Another sick cat

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Shannon Nelson
Posts: 8848
Joined: Fri Jun 28, 2002 10:00 pm

Another sick cat

Post by Shannon Nelson »

First, the good news: Thanks to all for input on my coughing kitty. Phos
did not seem to act, and he started to sneeze, and cough started sounding a
bit goopy, so (speaking of thin indications) I gave puls 30, which worked
very quickly and very well. A few doses over a day and a half had him back
to normal.

Now, the bad news. Another cat appeared night before last with trouble
walking; his back legs appeared *very* weak, would sort of slide this way
and that on the linoleum, and he sometimes fell. Next morning we took him
to the vet (kids frantic, me feeling utterly clueless and beyond my depth).
Vet offered several hypotheses, including brain infection, brain tumor, rat
poison, or heatstroke (he was dehydrated). So he gave him IV fluids (which
did help), antibiotic (me too worried, baffled and clueless to resist),
Vitamin K (in case of bleeding from rat poison; his gums are very pale). At
this point he seems a little better in some ways, but maybe a little worse
in others.

I would love to hear others' ideas about how I might prescribe on the
information available (not much, but here it comes) and/or how I might use
any lab tests on things such as kidney function and ?? that we *might*
follow up with if he doesn't improve more, soon.

History:
Sunny is a 3-year-old, neutered, orange tabby. Had one round of rabies
prior to neutering as a little guy, no shots since then. Has always been
healthy, and just a real, super sweetheart. Extremely mellow, affectionate
in a dignified, independent and laid-back sort of way. He prefers being
outside (unlike our other three, who would definitely prefer to be in!), and
often goes a couple of days between "visits". When he comes in (all of this
describes him *before* this illness) he eats and drinks eagerly but briefly,
then may simply ask to go back out again, but if he's approached for a
cuddle, or if the mood strikes him, he loves to be picked up briefly, and
has an awesomely loud and comfortable-sounding purr.

He has an unusually looooong body (even for a cat!), and one of his
distinguishing characteristics is that he sleeps in the *weirdest*
positions!!! We all notify each other to come view any particularly
delightful contortions, because he really does get into some screamers!
E.g. head going one way and feet going the other (and him souuuund asleep);
or sort of dripping over a pillow; or laid out on his back with arms
stretched waaaay above his head and hind legs at odd angles... And even for
a cat, he has always slept a phenomenal amount. It's always seemed to me
that when he's gone for a couple of days, he's probably not out "prowling",
he's probably just sleeping that much, and doesn't want to bother coming in!
Which made the vet's idea of heatstroke seem plausible -- we had a few days
of very hot, very muggy weather, and he hadn't been to the house for at
least two days during that time, and I can't think where he would have
drunk.

But here's a strange thing: It had been only a couple of days since he was
in last (a typical interval for him), and we didn't see anything
out-of-the-ordinary at that time; but now he seems so pale, so thin and so
weak, I wonder how this could have happened in only a few days!!!

Monday night he appeared at the door, barely able to walk but seeming in
good spirits. No sign of any wound, no sign of pain or any fearfulness;
maybe a slight rightward tilt to his head when he walked. He ate and drank
eagerly (and more urgently than his is custom) then tried to walk more, fell
over, gave up and just rested. Purred appreciatively when patted, rubbed
his head on us, etc. No sign of pain when he was picked up. Seemed very
calm about his inability to walk. Didn't strike me as lethargic. Altho
he's sleeping even more than usual, part of the time he simply rests, looks
around, purrs if he's given attention. His gums and eye rims are very pale,
but no fever.

Today (about 28 hours after the vet's attentions) his legs have more
strength (not falling over as much), but the tilt of his head seems I think
a bit more pronounced than it was, and he doesn't seem as much improved as I
was hoping. He eats very hungrily a few times during the day, but I don't
see him drinking much. (He may have a place to drink outside, tho; he is
spending more time in, but still asks to go out for much of the day, and it
seemed unkind to argue with him, so we didn't... Altho he can't walk well,
he is able to make his way about, slowly.)

My thoughts so far (I haven't given him any remedy yet):
China, for aftereffects of the dehydration? And in case dehydration was
part of the initial cause?
Plumbum, because of his habit of "striking strange poses", and in case
this is neurological rather than electrolyte or infection?
Conium for "asccending paralysis" and in case there is a brain tumor it
could help?

Can anyone suggest rubrics re the right-leaning head? (And anything else!)
I would love to hear both Jill's thoughts from the veterinary perspective,
and also what our homeopathy-only cat folks would suggest. (And as always,
ideas from anyone!)

Thanks so much!
Shannon


Marleen
Posts: 117
Joined: Wed Apr 01, 2020 10:00 pm

Re: Another sick cat

Post by Marleen »

Hi Shannon,

Im no vet but, but i did have a cat with problems like this, and a few
days ago lost my dog to a stroke, so stroke, kidney problems come to mind,
and as hard as it
may seem for you to deny her the outside world, i would keep her in,
if her condition makes a turn for the worse and she is not able to
take herself home then you will never know what happened to her?

How is she now?

Marleen
Thursday, August 5, 2004, 5:07:26 AM, Bob&Shannon wrote:
Marleen


alchemy
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed May 01, 2002 10:00 pm

Re: Another sick cat

Post by alchemy »

Morning,

Shannon wrote about her cat:
The first thing to consider is the results of the physical examination, as
well as the separation of common symptoms of the situation from unique
symptoms of the situation.

For example, if the cat is/was dehydrated, the weakness and sliding and
falling may all be common symptoms of the situation of being dehydrated.
Correct the fluid and electrolyte balance and those symptoms may disappear.
If so, that's it insofar as considering these in a repertorization - if not,
then one needs to investigate further,...
Maybe he's asymptomatic, or has subtle symptoms of latent psora (or other
miasma,...), not truly healthy ?? Just a thought,...
All this describes fairly common characteristics for species of cat - except
perhaps for the desire to be outside so much.
Consider:
GENERALITIES; AIR; open; desire for (142)
Common for cat.
Was his body temperature elevated ?
Cat's don't drink much, if anything, if they are healthy and provided with a
fresh food (maybe canned food, too) diet. So if he's out and about hunting,
he doesn't need much additional fluid.
This may be supportive of the idea of underlying, previously latent chronic
disease.

Has there been any blood testing ? Any testing for the feline infectious
disease such as FelV and FIV ?? Remember, positive results from these mean
that the cat needs to be tested again in a few months to determine if he is
persistently infected. One positive result may simply mean transient
viremia, not persistent infection.
Lack of elevated temperature typically does not support heat stroke as a
clinical diagnosis.
Head tilt gets one into the realm of neurological disease (infectious,
parasitic, traumatic, neoplastic, "idiopathic",...) or other trauma (hit by
a car ??). What was the rest of the neurological examination like ? Is he
weak or is he ataxic ?? There is a difference, for sure. That clinical
difference will also lead you to different (and more or less accurate)
rubrics - for example weakness vs vertigo.

The head tilt clinically makes me think the cat is experiencing vertigo, not
general weakness and not specifically hind end weakness. Different beasts,
are these descriptions - and will lead you to different remedies.

Consider such rubrics:
VERTIGO; HEAT; during (35)
VERTIGO; HEAT; sun, of (5)

May be presumptuous insofar as sun/heat as a cause. You may have to narrow
it down to the vertigo rubric - see above with regards to the physical and
neurological examinations.

VERTIGO; ANEMIA, with (22)

Perhaps,...

HEAD; MOTIONS; of, shaking, nodding, waving; turning, of; side, to (5)

Small rubric and may not accurately describe what the cat is doing.

HEAD; DRAWN; sideways; right, to (7)
HEAD; DRAWN; sideways (43)

The latter may be the most accurate of all rubrics given the description
this far.
So, maybe the weakness was a part of being dehydrated ? Or he's compensating
for the vertigo ? or ??
Look at the symptoms that remain now - head tilt,.... what else ??
See above re water intake in cats.
But is he in a China state right now ??
The "striking of poses" is not pathology.
The more accurate you can be on the cause/lack of cause (for example
dehydration/weakness/vertigo,...), the more accurate your prescription will
be. A neurological examination and comparison with cat normal will tell you
if this *is* neurological/has a neurological component - locate the lesion,
look at the differentials for such lesions,... and go from that place.
You have not described ascending paralysis in this cat. There is little
clinical evidence relayed that would suggest the cat has a brain tumor, as
well.
You haven't provided enough clinical symptoms on which to make a clear or
accurate prescription at this point in time.
However, using the symptoms as provided, such remedies as Lycopodium,
Ferrum, Causticum, Calcarea,.... are certainly worthy of consideration in
your differential materia medica study.

Susan Beal, DVM


Jenny Decker
Posts: 26
Joined: Wed Apr 01, 2020 10:00 pm

Re: Another sick cat

Post by Jenny Decker »

Hi Shannon,
What you describe sounds very much like mad cow, transmissible spongiform
encephalopathy. Obviously, cats as meat eaters are very vulnerable to this.
Your description sounds just like what "downer" cows go through when the
symptoms appear.

There are very few clinical treatments for this, and I don't know of any
homeopaths who have treated it. It might be good to ask who has successfully
treated human patients with Creutzfeld Jacob, which researchers say they
cannot distinguish from mad cow, since the prions involved look identical in
every test they've applied.

One far out possibility does occur to me. A few human patients have
been treated with the long used malaria drug quinacrine, but it can't be
used for long because of toxicity. Is there a homeopathic preparation of
quinacrine? I've also found info on the web about the promising use of
curcumin, an alkaloid extracted from the spice turmeric, and I also wonder
if there is a homeopathic preparation of either the spice or the alkaloid.

I realize I'm speculating on top of a theoretical premise, but it
might be well to consider if mad cow is a possibility. I had previously
thought of Plumbum as having mad cow features, and your idea sounds
feasible, at least to me.

Jenny Decker
_____

From: Bob&Shannon [mailto:shannonnelson@tds.net]
Sent: Wednesday, August 04, 2004 8:07 PM
To: minutus@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Minutus] Another sick cat
First, the good news: Thanks to all for input on my coughing kitty. Phos
did not seem to act, and he started to sneeze, and cough started sounding a
bit goopy, so (speaking of thin indications) I gave puls 30, which worked
very quickly and very well. A few doses over a day and a half had him back
to normal.

Now, the bad news. Another cat appeared night before last with trouble
walking; his back legs appeared *very* weak, would sort of slide this way
and that on the linoleum, and he sometimes fell. Next morning we took him
to the vet (kids frantic, me feeling utterly clueless and beyond my depth).
Vet offered several hypotheses, including brain infection, brain tumor, rat
poison, or heatstroke (he was dehydrated). So he gave him IV fluids (which
did help), antibiotic (me too worried, baffled and clueless to resist),
Vitamin K (in case of bleeding from rat poison; his gums are very pale). At
this point he seems a little better in some ways, but maybe a little worse
in others.

I would love to hear others' ideas about how I might prescribe on the
information available (not much, but here it comes) and/or how I might use
any lab tests on things such as kidney function and ?? that we *might*
follow up with if he doesn't improve more, soon.

History:
Sunny is a 3-year-old, neutered, orange tabby. Had one round of rabies
prior to neutering as a little guy, no shots since then. Has always been
healthy, and just a real, super sweetheart. Extremely mellow, affectionate
in a dignified, independent and laid-back sort of way. He prefers being
outside (unlike our other three, who would definitely prefer to be in!), and
often goes a couple of days between "visits". When he comes in (all of this
describes him *before* this illness) he eats and drinks eagerly but briefly,
then may simply ask to go back out again, but if he's approached for a
cuddle, or if the mood strikes him, he loves to be picked up briefly, and
has an awesomely loud and comfortable-sounding purr.

He has an unusually looooong body (even for a cat!), and one of his
distinguishing characteristics is that he sleeps in the *weirdest*
positions!!! We all notify each other to come view any particularly
delightful contortions, because he really does get into some screamers!
E.g. head going one way and feet going the other (and him souuuund asleep);
or sort of dripping over a pillow; or laid out on his back with arms
stretched waaaay above his head and hind legs at odd angles... And even for
a cat, he has always slept a phenomenal amount. It's always seemed to me
that when he's gone for a couple of days, he's probably not out "prowling",
he's probably just sleeping that much, and doesn't want to bother coming in!
Which made the vet's idea of heatstroke seem plausible -- we had a few days
of very hot, very muggy weather, and he hadn't been to the house for at
least two days during that time, and I can't think where he would have
drunk.

But here's a strange thing: It had been only a couple of days since he was
in last (a typical interval for him), and we didn't see anything
out-of-the-ordinary at that time; but now he seems so pale, so thin and so
weak, I wonder how this could have happened in only a few days!!!

Monday night he appeared at the door, barely able to walk but seeming in
good spirits. No sign of any wound, no sign of pain or any fearfulness;
maybe a slight rightward tilt to his head when he walked. He ate and drank
eagerly (and more urgently than his is custom) then tried to walk more, fell
over, gave up and just rested. Purred appreciatively when patted, rubbed
his head on us, etc. No sign of pain when he was picked up. Seemed very
calm about his inability to walk. Didn't strike me as lethargic. Altho
he's sleeping even more than usual, part of the time he simply rests, looks
around, purrs if he's given attention. His gums and eye rims are very pale,
but no fever.

Today (about 28 hours after the vet's attentions) his legs have more
strength (not falling over as much), but the tilt of his head seems I think
a bit more pronounced than it was, and he doesn't seem as much improved as I
was hoping. He eats very hungrily a few times during the day, but I don't
see him drinking much. (He may have a place to drink outside, tho; he is
spending more time in, but still asks to go out for much of the day, and it
seemed unkind to argue with him, so we didn't... Altho he can't walk well,
he is able to make his way about, slowly.)

My thoughts so far (I haven't given him any remedy yet):
China, for aftereffects of the dehydration? And in case dehydration was
part of the initial cause?
Plumbum, because of his habit of "striking strange poses", and in case
this is neurological rather than electrolyte or infection?
Conium for "asccending paralysis" and in case there is a brain tumor it
could help?

Can anyone suggest rubrics re the right-leaning head? (And anything else!)
I would love to hear both Jill's thoughts from the veterinary perspective,
and also what our homeopathy-only cat folks would suggest. (And as always,
ideas from anyone!)

Thanks so much!
Shannon
Clinical Guidance for Homeopaths and Students of Homeopathy!
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