Help with kitten tipping over

[Zab]

Hi everyone,
I know I haven't been an active member for a long time due to personal trauma in my family. Now I really need your help...
I have a friend with a 4 month old sphynx male kitten. Suddenly tipping over (like a cow) and meowing, confused, stiff, fully awake. After about 5-10 min he is fine again. It's happened several times. She took the kitten to the vet. They took bloodwork but other than that they have no clue. Epilepsy? Neurological? We live in a part of this world where vets don't always have the best knowledge of this breed, if it's even related to the breed. The kitten comes from a good breeder with all the bells and whistles. Kitten eats, drinks and uses the litterbox normally. No falls or other outer trauma that the owner knows of. I would be so greatful for any ideas or suggestions from you guys, anything she can tip the vet with. Thank you!
P.S The kitten has a sphynx friend, another young male, who gets really confused when this happens. So something is going on...
/Sabina

 

[Catzzzmeow]

Glad you popped back in. We are always here for you. Just some food for thought….kittens can frequently fall over due a neurological condition like cerebellar hypoplasia, or a medical issue like vestibular disease. Might seek a second opinion…this doesn’t sound like a breed specific thing. @Zab kudos to you helping them out.

 

[Natalie Murphy]

Bless poor little darling I would honestly suggest she starts a journey recording every thing with video footage of the seizures. Documenting the length of each one is to see if it is getting worse and then maybe contacting the university We forget our vets not only study at university but they have actual ongoing experiments and research into different ailment to improve their practice. They also have all the equipment available to do CT scans and the professors are more qualified than your vet. Who is actually running a business and a GP not a specialized in a certain field like neurology which is what you may need.
She can ask her vet for a referral or to look up on the Internet into the vetenery department. I have a lot of professors as friends ( in many different fields of education none are vets) and the government funds most of their research and ongoing advancement programs.

My vet did just this the last month with my cat who had a 5 year battle with chronically sneezing mucus. He has been treating my little one since the day I brought him home. And he has tried everything this was his next step and boy am I so happy with the results. The cost are also less than a vets bill. The damage of the five years untreated problem is irreversible. I wish I was given this advice earlier instead of let’s see if he out grows it or we are going to try this

Good luck and let’s hope it is something he out grows

 

[nudebea]

Hi . I think the advice to document and film any of the kittens episodes is spot on. That way you could e mail footage to other vets for opinions/advice. My girl Kiwi had a strange episode when she was around 5 months . Her head tilted to one side and her eye also squinted to the side. Our vet did some tests and agreed it was probably neurological, ( either a primary or secondary cause) but wasn't sure what the actual diagnosis was . She also developed a very high temperature and was treated with steroids and a drug to reduce the temperature . The vert thought at the time she may have contracted a virus but we never did find the actual real cause. Thankfully she never had any further episodes( it took 2-3 weeks to resolve) and has now reached the venerable age of 11 years. Hope everything works out for you

 

[Zab]

Thank you for good advice! I will sure tell her to film the episodes for the vet and maybe try to get a second opinion.

 

[Catzzzmeow]

@Zab take a look at this condition and see if it seems to fit


paroxysmal dyskinesia


We have seen over the years that this has been an issue for some Sphynx.

 

[kauna]

I agree with getting a video of the incident. At first though was seizures but after reading what @Catzzzmeow posted they are very similar. The key difference is that the patient with PD is conscious.

Keep us posted

 

[Wildekat13]

I had a cat that had nystagmus. What I described as jiggly eyes. Have you noticed this in your cat? Nystagmus can be a symptom of many things, some which include falling over. Nystagmus (Unintentional Eye Movement) in Cats

 

[Zab]

I had a cat that had nystagmus. What I described as jiggly eyes. Have you noticed this in your cat? Nystagmus can be a symptom of many things, some which include falling over. Nystagmus (Unintentional Eye Movement) in Cats

It's not my cat, it's my friends. She said nothing about jiggly eyes, but I will ask her. I know she has a new vet appointment for a neurologi vet. She's filmed the siesure so she can show the vet. Our fingers are crossed. Thank you for sharing your experience!

 

[Yoda mom]

@Zab, ((hugs to you for what you have been going through with personal trauma in your family .
bless your heart to reach out here for your friend's baby boy cat.. name? all paws are family. best wishes for your friend's baby for vet visit for a neuro consult and showing specialist the video. some things that come to mind to ask to rule out:

please ask your friend if there was any guttural loud meows? loss of bowels? pee on self? any cold extremities, during incidents? if so, I would ask to rule out any possibility of a saddle thrombosis embolism. My first sphynx had several of them starting at 8 mos old. she would get up in a minute or longer and act like nothing happened. not saying what that is, just something to ask about to rule out.

how was the blood glucose level on the blood work? diabetic cats, dogs can have seizures if blood sugar goes too low.(hypoglycemia)

does your friend use himalayan salt lamps? essential oil diffusers? plug in air freshners with essential oils? essential oil candles? they can be toxic and have effects. same with ingesting certain plants. just thinking of some other things to rule out.

lair family of prayers for your friend's baby boy. following closely for updates.

hugs n head smooches.


.

 

[Natalie Murphy]

@Zab, ((hugs to you for what you have been going through with personal trauma in your family .
bless your heart to reach out here for your friend's baby boy cat.. name? all paws are family. best wishes for your friend's baby for vet visit for a neuro consult and showing specialist the video. some things that come to mind to ask to rule out:

please ask your friend if there was any guttural loud meows? loss of bowels? pee on self? any cold extremities, during incidents? if so, I would ask to rule out any possibility of a saddle thrombosis embolism. My first sphynx had several of them starting at 8 mos old. she would get up in a minute or longer and act like nothing happened. not saying what that is, just something to ask about to rule out.

how was the blood glucose level on the blood work? diabetic cats, dogs can have seizures if blood sugar goes too low.(hypoglycemia)

does your friend use himalayan salt lamps? essential oil diffusers? plug in air freshners with essential oils? essential oil candles? they can be toxic and have effects. same with ingesting certain plants. just thinking of some other things to rule out.

lair family of prayers for your friend's baby boy. following closely for updates.

hugs n head smooches.


.

Wow. I loved reading all this information. When I got my baby five years ago I did all my research on here on what not to do and over time I did implement all the warnings offered here and I actually forgot about why I never use these things in my house. So all this refresher information was really informative to me think you @Yoda mom

 

[Yoda mom]

@Zab , checking in for updates, hugs n positive vibes continue.

 

[Zab]

So, updates... my firiends baby boy, Simba, has been to the neuro consult. They can't find anything wrong. On the other hand there has not been any further incidents for two weeks. Simba is his normal self, a kitten. Eating, sleeping and using the litterbox. His little brother and him bonding as a new family. My friend said she was going to reach out the breeder and ask about litter siblings and mom and dad cat, just to make sure. The vet said to keep an eye out for new siezures, so for now they wait and hopefully all goes well.
Thank you lair family for allways stepping up when it counts. You all rock!

P.S. Sharing pics of my trio (Siiri, Ville & Esso). Feels like yesterday when they came to us, now they are turning 7 yrs.

Sabina

 

[Catzzzmeow]

So happy to hear there have been no more issues. Thanks for updating us…fingers are crossed.

Thanks also for sharing pics of your babies with us.

 

[Yoda mom]

@Zab , so happy all going well for sweet Simba. what's his little brothers name? love to see pics.

Awh, thank you for sharing pics of your adorable Trio Siiri, Ville & Esso. wow, time flies, turning 7 already! Hugs n head smooches to all paws!

 

[nudebea]

Glad to hear that little Simba hasn't had any more incidents. The photos of your trio are beautiful

 

[Natalie Murphy]

Happy days and hoping for a lot more.

 

[Annejo12]

Great news! Miss your Selfie Saturday pictures!