12 yr old cat with weak limbs and dialated pupils

[rlb123]

I have a 12 yr old cat that has displayed issues with her fore limbs, temors, and  decreased appetite. She also has dialated pupils that are not reactive to light. I took her to a emergency vet hosp. Tuesday night. They drew a CBC, chem panel, and tapped her for a urininalysis. All of her labs were normal. They felt that she may have injured her fore limbs in a jump, etc. They gave her Meloxicam by injection and I gave her three more doses by mouth. She did not have the dialated pupils or tremors when I took her Tuesday. She did show minor improvement Thursday and Friday, but seems to be as bad if not worse now. She has spent the greater part of her day with her head under my daughter's bed over the last two days. I am concerned that she has a neurological issue. I would like to know if you have a recommendation. I hate to think that she is suffering.

[Jade59]

Your story sounds very close to what happened with our first cat.  She came home one day dragging her left back leg like she was paralyzed.  We took her to the er, but they just treated the wound on her tummy.  We thought she fell out of a tree at first.  When we got home with her, she just went downhill fast.  She somehow managed to get a brain injury.  Pupils dialated and contrated which the vet called the "wow wow" syndrome.  She too, was given steroids, but it was only a temporary fix.  We believe she was having small seizures for years because she would come in from outside twice with her pupils fixed and dialated.  We think she may have had an "episode" while in a tree and fell possibly causing the brain injury.  We never knew for sure what happened, but think it may have all started when she was a kitten.  I watched a neighbor boy kick her in the head and this may have caused some damage we weren't aware of.  

[rlb123]

She seems to be a little better, but I think it is temporary. She is still very unstable on her feet. I just wish I knew what caused this to start with.

[zodiacqueen]

Thanks for the update, and I hope that she's feeling better soon!  That's good news that her blood work is normal.

Best of luck!  If you need any more advice, opinions, etc., please write back!

[rlb123]

We took her to an internist today. She has no evidence of a tumor or any metabolic issues. We think there is something neurological going on. They gave her some steriods today! We are in a holding pattern right now.

[Jade59]

Our last cat had dilated pupils occasionally also.  We think she may have been having some sort of seizures.  

[zodiacqueen]

It really suckss when they start getting older!  I also have a kitty that's up there-she's 16.  I'm a lunatic watching over how much she eats, and what's going on in the litter box.  My vet recommends these tests for cats that are over 7 yrs old-thyroid, diabetes, kidney and liver panels (the chem panel).  You are very lucky that the chem panel was nomal-that is AWESOME.  The kidneys are usually the number 1 cause of death in cats.  You should be very very happy about that.  Hyperactive thyroid and diabetes can cause tremors.  I seriously doubt that the emergency vet checked for that.  They were looking at her liver and kidney function and were checking for high WBC (white blood cell count) to look for infection.  

Please, ask your vet to check for thyroid issues and to check for diabetes!  What has her litter box habits been like and how has her appetite been?