Hi, I have never posted on the cat forums although I frequent kingsnake. So heres my story...

I work at a petstore in Georgia. Recently a woman came in with a question about getting a kitty to use the litterbox after having had a high fever and possibly a stroke. I talked to her for a while and she explained that a week ago (dec 18?) she noticed that her cat, a two year old indoor/outdoor male, had his third eyelids down.. rather than take it to the vet, she decided to wait and see what happened... So a few hours later she realized that she hadnt seen him in a while and went looking. She found him under her bed with his tongue hanging out, third eyelids all the way up. She said he felt cold. She still didnt take him to the vet because she didnt want to pay emergency vet bills. She said he had a high fever all night. She finally took him to the vet at 11 the next morning. His fever was 105. He is now blind and possibly deaf on one side.

She basically told me that she was getting married on jan 1 and that if he didnt start using the litterbox by then she was going to put him to sleep. I offered a few suggestions, such as a LOW litterbox, and confining him to a small area so he wouldnt get confused. Dec 28 she called me and told me that if someone didnt take him she was going to have him put to sleep. So being the bleeding heart cat lover I am, I told her I would take him home and try to find him a new purrson (preferrably someone who would take care of him!) I am currently owned by five indoor kitties, so right now Cheezburger (formerly Gizmo) is living downstairs in a large dog crate away from the rest of the cats. Her vet doesnt have any idea what happened and I am worried that it might be contagious. He is supposed to be current on shots and healthy up to this point.

I am happy to say that he is using the litterbox for me (since day 1), and is eating and functioning well. Other than walking in circles in the direction of his good eye, and walking a tad funny on his back legs, he seems to be recovering. I would like to allow my cats back downstairs, but not until I am thoroughly convinced that nothing he has will harm them.

I am taking him to my vet on monday to get him checked out, but I would like any suggestions as to what may have caused this. If it was a person, I would say possibly encephalitis followed by stroke, but I dont know if that is common or plausible in a cat. Any ideas will be greatly appreciated, as well as information to help him learn to function with one eye. When you call him and he has a predetermined destination, he walks straight, but when he is just trying to find his way around, he circles quite a bit. Thank you all so much. Cheezburger says thanks too.

Dana

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