Our BlogBehind the Scenes, Cat News, Product Reviews & More!
|
|
Our BlogBehind the Scenes, Cat News, Product Reviews & More!
|
|
I had another awful evening with Benny last night. I really thought he was going to be ok, because I didn't allow him to play with his sister, Gracie, in a couple of days. I thought his issues were caused by over stimulation. Yesterday proved my theory wrong. Benny spent most of day following us around, playing with an occasional toy, and curling up in cozy spots. I had been using some cat aromatherapy herbal sprays called Hydrosols. They are basically herbs diffused in water, which are safe for cats, unlike their cousin, essential oils, which can be highly toxic to their sensitive systems. Benny was by all means normal at this point. Just after 4pm, he wandered into my study. He was walking a little stiff, and his gaze was a little fixed. He walked around, batting at a few toys, but as it went on, his gaze got more fixed and he started going after my legs. I followed him out of the room with my video recorder on, and he made aggressive looks at my other two cats, which he never does. He went after Angie's tail while she ate, and she was so surprised that she had an asthma attack. She's fine, but she has a hard time with being startled. After that, I put him in the bedroom for a little cool down time of his own. He normally recovers from these odd episodes on his own. My fiance got back just after 5pm, and I let Benny out of the bedroom. He came out a minute later, staggering and he was drooling. I knew what that meant- seizure. We got him isolated in the bathroom and watched him closely. This episode was different from the last. There was a few small jerks but no actual convulsion or marked fainting. He was breathing hard, drooling a lot, and he was having a hard time standing. He was tilted a little and he would occasionally press his head against something. By this time, I really believe he was blind and possibly even deaf. We put him into a carrier and continued to monitor him carefully. His drool turned into a lot of heavy clear mucus. He was trying so hard to stand but gave up. I assume he was paralyzed for a time, this happens with every seizure to date. He laid down and was comforted by my fiance gently stroking his head. The only good news is that although his episodes/seizures have become more frequent, they are less severe and he's recovering quicker. He was down from about 5:15-7pm, which is still too long. For a typical cat seizure, they are seizing less than 5 minutes total. The actual recovery time can vary, from moments, to hours and even days in rare cases. I was very happy, but definitely puzzled, when we let him out of the cage at 9pm, he was completely normal again. He tried wrestling with Gracie soon after, and yeah, right! Wrong! The only odd behavior he had was searching around the house excitedly for something. I have no idea what it could have been. He has piles of "buried" toys, including many cat toy prototypes he's stolen from me. (this is why I haven't been able to get any new toys listed in awhile!) This afternoon he was playing with his puzzle box and it really got me thinking. Its a wooden box with 9 small holes where you can stuff a variety of toys for them to bat around and take out. Benny's really good at it. He has very precise movements and can grab a toy out like nothing. He does this today, after another seizure. I really feel this revelation is key, because his ability to navigate this box would mean normal neurological function and motor skills. Right? He has no damage to speak of from any of the seizures or episodes. He has no decline in his health, that I can tell. He eats, drinks and plays like a normal cat, before and after seizures. I did a lot of research and talking to different people online about his story. People suggested heart problems, liver problems, poisoning by my houseplants, parasites, bacteria and fungus. I can narrow the list down this way: - Heart problems possibly, but his gums and tongue are very normal, his skin has level temperature (meaning no hot and cold zones, which could be a sign of clotting or improper blood flow), no vomiting and no fever. I have no way of measuring his heart rate currently, which may be the only way of diagnosing this - Liver problems, probably not because he is not jaundiced, no fever, vomiting, eating and eliminating normally (that I'm aware of), and his blood tests came back normal. Its possible there may be a spike going on when this happens, but I would assume there would be something abnormal in the tests presently. We'll see. - Houseplants, no. I have two small lilies, which are known to be poisonous to cats. I know this, and I keep them where the cats normally are not. I tend to them all the time, so I would be aware of any damage to the leaves. They aren't able to lick any water from the plant, because the water is housed within the pot and not in a saucer. They have always ignored my plants, in part because I keep grass & catnip plants for them on the floor, and I monitor my pets. If there was a danger, I would have removed them immediately. But still, if something like this was going on, there would always be symptoms, and he would be vomiting. - Parasites, Bacteria & Fungus. Still a possibility, but many can be ruled out if they're contagious because my other cats are fine. He has no lesions that I can see, meaning the chance of a fungus problem is low. Fungal infections can occur with exposure to birds, rodents and rotting garbage. Benny was a stray the shelter picked up, so its a possibility. Any of the three might have a long incubation period, so he would have more than likely been fine for the month he was at the shelter. Its odd that it started just shy of two weeks into his new home, it hopefully is just an unfortunate coincidence. I researched Ataxia, which is sensory dysfunction, and he has many of its symptoms. I also read about Staggering Disease, which is a non treatable progressive disease. The latter I'm not so sure about, since he has no decline in his health, fortunately. I will be calling the vet first thing in the morning and see if they have any more ideas to help Benny. Until then, I will be thinking and researching hard! If you have any ideas or suggestions, please feel free to comment or send me a note at [email protected]. We all cannot wait to get a diagnosis and treatment going. His poor buddy, Gracie, misses wrestling with her cool brother!
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |