Sunday, July 8, 2007

Sideways kitty

I had absolutely no idea, when I began posting in July 2005 about my cat Pearl's attack of feline vestibular syndrome, that my little blog would turn into a (highly unofficial) FVS site. But somehow, through the magic of Google, people looking up the disorder on the Internet -- or even plugging in the symptoms list, apparently -- wind up here. I'm thankful, of course, for any good this has done for cat owners confronted with a tilty-headed, disoriented puss with eyes darting alarmingly back and forth. I know from experience how frightening it is to see one's cat in this condition.

The update on Pearl is that alas, her head is still tilted some of the time, which means she is still in the grip of the disorder to some extent. From what our vet told us and from what I've read, that puts her in the minority. Apparently, most cats go through an "acute" phase of two or three days, then slowly get back to normal after two or three weeks. Happily, the problem hasn't slowed Pearl down much. She's back to jumping to the top of the seven-foot pine cupboard in the dining room (using a side table nearby as a springboard) in order to nap in one of the big baskets on top of it. Our vet told us that cats are very adaptable and learn to cope. Well, I guess!

More interesting is the question of why so many cats seem to have been struck with FVS during a period that's been marked by violent weather of every sort. Many of the cat owners who left comments on the blog have said that their animals came down with FVS after a severe thunderstorm, a hurricane, a tornado watch and so on. Of course, it's impossible to say whether there are more FVS attacks now, or if I'm just more aware of it because of the activity on the blog. But I can't help but wonder if our cats are like the canaries in the coal mine, reacting like an advance warning to some kind of seismic change in the global weather patterns.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Jackie, are you in NY? Who is your vet. My cat was stricken with a similar problem last week after having 5 teeth extracted. I could sure use a second opinion and your vet sounds compassionate and knowledgeable. Thanks for your posts, they are very enlightenging.

Jacqueline Damian said...

Carole, if you are still there... No, we are not in NY, we are in Milford, PA. I'm sorry I've been ignoring this site and missed your comment. I hope your cat is OK by now.

Unknown said...

Jackie, just saw this site in my list of favorites. Thanks for your late response. My cat recovered quickly with prednisolone ointment applied to his earlobe twice a day. Tigger is great. I hope your cat is well too.
-Carole

vinerunfarm said...

Jackie, I wonder if you might take a call from me as I have been to the ER and now my reg. vet is closed. Ella sounds the same as your pearl but I would like to tell you how this started and what the ER Doc said. We are home and the symptoms have changed. Her expression/eyes look much the same as Pearls. My email is vinerunfarm1@msn.com. I do not have $500 as I just got Ella in Feb. after I lost my last cat to a rare problem and it cost me $1500.00 of which I still owe 200.
Thanks for your help,
Cindi Stewart

Unknown said...

Your blog saved me from the most awful, gut wrenching panic. My baby, Miss Kitta just came down with this 2 days ago. Ironically, I am just over the NJ border from you in Wantage. Our vet put Miss Kitta on antibiotics and she has already improved. I cannot thank you enough. Your story quieted my panic enough to drive calmly to the vet for Miss Kitta to be checked out. Thank you!!

Unknown said...

My cat, Snarky, (he was 3 at the time) began to have problems two years ago with the head tilt and falling over. He would have these "episodes" for about an hour, once every few weeks. We eventually discovered a mass of garbage in his ear which was surgically removed. The vet put him on fluconazole when the biopsy confirmed yeast in the mass and we all thought that he would be okay after that. Not so much! To this day, Snarkey still has intermittent "episodes" and some are so severe that he can't walk at all and just lays writhing on the floor, pawing at his head and crying. It's horrible. He has been seeing a highly educated neurologist who did an MRI and found nothing in his brain. Repeated work on his ear turns up nothing. So he's on .05 mg of fluconazole and marbofloxicin every day - for more than a year now. Thankfully, most of the time his episodes are very mild - just a head tilt and a little wobbly walking, but he occasionally has the really bad ones. One vet thought it could even be a seizure of some sort but we found nothing wrong in his brain. The only really effective drug for him is prednisolone although I only give him that for 2 weeks after a severe episode. Does anyone have any idea what might be wrong with him? Even the best vets around here can't seem to figure it out.

Sue B.

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