My cat keeps falling over - has anyone's cat had this?

[parabelle]

We've been to the vets and she's had an antibiotic and anti-inflammatory injection (last night) but she's still falling over. Does anyone know if how long it would take for the antibiotic to work. Vet thinks it might be a middle ear infection. I thought she'd be perking up a bit by now, she seems to be getting worse.

Poor lass.

I've known ABs to take up to 36-48 hours to start impacting on Seniorboy's ailments if he's needed them (he only gets them rarely) so I'd maybe give it a little longer. How is she otherwise ? (Eating/drinking etc.) Can she still use her tray to pee and poo?

She's eating like a horse but still so skinny, has lost lots of weight in the five days of being ill. She doesn't have a tray but has been happy to go outside as normal so I'm hoping she will continue to do so. She's nine but has never been ill before.

Maybe keep a gentle eye on the fur round her rear and check outside tomorrow morning ? If her balance is faulty, she might not be executing the poos too cleanly so falling over on to the earth/poo might be on the cards. (And might not be covering up properly if she feels dizzy.)

PS - if you see no improvement by tomorrow, I'd be thinking about giving the vet a quick ring to consult. Did the vet mention how long that particular AB injection would be lasting?

He said to call him first thing on Mon and give him an update. He took an extra vial of blood to send away for testing if need be. He tested the first one to see if she'd been poisoned but ruled that out. He said her kidneys weren't working that well but he thought that is because she is ill, not the cause of her illness.
He said he could also do an x-ray.

How is she this morning, parabelle ?

Better, very hungry and hasn't fallen over so far. Has been outside twice and went upstairs for the first time in a week. She's jumped on and off the sofa twice without falling over. So maybe getting better. Thank you for asking.

Is it vestibular disease?

Might be - but my understanding is that some or many of those occurrences are down to ear infections for which ABs would usually be indicated.

Glad she's better, parabelle. Let's hope she makes good progress and returns to normal - although even if she does, it might be a good idea to have her to the vet after it's cleared up if only to check out those slightly dodgy kidney results. And in case her weight doesn't improve.

She's just fallen over again. But still eating so I guess that's a good sign. Going to talk to the vet on Mon and take her back again. I don't think she's right. She seems to be eating more and gaining weight but the falling over is not right. What's vestibular disease, does that make them fall over?

Just googled, she has lots of the symptoms. I will talk to vet.

Lordy, parabelle. Vestibular dysfunction is a difficult one. It's frequently of unknown origin (as I understand it) but one cause can be ear infections - as you'll see from the info on the net. That will be why the vet was trying to clear what they think is her ear infection.

The reason I mentioned the length of effect of the AB injection is that I believe that one type of injection only lasts equivalent to a shorter AB course (say 3 days) so she might need a repeat injection if the infection wasn't shifting easily. There is a longer equivalent AB injection (a two week equivalent) but vets can be a little reluctant to use it because that's an end of the line med (AB-wise and not to do with your girl!) and vets like to keep it in reserve.

But I'm not a clinician - you need to talk through with your vet.

I still think she sounds as if she's doing better. One falling over today is not a complete relapse. Fingers crossed for her.

Oh thank you. I wondered about the AB, he said we should see an improvement over the weekend, which we have, she's definitely put on some weight (eating lots) and is much more active. But I did wonder if we should go back and get a second AB. Am reading a lot about vestibular disease, says cancer is rare but it could take up to 30 days to recover. My poor baby. She's so scared when she falls over, she just doesn't understand what's going on.

She would be disturbed - cats relying on balance as much as they do. I'd keep her in as much as you can and maybe get a tray for her for inside the house. (Always useful to have one in the cupboard in case of illness anyway.) It might make her feel even better if she didn't have to go out unless she wanted to - if she's not 100%

Discuss it with the vet on Monday. I think what you're saying is reasonably positive though.

Our old cat had a very nasty middle ear infection, I thought he had suffered a stroke, it did take quite a few days to recover from. He would walk along falling over like he was drunk and always to the left, in the end he used to go the long way round and use the walls as support. Hope your cat is feeling better.

I'm ate in coming to the party, but middle ear infection is considerably more common in cats than vestibular syndrome so this is the most likely cause. It can take several weeks of antibiotics to successfully treat middle ear disease I typically would treat for a minimum of 6 weeks. It can take 7 to 10 to signs of improvement as you not only have to kill the infection, but also reduce the inflammation around the cranial nerves that are involved.

Oh yes the two week antibiotic injection cozie mentioned should be used as a first line antibiotic as it is broad spectrum and ensures compliance. It is the recommended first line drug for abscesses, urinary tract infections, skin infections and respiratory infections. It's guarantee of compliance helps to protect the narrower spectrum second and third line drugs.

Thanks for that Lone. You explain things better than my own vet.

...... who actually gave me different facts. She'll get a raised eyebrow next time she raises a hypodermic to Seniorboy.

My facts about the antibiotic comes from a recently published paper on the correct use of antibiotics in small animal practice. Just so you know the source.

I'll have a look out for it - just to keep her on her toes.