Even The Vet Isn't Sure If She's Ill

[LittlePenBigHeart]

We adopted a couple of kittens in May and they're now almost 6 months old. The boy, Dylan, is thriving. He's still pretty small but he's a healthy, hyperactive, normal kitten.

The girl, Pepsi, doesn't seem quite so normal. She's gaining weight but she's smaller than her brother. That's not necessarily abnormal, but she seems less stable on her back legs. She can't jump very well and although she does run as fast as Dylan sometimes, most of the time she's pretty slow. She plays, eats, drinks and sleeps normally, as near as we can tell but the wobbliness worries us. We took her to the vet last week, but they couldn't find anything wrong with her. They said her movements seemed okay, though slightly unstable, and she wasn't in any obvious pain. They gave us some Metacam (a painkiller and anti-inflammatory) and we've been giving that to her, but there's been no obvious change, really.

The next step is to look at blood tests/x-rays/etc but I'm worried. Has anyone got any idea what the issue might be?

[Kay]

can't really advise you, but I do wonder at the wisdom of prescribing Metacam for a 6 month old with no pain issues - I wouldn't give it myself, and I would have to query a vet who prescribes it without a diagnosis

perhaps a second opinion is in order?

[Guinevere]

I agree with Kay - I would take her to a different vet to get a second opinion. Perhaps take a video on your phone of her when she is wobbly to show the vet just in case she doesn't display this on the visit. Let us know how she gets on.

[Lilith]

I agree with Kay too. Just as it happens, there's a recent thread: 'Thank you lmills and Marla' on this health and behaviour section where we've been discussing alternatives to Metacam and the like, but for elderly arthritic cats, and very good results are reported with glucosamine/chondroitin supplements. I don't know how relevant this might be to a six-month old cat; it's just a thought, but perhaps something to discuss with the vet.

I do hope you manage to find out what your girl's problem is, all the very best with her

[LittlePenBigHeart]

Thanks everyone. It was a very low dose. The only obvious side effect was she had a bit of a runny tummy for a couple of days. But I can understand why the vet prescribed it. It acts as an anti-inflammatory and I guess she was hoping it would perhaps help with her movement if there was a mild injury or something.

Right now, the symptoms seem to be very mild so I don't know whether it's worth taking her to the vet for a second opinion now or if we should just monitor to see how she gets on??

[lilynmitz]

I think a second opinion is a good way to go. Prescribing metacam was perhaps an obvious starting point as a process of elimination, , ie if she had improved, this could have indicated that there was an underlying physical injury or abnormality causing her pain. But I wonder whether it might be neurological? Eg feline dyspraxia?

[meriad]

I agree with lilynmitz - Could you video Pepsi when she's walking / running and maybe send the video to someone like Noel Fitzpatrick - http://www.fitzpatrickreferrals.co.uk/ . It could well be something that will need an xray or ultrasound to pick up.

Or she could maybe have a very very mild form of feline cerebellar-hypoplasia? https://lifewithchcats.com/what-is-cere ... ypoplasia/

Best of luck!

[booktigger]

What is the background of the kittens?

[LittlePenBigHeart]

Rather stupidly, she's been REALLY good the last couple of days! She's been charging round the house like a normal kitten, playing with everything, leaping all over the furniture with no trouble at all...she even jumped on my back this morning when I was doing some exercises on all fours!

I honestly can't explain it. She's been wobbly and quiet for ages...then suddenly she seems every inch the normal, healthy kitten.

The background of the kittens is a little...unclear. I volunteer at the local RSPCA and their mother was brought in as a rescue from a multi-cat household. I'm honestly not sure if everything they told me is true because my vet says it's questionable. What they told me was that their mother was the only cat that was rescued who didn't need to be put to sleep because they all had inoperable ear polyps. They said it's a certain kind, hereditary, and extremely bad, so that the only solutions are to remove the ear canal entirely or have them put to sleep. Their mother was the only cat without these ear polyps (the implication being that their father WOULD have had the polyps).

We took the kittens to the vet as soon as we adopted them, and the vet said they'd never heard of an ear polyp problem that fits the description they gave me. They're not saying it isn't true, but that it sounds very rare, if it is real. The vet checked both kittens very thoroughly and could find nothing wrong. We adopted them in spite of what the RSPCA told us because we reasoned that even if something went wrong with them, at least we'd know we'd given them a good life, with the best care possible.

So that's all we know about them. Their mother was in apparently perfect help and was adopted soon after they were weaned. The vet suggested we arrange six-monthly check-ups to be on the safe side. The next check-up will be November.

[booktigger]

Hmm, I agree with your vet, that sounds odd. Hopefully she will continue to thrive