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Avatar universal

help! my cat is listing to the right

my cat evinrude (rudy) is 6 yrs old and has a history of allergy problems. he breathes through his mouth whenever it is real hot out. He is healthy otherwise until 3 days ago. He's been trying to walk and falling towards the right. he walks very slow aand stomps as if trying to keep his footing.seems tired and lays down alot. his appitite is great still. he used to bring me 2 mice a night and hasnt brought any in a week. i dont think he is agile enough to hunt. we went to the vet yesterday and she did a real good exam. she checked his eyes,  ears,reflexes and for tumors in liver etc. she also ran bloodwork ...cbc,metabolic,thyroid,diebetis, and 2 kinds of viruses (weve has a stray around). Everything is normal...except for rudy. the vet seems to think he pulled or strained something but it jsut seems like more than that to me. why is he so tired or weak? could worms do this? a stroke? there are no poisons to get into around here. i feel so bad for him, hes so quiet and sleeps alot.He tries to get outside constantly,sick or not. The vet wants me to keep him in and rested for 2 weeks! please help with my baby !p.s.  my lab keeps snffing the cat like he knows that something is wrong....pushing his nose into him, ususally he ignores the cat.  thanks, shawna
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436973 tn?1217947089
I agree with your vet keep him in.

Is it really hot where you are.. is heat stroke a possibilty?
Did the vet check for signs of head trauma/concussion?

good luck!
Helpful - 0
611067 tn?1458591483
Does your vet test the blood in her office?  I have been told that for thyroid results and some other things it takes a couple days for them to get those results because they have to check the blood every day for a couple days.  That's why it took a couple days to give me Daisy's blood results when we had hers done.  I'm not questioning your vet really, but I am concerned that they were able to give you results so quickly.  Are you comfortable with your vet?  If so, then I'm sure everything is fine, but if you're not sure - perhaps get a second opinion.  Of course, that's if he's not improving.  

How is he now?  Good luck!
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Avatar universal
Thanks for your advice. The vet checked how the cats eyes tracked and dialated in the light and dark. I dont think heat stroke is possible, its not that hot here in western new york. Rudy spends the days inside and the nights outside because of his allergies (and he's nocturnal)). Now he is inside all of the time and spends most of the day downstairs in the basement in my daughters bed...its cooler down there and he breathes better. He drank about 2 ounces of tuna water today plus ate a bit of dry and wet food. Now he wont eat out of a bowl, not even a shallow one, so i fed him on a plate and he was ok with it?! im giving him his fluids in a coffee lid because its shallow. maybe hes afraid of falling in if its deep and hes off balance. wierd. he is still very weak and off balance and not cleaning himself well as of yesterday. he seems too tired. i talked to the vet again and she thinks hes hydrating so  we should wait it out unless he gets weaker....then she'll hydrate him. i still wonder if it is worms......or constipation maybe? im so worried and i spent all night on sites for cats looking for possible answers. rudy is usually bright eyed and a terror...my vet does not know his "normal" personality so she can't see how far he has slid downhill. i love my vets. They got me through a puppy with encephilitis and a 10 year old cat with liver cancer. They are wonderful and attentive and on the ball. They are so confused that Rudys tests are all perfect, yet he is not. I don't think worming him would hurt him. im trying a little benesure in his next tuna water since i havent seen a bowl movement in the 2 days hes been in. hes not eatting much either so it could be nothing. im running on and on and i apologise. I have 2 cats and 2 dogs. I have been disabled for the past 5 years (back surgery and fibromyalgia) and my pets are my constant companions. All my pets are 6-10 years old and its hard to pay vet bills for animals i got when i was well and married....im paying payments. I could'nt bare to lose any of my babies. They are all equally as precious to me. I used to complain when Rudy brought me his "presents" in the catdoor at night....now i wish he was well enough to keep we up all night again.thanks again, and if anyone has any suggestions...please?  shawna.
Helpful - 0
611067 tn?1458591483
If you're happy with your vet and they are good then I would just keep nurturing him and love him.  As long as he is eating and drinking he should be fine.  I think the benesure would be great too.  If he hasn't had a bowl movement you could try dulcolax.  My vet allowed me to use that on one of my cats and then when we realized he had constipation issues he was switched to metamucil in his food.  But, you have to make sure he is drinking if you do that.  I would always run what you want to try past the vet - even if just via a phone call.  

You know your babies and you'll do the right thing for them.  Your instincts will kick in - somehow we know when there's something wrong with them.  

Sometimes, bloodwork will not show everything up front and so keep an eye on him and if necessary have bloodwork done again in a couple months.  Good luck!  My prayers are with you and your baby!

Hugs,
Janet
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
bloodwork was done in house and done in 3 hrs. i used to be a phlebotomist and we ran thyroid profiles(T3,T4,Free T4) inhouse within an hour of drawing a persons blood. no matter how many times you run the same blood you will get the same result on the same test.....different blood weeks later may show a different result. so im not sure what they were doing with your test. sometimes if a lab sends tests out the other lab only runs certain tests on... say mon, wed, fri. because they wait  to run the bloodtesting machine once with as many samples as possible. different machines run different tests. it is cheaper to run them in bulk.  That way your test would not be done until they run all thyroids, maybe 2 days from now.
i will call my vet before trying the benesure. i hope something works... at least a little... soon so that i know he is going to make it. im just so afraid he is suffering and i am clueless. That happened with my Maine Coon.  I took him to a bad vet who said he had a respitory infection and after a week of forcing antibiotic pills in him i took him to my New and great vet. She felt his stomach and said he had a huge tumor and i had to euthanize him because he was too far gone. I felt horrible for putting my poor cat through a week of pain. That was worse than losing him.   I wish they could talk!

Rudy just ate 2 tablespoons of tuna and some dry food!  i hope this is a good sign. Thanks for listening.   shawna
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Just talked to the vet. now they are going to treat him for possible toxiplasmosis(sp). i have to go pick it up. I hope it helps..hes losing his balance terribly. i guess they are going to worm him also. his poor tummy!  
Helpful - 0
611067 tn?1458591483
Good luck hun!  I hope everything works out for your furr baby!  Lots of hugs and prayers sent your way!  

~~Janet
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Get this;   My vet is 40 min away so i asked if i could pick up the antibiotic (Clyndimyacin) from my vet in town instead of driving an hour and 20 min with a bad back to get meds. Vet said sure, as long as it was alright with my local (very small town vet). Our small town vet is only open tues, thurs and fri from 7pm -9pm!  Local vet knew i take my cat to other vet because of hours and its an actual hospital. Local vet still does all my vacinations (for much less). Sooooo, local vet says he can give me meds but must see cat, will see cat for FREE. Local vet sees Rudy and says...he has a deep inner-ear infection. He put him on Orbax. I wasn't sure what to do, but decided it can't hurt. He had one dose at 730 last night and one dose at 6am.
I think he is coming around!!!   He was up and walking all over the house this morning trying to get outside (not happening) and he is walking without falling down! Granted, hes still very wobbly and he is tired fast. But his eyes were actually wide open instead of half closed. He is asleep again, I think his little spurt exhausted him. Im hopeful. I hope my other vet isnt mad. Its very hard to choose sides when its my baby. I look at it as a second medical opinion. The local vet is never thurough in his exams (bloodtests etc.) so i don;t see him for illnesses. Oh im so confused!     Im glad i have somewhere to vent all of this even though i don't know anyone yet. I hope i am not intruding by continuing to write. I just feel so alone. im home on disability,  (have been for almost 5 years) and don't have many people to talk to. I think im driving my teenage girls nuts. They arent around much cus its SUMMER, Well thanx for whoever is listening.  shawna
Helpful - 0
506791 tn?1439842983
Good evening Shawna;

I think these forums are as much for some human contact as they are for getting ideas for helping our little furry friends.

Plus, I can sympathize with you some, my wife has been off work due to service connected disability for almost 11 years.  Until fairly recently, she only left the house on her own for her doctor's appointments, sometimes wouldn't even go to the curb and retrieve the mail, a walk of 50' from the front door.  It feels lonely, and can snowball into purposeful isolation at times.

She did (and does) come with me to a home brewers' club and dinner club to which we belong; once a month each club.

Luckily, she's been getting involved with both an advisory council for women's issues at the Veterans' center and learning to re-socialize dogs so they can be readopted.

Is there volunteer work you can do, which would not be too much of a strain on your personal resources?  Even spending an hour or so a week sharing yourself with others will help.

There is a verse from an old "Viking" age poem I like, called the Havamal.  It is like a collection of advice from one's elders.  This is my interpretation from the several translations I have of the "Poetic Edda," the book in which this poem appears.

The lame of leg can ride a horse;
And the handless one drive cattle;
The weak of back can sing a song;
Deaf men may succeed at battle;

And blindness, too, is better than
Being burnt upon a pyre;
Only a corpse, is help to none
Who would sit by clan's hearthfire

My ancestors were a conservative people in the way that I am conservative; people are our most important resource and everyone can have a place in building and maintaining the community.

BTW, I too had trouble walking last time I had an ear infection.  Hope Rudy is feeling even better than your last post suggested.

take care - Pip
Helpful - 0
436973 tn?1217947089
  glad to hear he is doing better.  I don't think you need to feel at all guilty about seeing a different vet.   Whatever it takes to keep the little ones healthy!  and any good vet would agree.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thanks to everyone for their support with Rudy. It has been 6 days since i started the Orbax ofr what was finally diagnosed as an ear infection. Rudy is up and around and almost his old self. He still has 8 more days of meds left and ill keep giving it to him. Its so nice to see him playing. i came out of the bedroom this morning to find him walking the stair railing like a balance beam. i took him down and told him to knock off the showwing off, he's got a ways to go....i swear they are like kids. it was like he was testing himself! lol.    the strange thing is....Since he got sick, he will only eat off of a plate(no bowl) and he is still doing that. wierd huh.     sp
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