Can anyone verify my vet's diagnosis for my dear old puss?

[kitbit]

I know, long shot without seeing the patient, but I thought I'd give it a try as I'm not convinced about what I'm being told.

Elderly puss has always had a strong constitution. A week ago she had a fit (first time ever), rigid on the floor etc. She couldn't move her back legs afterwards but gradually over 24 hrs got them back, then her balance and finally was walking OK. But she was off her grub. The vet did a blood test, listened to her heart, lungs etc and found nothing wrong except a liver infection for which she had antibiotics.

2 days ago she had another fit, less severe but still wobbly on her feet. She's been off her food for about 5 days now, and hardly drinking anything. Swallowing seems to be painful. I thought it might be hairballs but the hairball gel hasn't helped (it usually brings one up within a few hrs).

Different vet did more bloods and also said problem with her liver, but nothing that antibiotics would have helped with. He thinks the liver problem might have caused the fits and the painful swallowing/slight retching. He gave her 2 jabs (not sure what - we're in Spain and I didn't fully understand) and some ongoing liver function health tablets and said to see how she does over the next few days.

That was yesterday. Today she's hardly eaten anything and has drunk next to nothing, and she's curled up upstairs looking terrible, clearly feeling awful.

So - is there a possibility that a problem with her liver could have caused the fits? Or does it sound like a stroke(s)? She is very old - could this just be old age and possibly the beginning of the last few days/weeks for her? I don't want to put her through lots of tests/ops/treatment if it's just plain Old Age but if it does sound feasible obviously we'll go for it.

Any thoughts at all would be really gratefully received, I hate seeing her so miserable

God, that's looong

a little bump just in case someone's there...

I am here.

My cat is 14 and has been ill for the past 3 years with hypo something. Until she was put on medication she was having funny turns/fits. She would cry really badly and chase her tail, trying to bite it. There is something wrong in her brain and I think she thinks her tail is something alien. She will be on medication for life but I can't find much about her illness and her prognosis.

She also has arthritis and I notice her legs shaking sometimes. I took her to the vet a few weeks ago as she was limping really badly. She had some medication and was soon fine. I think it was a combination of her srthritis and being curled up asleep for hours without moving.

How old is she?

All I can tell you is that at 17 my old cat went right off food, stopped cleaning himself or in fact doing anything at all, looked completely miserable and we were advised to have him put down (which we did - it was horrible). But no fitting prior to that.

I guess you need to ask for some assurance from the vet that the treatment will give her X months/years of a normal life before you can make a decision, coupled with thinking about how distressed she gets going to the vet, having injections etc.

I don't know about the fits but I do know that liver problems can make a dog very sick, and they often won't eat and will vomit a lot.

The fact that she's not drinking means she is probably dehydrated and that, together with not eating, could be making her wobbly but I am not a vet.

You need to make sure the vet(s) know she is not drinking as if this continues she will need fluid therapy (ie a drip).

Best of luck & hope she picks up.

Just checked my books and yes, liver problems can cause seizures as one of the liver's main functions is to remove toxins from the blood so if it's not working properly these build up and can cause seizures.

HTH

And sorry for calling your cat a dog in my original post

She's 15..thanks everyone, really useful to know your experiences. Bella29 thanks for the info, I'm really glad to know as I didn't want to put her through unnecessary treatment if it wasn't relevant, not that I don't trust the vet but what he's suggesting is expensive so you can't help wonder if there's an alterior motive sometimes!

Ulterior even

TBH If you don't trust your vet it might be time to find a new one. I doubt very much that they recommend treatment for nothing. When my cat was diagnosed it was after a scan costing £2500 so I totally understand the worry about expensive treatment. 15 isn't classed as really old in a cat anymore. Mine is 14 and still has crazy kitten moments. Admittedly she sleeps a lot too.

Yep, agree Nabster! I'm wary really because the spanish culture is to over-do treatment, humans as well as animals. Classically they prescrible antibiotics for everything, and if you come out of a doctor's surgery empty handed the perception is that you have been neglected, much like UK about 30 yrs ago before the message got through that sometimes all you need is good advice. So I just wanted to check, really.