I actually had a few similar experiences. Once it involved two very young kittens. Once it involved a cat about a year old. In my opinion, the two different experiences had two different causative agents, and at the risk of boring you silly, I will try to explain both. Neither, by the way, was well understood by the vets, leading me again to the inevitable conclusion that cat health is very poorly studied (no where near dog health) and because cats respond different to disease and medication, (whereas dogs respond very much like people), then science and medicine is way behind in understanding cats.
With respect to the kittens, it was my view that they actually had (and one of them still has) Lyme disease. The area I picked them up was one very well-known to be endemic for Lyme disease. They had an alternating lameness – once picking up one paw which seemed very swollen and sore – and then next day, picking up the other paw. I looked this up and saw that this alternating lameness was described in dogs with Lyme disease. However, my vet believed that it might be calici virus. I didn’t agree with her, but let her treat for calici virus (including vaccination). The acute phase of the response seemed to be limited in time, and both kittens seemed to get better on their own. However, their brother lapsed into a coma – was literally unresponsive for hours while I sat up with him. I didn’t know what to do, and my view was that either there was inflammation of the meninges (sac surrounding the brain) or an inflammation of the brain itself, causing increased intracranial pressure which might also result in loss of consciousness. I superdosed him with transdermal prednisone, took him to bed with me and kept checking him for hours. Then, suddenly, at about 4 in the morning, he just bounded awake, and began playing and galavanting all over the bed. Meanwhile, though, one of his two sisters has never been the same. She lost HUGE amounts of weight, and even now, as a 2+ year old cat, she weighs less than many kittens and she is all bones. I have been treating her with a combination of Winstrol, Doxycycline, high prednisone doses and magnesium (her muscles don’t work right – like they are constantly spastic, and she walks in a funny tip toe way, and has poor coordination jumping on things and going up stairs, etc.) Anyhow, she is starting to get better, starting to put on weight and starting to walk better. I am convinced this was and is Lyme disease, though scientists and vets say that cats don’t get it. I don’t know how they know this, because they DO NOT TEST cats for it. Story number two involves a kitten I got who was described as a “wobbly” kitten and it was assumed that his mom had suffered a viral infection when he was in utero, which can result in this type of neurological damage (and it can be much worse). However, when he was very little, he suddenly and without warning, decided to squat and pee right in the middle of our bed, and he had never done this before. He was looking straight at me and I felt that he didn’t know why he was doing what he was doing. Not too long after (a few weeks or maybe a month), he started showing some very alarming neurological symptoms, including a loss of muscle control in the back end. His rectum seemed not tight but loose and stool just “fell out” rather than being pushed out. His back legs in particular also became very very weak, and he developed a “tripod stance” – both back legs together – his back end would sway and he would fall down. My knowledge with humans is that this occurs when there is damage to nerves in the spinal column, or pressure on them from a herniated disc, or something like that (cauda equina syndrome). I took him to the emergency clinic, but I had already started him on Winstrol and Prednisolone, assuming that the Prednisolone would help with reduction of swelling in the spinal canal and thus take pressure off the affected nerves, and the Winstrol might help in healing whatever injury there was in the spinal column. By the time they could do an MRI on him, he was regaining all function and his gait had become normal. The MRI was inconclusive, with the vets thinking that they could possible see the remains of a lesion, right in the area where one would expect it to be to affect rectal control and muscle function of the back legs, but the lesion appeared to be healed over so they couldn’t tell if that was the cause or if the lesion was old or new. It sounds to me like the prednisone you used in your case, has a similar effect. There was swelling somewhere, likely in the spinal column as you surmise, and the prednisone helped bring down the swelling. Amani From: Felvtalk <felvtalk-boun...@felineleukemia.org> On Behalf Of katy brown Sent: October 18, 2018 12:21 PM To: Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: [Felvtalk] Batman Felv Positive Having Neurological issues. Hello, I have an amazing cat named Batman who a year ago as a kitten tested positive for FelV. His brother also texted positive, after 2 other tests later on after the antibodies from the mother had cleared, Batman still tested positive while his brother was negative. Fast forward a year and both of them were doing great. I was away on vacation and left them with a full time cat sitter, who notice about a week ago that Batman was not going up stairs as much, but we figured this could be to him just adjusting to a new person in his home. When I arrived back home I immediately noticed he was not moving well and as the day progressed he was losing more mobility in his front paws. I took him to the emergency room where they thought he had experienced a trauma, and discharged him with 2 types of pain meds. The pain meds were a disaster, and he lost further mobility. From there we took him to Pennsylvania Vet. Hospital, which is supposed to be one of the best in the country, they realized he was having neurological issues, did a bunch of testing, his vitals and blood work were all good. An x-ray revealed no masses in his chest or spine. At this point they felt it was a cancer in his column, most likely lymphoma. The Vet thought that he was quite young even given his FeLV positive status to have lymphoma, but given how fast he was becoming completely paralyzed, there were not many other diagnosis that fit the bill. The vet started him on Prednisolone and Clindamycin, and within hours he regained movement in his legs and was walking again. Yesterday he was jumping and scratching on his post again, and eating and drinking. Last night his behavior changed and he kept trying to hide which is very unlike him, however I thought that maybe he was just tired, he had gone from completely paralyzed to jumping in 3 days. But this morning it was apparent that he was not ok, he did eat after much encouragement, but has moved very very little. I have called the Vet and am waiting to hear back but I'm not optimistic. Has anyone had this experience? I don't want to put him down if there is a chance he could come back but he is hardly moving and seems like him trying to hide was him trying to find a place to pass away quietly. Batman is so young and he is the sweetest cat I have ever owned, and his brother can't get along with out him. I will try anything to keep him alive but I want him to have a good quality life. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Also I apologize if I did not use this forum correctly. I wasn't sure if I emailed the group or how it works so I hope this does work.
_______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list Felvtalk@felineleukemia.org http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
