Loss of balance

[Mike]

I have a nine year old cat that has
suddenly started to lose his balance, mostly when turning
or stretching out. He falls over and seems weak but his
mental state is completely normal and he eats well.
My vet is totally mystified- has done all tests but can find
nothing wrong. Neurologist mystified also !
I,m very worried. Has anyone experienced anything
similar and had a diagnosis ? Or does anyone have
an idea what is wrong? Help !

[Traci]

Could be a form of neuropathy...what tests did the vet run? Is kitty's liver and kidney function fine, as determined by full bloodwork results? Was urine and blood glucose checked to rule out diabetes? Was heart function/hypertension checked with xray, ECG and blood pressure check? Was a thyroid panel done? Were xrays or an ultrasound offered to you to check for masses? Were seizure activity ruled out? Was an immunological profile done? (needs to be sent to an outside lab, this checks for anemia, coombs, blood-borne tick/parasites, salmonella, toxoplasmosis, etc). Did your vet test for FELV/FIV? Any chance kitty suffered a blunt trauma?

If none of these tests were done, seek a new, more experienced, feline-only vet or an emergency vet right away!

[Mike]

Could be a form of neuropathy...what tests did the vet run? Is kitty's liver and kidney function fine, as determined by full bloodwork results? Was urine and blood glucose checked to rule out diabetes? Was heart function/hypertension checked with xray, ECG and blood pressure check? Was a thyroid panel done? Were xrays or an ultrasound offered to you to check for masses? Were seizure activity ruled out? Was an immunological profile done? (needs to be sent to an outside lab, this checks for anemia, coombs, blood-borne tick/parasites, salmonella, toxoplasmosis, etc). Did your vet test for FELV/FIV? Any chance kitty suffered a blunt trauma?

If none of these tests were done, seek a new, more experienced, feline-only vet or an emergency vet right away!

Thanks Traci ! The vet did a thorough exam but found nothing.
Cat is scheduled to have blood tests etc done this week followed
by a referral if necessary (I live in a very rural area) .
However to my great relief the cat appears to have recovered
and is now back to normal. Will see what the vet has to say
now. Cannot afford expensive tests if the cat is well so
will have to wait and see how he does over next few weeks.
If there,s another episode I,ll ensure all the tests you suggested
are done. Its a mystery !
All the best,
Mike

[Traci]

If he's allowed outdoors, you have a problem..there are numerous dangers letting a cat outdoors, toxicity is just one of those dangers. So, Indoors ONLY!

You don't know if this is resolved (chances are it isn't), if it was a toxin of sorts, or a seizure event, etc, it could occur again, don't take chances with your kitty's health, he needs a complete exam and bloodwork to rule out problems that may occur again. Loss of balance and falling over are not normal and need to be investigated in order to prevent it from happening again. Besides that, any cat over the age of 7 needs a yearly exam and full bloodwork to detect common illnesses early on in order to treat most effectively.

[jdf]

Also ask your vet about Vestibular Disease... it's a balance problem usually related to the inner ear and is episodic, ie. it comes and goes much like a seizure. It can sometimes be misdiagnosed as Epilepsy ( this happened with our dog Roxy - she was originally diagnosed with epilepsy but in fact had Vestibular Disease related to thyroid ). Here's a link to some info on Vestibular problems in dogs and cats>>>

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_ve ... sease.html