Cat Chat Feline Forum

Hi all,

Firstly, let me introduce myself. I'm Lou and I'm cat-mum to Luna who is 4 years old. She's a rescue and my furry soul-mate. This is a long one as I wanted to include the back-story. Around 4 weeks ago, Luna ran into the front room, shaking her head. She has tangled with insects before (she got stung on the chin by a wasp in fact) so I just assumed she'd done it again. That night though, she was rubbing her head on the carpet and acting really strange. I took her straight to the vet the next day and the examined her thoroughly, including with an otoscope (sp?) and said it could be an inner ear infection. Cue several more visits, multiple injections and 5 days of me giving Luna antibiotics at home. On one visit, the vet noticed she had a bad tooth where there was a hole and some gum had grown through it. The head shaking continued at this point so they finally got her back in for sedation and the works. Nothing whatsoever in her ears. No wax, no infection, nothing. The bad tooth was extracted just to be sure. That around 2 weeks ago. She still shakes her head sometimes now and I've noticed she's not eating much either. She's drinking ok and begging for and gobbling treats when I give them to her. She seems ok in herself aside from sleeping quite a lot but that could be the cold weather. The visits to the vet stressed her out enormously. She'd nearly hurt herself trying to get out of her carrier and then she'd bury herself under her blanket or cower at the back so the vet would have to the top right off to get to her. I've watched her eat treats and she's not favouring one side of her mouth so I'm guessing where the tooth was taken out has healed now and she allows me to stroke her face there as well. The local animal charity has been footing the bill as I'm on a very low income but the whole situation has made me ill with stress. I just want to find out what's wrong with my girl and get her back to herself again.

Lou

Hi Lou, and welcome to Catchat. I'm afraid I haven't come across these symptoms before, but it does sound like poor Luna still needs veterinary care, as I doubt that this will go away on its own. Your vet has tried all the obvious stuff, which is the right way to start, but while the visits stress her out, I do feel you need to go back to the vet and maybe get a second opinion. You're right that the cold weather may be why she's sleeping more, but that in conjunction with reduced appetite could still indicate a medical condition. It would be worth checking out how her gum is healing as well after the extraction - these can sometimes get infected. It might also be worth giving her something mild but tempting to eat to get her eating again, such as boiled chicken or boiled white fish.

Thank you for your reply. Her appetite came back all of a sudden as did her mile-wide playful streak but the head shaking has returned too. She seems fine in herself. I'm not sure if maybe a new tooth might be coming through? I checked her mouth and I can't even see the gap where the tooth was extracted. I know how sore it is for humans when new teeth come through so maybe that's why she's sensitive again. I'm going to ring the vet tomorrow for advice. I'm still in no financial position to pay so I'm hoping, as it's a continuation of the same issue, the charity will continue to help me. I'm so screwed otherwise

If it's teeth she would probably be pawing her mouth or find eating a bit uncomfortable, although cats are funny creatures and will hide pain or discomfort very well. I'd had another chat with your vet if I were you, see what they can suggest next.