Help needed, near death tom cat

[N13]

Hi, a very long story but I want to get all the details incase anyone can assist so please bare with me

2 weeks ago, our tom cat started to behave very strange. He started pacing around our house and garden, crying aimlessly. He looked sad and lost. We thought he was searching for something.
We monitored him, trying to work out what could be wrong. He wasn't eating like normal, taking only 2 or 3 bites before wandering off only to return and try again, repeatedly.
We then observed him in our garden and he was crying and searching, we thought he may have a urinary infection or similar so got him into the vet.

They checked him and he had a slightly raised temperature, they couldn't find anything else, he didn't appear to be in pain and his bowels were clear. They prescribed anti inflammatory and antibiotics.

We saw no change, no improvement, in fact he got worse day by day. He looked disorientated, wandered more and more and cried more too.

Back to the vet who checked him again and took a blood sample. Still no signs of a medical concern. He had a slightly low blood count so thought he could be anaemic. They gave him flea treatment as thought that would be the cause, however he has not got an infestation, just the odd one as he is regularly treated.

A couple more days and still no change, now he has lost weight and started to rough, shaggy fur, weak, he can't walk now without shaking and bumping into things, he falls over rather than lays down.

Back to vet, vet suspects stress or anxiety and suggests Feliway. We question again and again and blood tests repeated amongst other checks. Still nothing.

He then sat in his litter tray panting and crying, we rang the vet again, who said he needs looking at immediately so off we went again. This time they kept him in, sedated him, carried out an xray and possible scan. This time they found he was blocked solid with poop so they gave him an enema to clear him out along with pain relief.
That evening he was a different cat, almost like he was normal again although still down from the sedation but he had life in his eyes and was clearly more comfortable. We thought we had finally found something. The next day he was still happy however he still wasn't eating correctly. We kept an eye and the following day he regressed. Devastated we contacted the vet again. They put him on tablets to increase his appetite and therefore strength. Still no improvement.

Yesterday he started circling, like chasing his tail only in slow motion, only the once however today his pupils were dilated and he was circling endlessly. We rushed him to the emergency vet who almost immediately said he has a brain tumor and needs to be put to sleep, we questioned this and if we can be sure because of recent history and so they made a call to a specialist clinic. They suggested some simple tests (blood pressure amongst others) which came back fine and it was now inconclusive. We now have him back home and at first he just lay down, paws twitching like a nervous twitch, eyes still dilated. He eventually calmed and just lay down, eyes wide open and dilated but he seems calm.

We are so lost, he has seen 2 vets, several times now and noone can offer anything. We're looking to get him scanned for tumors etc but just have no idea, can anyone offer any form of advice please?

[Ruth B]

I am no vet and really do not have any medical expertise, but the moment I started reading what you described my thought was some type of nervous disorder, either in the brain or the spine. The only thing that really didn't seem to fit was that the vets at first said his bowels were empty when it started, then found them to be compacted, and relieving them seemed to clear the problem for a while, however it is possible that whatever they used to sedate him to perform the procedure in some way countered the condition for a while.

In the end I think only something like an MRI or CT scan is likely to provide an answer and if it something more to do with his nerves than they may not be able to pick it up.

I really wish I could help you more, it must be horrible to suddenly see him like this.

[N13]

Thank you for your advice, this is what we fear. He went through yesterday ok, calm, no signs of pain but struggling to pass both. This seems to be the only signs of discomfort currently, otherwise he is sleeping, eating, washing but not his usual happy self. He hasn't purred once in 2 days, first time ever.
We're hoping to get him scanned, just waiting on a call to get him in