Idiopathic Vestibular Disease....???

[Mustang Sally]

Anyone had a cat diagnosed with this?? We've had our cat at the vet since Tuesday morning and they're "guessing" this is what she has. They can't find anything conclusive and are recommending we either put her down, or take her to a neurologist to run more tests. Unfortunately we're out of pocket and there's no telling what a specialist would cost us, after toting her up north and getting more tests run, there's still no guarantee she'll improve. They said if this is what she has she "could" improve after 72 hours or up to 3 months. Unfortunately she can't walk or hold herself up, can't eat or drink, and doesn't know which way is up or down. I'm so heartbroken over it to think she could improve at some point, and if we put her down I could be shortening her life for no reason, yet if she doesn't improve I'm prolonging her life in this miserable state. Anyone know of any success cases with this disease???

Desperate for caring advice....
:-(

 

[dems4me]

Anyone had a cat diagnosed with this?? We've had our cat at the vet since Tuesday morning and they're "guessing" this is what she has. They can't find anything conclusive and are recommending we either put her down, or take her to a neurologist to run more tests. Unfortunately we're out of pocket and there's no telling what a specialist would cost us, after toting her up north and getting more tests run, there's still no guarantee she'll improve. They said if this is what she has she "could" improve after 72 hours or up to 3 months. Unfortunately she can't walk or hold herself up, can't eat or drink, and doesn't know which way is up or down. I'm so heartbroken over it to think she could improve at some point, and if we put her down I could be shortening her life for no reason, yet if she doesn't improve I'm prolonging her life in this miserable state. Anyone know of any success cases with this disease???

Desperate for caring advice....
:-(

If they are merely guessing, take it to another vet and get a second opinion?

 

[Mustang Sally]

$$$$$

A second opinion at another vet could run us up the same amount of money this one did....and still not be able to tell us anything. This is where the specialist comes in. Supposedly only neurologists can run the tests needed to find conclusive evidence. When their nervous system is affected it could be a number of things, so MRIs and other scans are the only way to get more clues but even then it may not be determined. The idiopathic part of it means it's "unknown" and will probably remain unknown but there could possibly be types of steroids or other means to make it somewhat better. It just sucks that it's such a financial hardship and there's supposedly no way of knowing if she'll improve or not. I'm just curious if anyone knows of this disease or knows if it's typical for them to come out of it or not.

 

[dems4me]

A second opinion at another vet could run us up the same amount of money this one did....and still not be able to tell us anything. This is where the specialist comes in. Supposedly only neurologists can run the tests needed to find conclusive evidence. When their nervous system is affected it could be a number of things, so MRIs and other scans are the only way to get more clues but even then it may not be determined. The idiopathic part of it means it's "unknown" and will probably remain unknown but there could possibly be types of steroids or other means to make it somewhat better. It just sucks that it's such a financial hardship and there's supposedly no way of knowing if she'll improve or not. I'm just curious if anyone knows of this disease or knows if it's typical for them to come out of it or not.

How much money are we talking??? Can you find a vet that may offer a payment plan????? :shrug: How old is your cat?

 

[Tigerlily]

I had a cat that I was told could have this that I had to put down about a month ago. I had taken him in as a stray. About a month after he was having trouble walking. He would stumble up and down the hall like he was drunk. It got to the point where his front leg was affected as well and he could barely crawl. The vet said it could be this condition or one of many others. She said though in the end that without a lot of testing and money there would be no way to be sure. Also that didn't mean there was a cure. In the end we decided it was best to put the kitty down. Sorry that you have to go through this as well.

 

[Tigerlily]

See this link. The cat I had taken in slowly got worse over a 4 week period. This says it resolves itself.

http://www.cathealth.com/vestibular.htm

 

[CrashTest]

Some good info here. Sounds like it's treatable. MRI and/or CT scan are listed as part of the diagnosis. MRI's and CT scans for humans are about $400 - $500. I would think the same tests for one of our little fur-balls would be less.

http://www.thepetprofessor.com/articles/article.aspx?id=365

 

[Mustang Sally]

She's approximately 2 yo

I got her from a friend in February and they found her on their back deck. We are almost positive she had to belong to someone at some point in time but we're not sure, no one put out ads for her or responded to ours. We got her all up to date on shots, got her spayed and so forth, and they estimated she's about 2 years old, but they weren't positive.

The vets are saying it's something that MIGHT correct itself IF that's definitely what she has, but without the extra tests it's not definitive. So far this has run us close to $1K since Tuesday. If we take her up north to a neurologist I can only imagine what they'd charge us. I'm sure they'd say all of the same tests would have to be done, on top of the CT scan and MRI. The vet here says we need to make a decision by today or tomorrow because they don't want to keep her over the weekend knowing she'd only get turned over 3 times max. Currently their flipping her 1-2 times per hour. It's just awful. It came on so suddenly. I let her out at 5:30am with the dog Tuesday morning, went to leave at 7:15 for work and she was out in the front yard trying to lift her front half up and couldn't get any strength to do anything. You can tell she's utterly confused and has no idea what's going on. It's just so sad.... :-(

 

[teverheart2002]

So sorry to hear about your kitty, I'm sure you are just heart broken. I'd say most of the time the vets are unable to tell us what is wrong with our furkids without spending so much money. I can empathize with that part of what you are going through. I know that we have put a limit of $600 for a vet proc. to prolong the life of a pet.

I would say that if your kitty is unable to eat, drink, or move, she would be better getting put to sleep, if you guys have reached your financial limit. However, my vet has always told me that they will tell you when they are ready to go. I wish you the best of luck with your kitty and may she have a miraculous recovery

 

[teverheart2002]

It doesn't sound like your vet is helping out too much. I know mine in OK, would tell us frankly, you have done all that you could, she has lived a great life with you, I think that it is time to put her down. We can't do anything else for her unless you want to spend more money, but I can't see that it would help. I wish that they were giving you a little bit more of an answer to help you out, instead of make a decision by tomorrow. But best of luck and let us know.

 

[barncat]

I got her from a friend in February and they found her on their back deck. We are almost positive she had to belong to someone at some point in time but we're not sure, no one put out ads for her or responded to ours. We got her all up to date on shots, got her spayed and so forth, and they estimated she's about 2 years old, but they weren't positive.

The vets are saying it's something that MIGHT correct itself IF that's definitely what she has, but without the extra tests it's not definitive. So far this has run us close to $1K since Tuesday. If we take her up north to a neurologist I can only imagine what they'd charge us. I'm sure they'd say all of the same tests would have to be done, on top of the CT scan and MRI. The vet here says we need to make a decision by today or tomorrow because they don't want to keep her over the weekend knowing she'd only get turned over 3 times max. Currently their flipping her 1-2 times per hour. It's just awful. It came on so suddenly. I let her out at 5:30am with the dog Tuesday morning, went to leave at 7:15 for work and she was out in the front yard trying to lift her front half up and couldn't get any strength to do anything. You can tell she's utterly confused and has no idea what's going on. It's just so sad.... :-(

What a horrible decision to have to make. Whatever decision you make I hope you are comforted knowing you did the best you could and that your kitty had a good life. I couldn't imagine what I would do if it was my Oscar in your cat's situation.

 

[cattitude]

I have a cat that has cerebellar hypoplasia. As a kitten, he was very 'slow' and fell down a lot, was very uncoordinated. The vet said give him time, see if he improved. He's 11 now. We named him Forrest. He does really well and is the most loving cat, but he's not the brightest.

It if were me, I've the cat a little longer. Why can't you bring the kitty home over the weekend and see what happens? I was under the impression that cats can recover from this.

What vet are you using..just curious.

 

[Lilypad]

I got her from a friend in February and they found her on their back deck. We are almost positive she had to belong to someone at some point in time but we're not sure, no one put out ads for her or responded to ours. We got her all up to date on shots, got her spayed and so forth, and they estimated she's about 2 years old, but they weren't positive.

The vets are saying it's something that MIGHT correct itself IF that's definitely what she has, but without the extra tests it's not definitive. So far this has run us close to $1K since Tuesday. If we take her up north to a neurologist I can only imagine what they'd charge us. I'm sure they'd say all of the same tests would have to be done, on top of the CT scan and MRI. The vet here says we need to make a decision by today or tomorrow because they don't want to keep her over the weekend knowing she'd only get turned over 3 times max. Currently their flipping her 1-2 times per hour. It's just awful. It came on so suddenly. I let her out at 5:30am with the dog Tuesday morning, went to leave at 7:15 for work and she was out in the front yard trying to lift her front half up and couldn't get any strength to do anything. You can tell she's utterly confused and has no idea what's going on. It's just so sad.... :-(

I'm sorry to hear about this-
Unlike central and peripheral vestibular disease, idiopathic vestibular disease usually clears up on its own within a few days or possibly a few weeks. For this reason there is no treatment for idiopathic disease other than time. Many vets will suggest monitoring the cat for a few days to see if the symptoms start to subside.
The treatment for vestibular disease is pretty much TLC, unless your cat requires rehydrationwith intravenous fluids. Sometimes the animal cannot even hold its head up long enough to eat and needs someone to hold their head steady while they eat or drink during the first few days. In cases of severe disorientation, a veterinarian might prescribe a sedative so that the animal will not move around too much during the first few days.
Keep the faith, unless tests show this to be something else-please don't do anything drastic.

 

[teverheart2002]

Why can't you bring the kitty home over the weekend and see what happens? I was under the impression that cats can recover from this.

What vet are you using..just curious.

I didn't really look up anything on it, but if it is a possibility that in a few weeks she can come out of it, I would bring her home if possible and care for her. Then after you give her a couple of weeks, come to a decision. If she progressivly gets worse or tells you that she is done fighting, then you can put her down knowing that you tried. Or even better, she gets better.

 

[BlackSheep]

I didn't really look up anything on it, but if it is a possibility that in a few weeks she can come out of it, I would bring her home if possible and care for her. Then after you give her a couple of weeks, come to a decision. If she progressivly gets worse or tells you that she is done fighting, then you can put her down knowing that you tried. Or even better, she gets better.

FYI-
Cerebellar Hypoplasia

The cerebellum is the portion of the brain responsible for the control of motion. When a puppy or kitten is born with an underdeveloped cerebellum, the condition is known as congenital cerebellar hypoplasia. There are infectious causes of this condition in both cats (panleukopenia infection prior to birth) and dogs (herpes virus infection prior to birth). Improper development of the cerebellum may occur due to injury, poisoning or just from an accident in development in the uterus. It is generally possible to see signs of this condition almost as soon as the puppy or kitten is born. Affected animals have tremors and unusual jerky movements or may fall down when they try to move. The symptoms do not get worse as they age. As the kitten or puppy grows it will learn to compensate for its condition but there are usually lifelong signs of a decreased ability to coordinate movement. Almost all dogs and cats with congenital cerebellar hypoplasia can live happily as pets with a little special care to compensate for their disabilities. This condition can be confused with cerebellar abiotrophy, a different disorder in dogs in which the puppy has a normal cerebellum at birth but it gradually dies. Signs of disease identical to cerebellar hypoplasia occur but the timing is different.

 

[cattitude]

FYI-
Cerebellar Hypoplasia

The cerebellum is the portion of the brain responsible for the control of motion. When a puppy or kitten is born with an underdeveloped cerebellum, the condition is known as congenital cerebellar hypoplasia. There are infectious causes of this condition in both cats (panleukopenia infection prior to birth) and dogs (herpes virus infection prior to birth). Improper development of the cerebellum may occur due to injury, poisoning or just from an accident in development in the uterus. It is generally possible to see signs of this condition almost as soon as the puppy or kitten is born. Affected animals have tremors and unusual jerky movements or may fall down when they try to move. The symptoms do not get worse as they age. As the kitten or puppy grows it will learn to compensate for its condition but there are usually lifelong signs of a decreased ability to coordinate movement. Almost all dogs and cats with congenital cerebellar hypoplasia can live happily as pets with a little special care to compensate for their disabilities. This condition can be confused with cerebellar abiotrophy, a different disorder in dogs in which the puppy has a normal cerebellum at birth but it gradually dies. Signs of disease identical to cerebellar hypoplasia occur but the timing is different.

But this doesn't just come on suddenly in a cat that's 2 years old. As I stated above, my cat has this.

 

[CrashTest]

I would do as others have suggested. I would take her home, nurse her for a couple weeks, and then make a decision. If she gets better, that’s great. If not, then it hasn’t cost any additional $$ but at least you tried.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Thank you all for your kind words. I would definitely subscribe to the idea of bringing her home for a couple of weeks except for the fact that she can't take care of herself. She can't stand or lift her head at all so drinking/eating or using the litterbox are out of the question... I have no qualms with cleaning up after her or trying to feed her, but even the vet is weary about feeding her since she's not swallowing, and I know that all animals despise resting in their own excrements. She is being fed intravenously and she's hooked up to a catheter which is something we just can't provide for her at home.

We're going to visit her today at 1:30 and see how she's doing. No progressions over the past two days is a bit discouraging, and knowing there could be a chance of her getting better in a couple of weeks to several months is what's killing me; those weeks/months hospitalized = $$$, and the vet still said sometimes they just don't get better. The part that kills me is there COULD be a chance she'll get better, yet a) no $$$, and b) no guarantee. I think we're going to give her until tomorrow, that's the full 72 hour period where improvements are noticed. :-(

The vet has actually been really great and caring so I am not so much upset with their decisions/questions about the disease, there's just only so much they can do without the MRI CT scan equipment that a neurologist would have. Their recommending a decision by today or tomorrow isn't for a sense of urgency or getting her out of there, they just know they won't be able to care for her in the way she needs over the weekend since they only come in 3 times a day.

 

[teverheart2002]

I think that we were all hoping she wasn't as bad as to be on a catheter and IV's. I think that you are making the correct decisions for you and her.

 

[CrashTest]

This is pretty sad. I don't know about the rest of you folks, but after hearding a sad story like this, I'll be making an effort to spend a little extra quality time with my fur-ball tonight.