Help 4 month Kitten won't walk
Help 4 month Kitten won't walk
First off this is a wonderful website. Second I need some advice. I understand you cannot DX over the website but has anyone had this problem. I got a 4 month old kitten from a shelter. They said the only problem she had was they we're giving her lysime for a draining eye. 24 hour later she is laying there and won't stand. No tramua/Falling. But she won't walk. She kicks, tail moves. Eats, drinks, but will not walk. I took her to the vet who did a Ultrasound/Lab and had three other vets also look at her. They said they would not do a x-ray because she did have a high White Blood Count (40,000). They kept her over night and said the only thing it possibly might be is Toxicosiosis (I know I am probley spelling wrong). The put her on Gentamycin and Doxcycline. They sent her home friday with the weekend coming up. Its Sunday night and no change either way. she is very very sweet. Eye is still draining. No standing up on back legs. I'm loss now what next. Or even what it can be because the Vets said their not sure. Anyone have the same problem? Thanks.
Re: Help 4 month Kitten won't walk
PS forgot to include Leukemia panel was negative
Re: Help 4 month Kitten won't walk
Get her to another vet, preferably a feline-only vet or specialist. Whenever lameness is present, you absolutely must check/test for viral disease.
Call or have your vet call the shelter and ask what else was going on, ask if they had an outbreak of upper respiratory infections going on, or any other viral disease affecting the cats. It doesn't make much sense that she had a "mild" URI, yet took a drastic turn a day later, the shelter probably knows more than what they're saying. This isn't meant to scare you, but they are obligated to state if they had any infectious disease present in any of their kittens or cats.
When you get kitten to a new vet (TOMORROW!), ask them to check/test for calicivirus (including the virulent form) - find out from the shelter what type of environment she came from, were ticks, fleas a problem - if so, test for mycoplasma/hemobartonellosis/tick disease and/or full immunological profile (sent to an outside lab) - did the vets detect if kitten had/has a fever? Is she vomiting? Diarrhea?
Did the ultrasound reveal anything unusual? Was liver shunting ruled out?
If the shelter has for example, knowledge of, or cases of, distemper, and if kitten possibly survived a distemper infection, she could be presenting signs of cerebellar hypoplasia (this is usually non-detrimental as long as the distemper was effectively treated, but the symptoms and characteristics can last life-long - the pet usually learns how to compensate for this and any debilitation usually improves with age)
Was there any chance she was injured somehow from the time you acquired her from the shelter to the time in your home? (kids? other pets? falling from a high level?) Was kitten vaccinated right before she was adopted to you? (i.e, vaccine reaction)
Recapping: get her to an experienced vet, feline-only or specialist, RIGHT AWAY, no time to waste here. Opt for a full immunological profile. While rare, some kittens have a thyroid disfunction, get that also ruled out. This is not a simple upper respiratory infection, no lameness should be present. (although you still want to treat a potential URI, as bacterial infection is often present and need to be treated with antibiotics). The URI might be secondary to another health problem. Do not wait, the sooner kitten is seen by a more specialized vet, the sooner she can be properly diagnosed and treated, you don't want this to elevate into a worsening problem.
Call or have your vet call the shelter and ask what else was going on, ask if they had an outbreak of upper respiratory infections going on, or any other viral disease affecting the cats. It doesn't make much sense that she had a "mild" URI, yet took a drastic turn a day later, the shelter probably knows more than what they're saying. This isn't meant to scare you, but they are obligated to state if they had any infectious disease present in any of their kittens or cats.
When you get kitten to a new vet (TOMORROW!), ask them to check/test for calicivirus (including the virulent form) - find out from the shelter what type of environment she came from, were ticks, fleas a problem - if so, test for mycoplasma/hemobartonellosis/tick disease and/or full immunological profile (sent to an outside lab) - did the vets detect if kitten had/has a fever? Is she vomiting? Diarrhea?
Did the ultrasound reveal anything unusual? Was liver shunting ruled out?
If the shelter has for example, knowledge of, or cases of, distemper, and if kitten possibly survived a distemper infection, she could be presenting signs of cerebellar hypoplasia (this is usually non-detrimental as long as the distemper was effectively treated, but the symptoms and characteristics can last life-long - the pet usually learns how to compensate for this and any debilitation usually improves with age)
Was there any chance she was injured somehow from the time you acquired her from the shelter to the time in your home? (kids? other pets? falling from a high level?) Was kitten vaccinated right before she was adopted to you? (i.e, vaccine reaction)
Recapping: get her to an experienced vet, feline-only or specialist, RIGHT AWAY, no time to waste here. Opt for a full immunological profile. While rare, some kittens have a thyroid disfunction, get that also ruled out. This is not a simple upper respiratory infection, no lameness should be present. (although you still want to treat a potential URI, as bacterial infection is often present and need to be treated with antibiotics). The URI might be secondary to another health problem. Do not wait, the sooner kitten is seen by a more specialized vet, the sooner she can be properly diagnosed and treated, you don't want this to elevate into a worsening problem.
..........Traci
Re: Help 4 month Kitten won't walk
Thank you for the quick reply Traci. I will try to find a feline only vet today. No fever, no vomiting, Normal stools, She is drinking alot of water right now. No fall or kids around. She was going in and out of the chairs and couch but on the floor. Ultrasound showed nothing. I asked the SPCA and did not get much of a reply as they have young volunteers there who looked in a book and states she was just getting vitamins for her eyes. She did have ear mites. Liver panel was normal. She was vaccinated and spayed on 12/15/2010. (shows her birth date as 8/2/2010 with FV-CRP SC 10/16/2010, FV-CRP SC 11/18/2010 and FV-CRP MS 12/14/2010. Like I said she kicks, moves her tail. Follows everything, plays on her back. But she will not walk. Thank you again Traci.
Re: Help 4 month Kitten won't walk
PS Thyroid was also normal.
Re: Help 4 month Kitten won't walk
As a side note she also lays in her box and watches the birds and moves her head back and forth as they fly following them. Her eyes also dilate and constrict correctly. I have written down the lab request Traci and will present them. Waiting for Fresno to call back to see if I can bring her there today.
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Re: Help 4 month Kitten won't walk
Good luck and I am glad you came here to ask Traci what to do next. Does she even try to walk and then fall over or does she just lay there unable to move her back legs?
Traci that virulent form of calci is migrating. A cat was diagnosed with it two years ago in Washington State. I know it's in Oregon now although not in an epidemic form (yet)
Traci that virulent form of calci is migrating. A cat was diagnosed with it two years ago in Washington State. I know it's in Oregon now although not in an epidemic form (yet)
Re: Help 4 month Kitten won't walk
She did a crouch type of steps Saturday (about four then fall over on her back). But she will not walk. She eats and drink though. No vomiting. She is sneezing and her left eye is draining. She does have ear mites, but no redness in her ears. She kicks her back legs and moves her tail.
Re: Help 4 month Kitten won't walk
Well so far they do not know what is wrong with her. They are keeping her. No fever, no sores in the mouth or throat. They are running a ton of lab test some they will not get back for awhile. But they want to observe her. Her WBC are still high even after 72 hours of ABT. But they are looking Neuro. And the want to run more x-rays then the other vet wanted to do.
Re: Help 4 month Kitten won't walk
Thankfully you have her at a new vet!
It sounds like they want to run the immunological profile (sent to outside lab), but please make sure that's what they're doing.
Did you also ask your primary vets to call the shelter on your behalf?
Re neurological: there are various things that can cause neurological problems, but this is one reason I suggested the immunological profile, it will help narrow them down. (tick disease etc).
Re liver panel: when there is a liver shunt, sometimes the liver profile doesn't show significance that would show a shunting problem. Two enzymes that should be tested for are bile acids and amonia levels, the latter not always included in a full bloodwork profile.
Re drinking a lot of water: please ask vet to rule out diabetes insipidus. She could be drinking more due to a bacterial infection, or because she's dehydrated, but I assume the vets now are monitoring her hydration status and will give fluids if necessary. Diabetes insipidus can occur in kittens and young adults (and is usually corrective), so it should be ruled out.
As for virals, did they rule out FIP? (while difficult to test for, it should be considered)
Re earmites: is she being treated for earmites? Did any shelter staff or one of the vets flush the ears too rigorously to cause equilibrium problems? Punctured eardrum? Does she have an infection in one or both ears?
Lastly, does she seem painful in the rear legs or spine? Did the initial exam with the new vets include reflex testing? Did she respond to those tests? (i.e., flinching or pulling the legs/toes away when the vet used hemostats between the toes etc)
Hopefully the new vets will get this figured out, in the meantime, please hang in there, don't give up, and post updates when you can.
It sounds like they want to run the immunological profile (sent to outside lab), but please make sure that's what they're doing.
Did you also ask your primary vets to call the shelter on your behalf?
Re neurological: there are various things that can cause neurological problems, but this is one reason I suggested the immunological profile, it will help narrow them down. (tick disease etc).
Re liver panel: when there is a liver shunt, sometimes the liver profile doesn't show significance that would show a shunting problem. Two enzymes that should be tested for are bile acids and amonia levels, the latter not always included in a full bloodwork profile.
Re drinking a lot of water: please ask vet to rule out diabetes insipidus. She could be drinking more due to a bacterial infection, or because she's dehydrated, but I assume the vets now are monitoring her hydration status and will give fluids if necessary. Diabetes insipidus can occur in kittens and young adults (and is usually corrective), so it should be ruled out.
As for virals, did they rule out FIP? (while difficult to test for, it should be considered)
Re earmites: is she being treated for earmites? Did any shelter staff or one of the vets flush the ears too rigorously to cause equilibrium problems? Punctured eardrum? Does she have an infection in one or both ears?
Lastly, does she seem painful in the rear legs or spine? Did the initial exam with the new vets include reflex testing? Did she respond to those tests? (i.e., flinching or pulling the legs/toes away when the vet used hemostats between the toes etc)
Hopefully the new vets will get this figured out, in the meantime, please hang in there, don't give up, and post updates when you can.
..........Traci