hope this helps,
Dr Vicksman