Reptile & Amphibian Forums

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, FIP or something else viral or bacterial... 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

Hi Dana,

Thanks for taking in this special baby. Anyone who would allow a cat to suffer as this one did before taking him to a vet shouldn't have a cat in the first place anyway.

I would definitely have a full blood panel done on this kitty, including the 3 major viruses. Ordinarily the FIP test is next to a useless test, but a high titer might be helpful in a case like this one. FIP, by the way, is no longer considered a highly contagious virus and is more genetic than anything.

This cat could have had encephalitis, although a stroke isn't very likely but isn't impossible either. Or he could have been left with brain damage as a result of having a high fever, no matter what the cause. It's really impossible to say at this point. He could even have experienced some kind of trauma related somehow.

I have 2 totally blind cats and one that is blind in one eye. My blind boy does a lot of circling which the vet believes is partly neurological. Some blind cats will normally circle as a way to try and orient themselves. I know a blind dog that also does this. Both my blind girl and half-blind girl always walk straight. The blind one also tends to be very cautious and walks slowly. All of the blind cats get around the house extremely well and act normally otherwise-----they play, climb, and get around like the seeing cats. They know where all the furniture is and where all the cat beds are.

Please keep us updated on how your new one does and what the vet says.

Regards,
PHKitkat

I spoke to cheezburgers previous vet yesterday and he told me that cheezy had been current on all shots and had in fact recently had his yearly set done. They did all the bloodwork he could think of and still have no idea what happened. I did get his records transferred to my name so that my vet has access. Cheezy is going along with one of my other cats to see Dr. Rob tomorrow. Hopefully they can give me some more answers.

Does anyone know if cats can have arteriovenous malformation? Could cheezy have had some sort of reaction to his vaccines?

Now that it seems like he is going to recover, I need to start trying to find him a permanent home. Does anyone have any ideas? I have tried calling the local rescue groups, but they either never return my calls, or just pass me along to another group. Mostly I hear that he is too old, and since he is a "special needs" cat he will be too hard to find a home for. I cannot keep him. We already have 5 kitties and one more moving in at the end of May with a new roommate. (also my boyfriend has explicitly said we can have no more cats). Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

So cheezy went to the vet yesterday. We didnt come to any conclusions but he did find something interesting... When his bloodwork had been done the day he first went to the vet with the high fever and everything else, his glucose level was 210. When we took it yesterday, it was 59. He had eaten several kitty treats prior to the vet visit, so it should have been higher if not normal. So we are investigating that as a cause. He is going back in monday to get periodic glucose tests through the day. I dont know what this will lead to but at least its something to go on.