Everything came back negative--the vet said that she's 99% certain that he
has a malignant tumor, probably in the brain stem or near a vestibular nerve.
At least I know, and I know that there is nothing that I could have done to
have prevented this. It just is what it is.

This isn't just wobbly like arthritis wobbly--I thought that he had arthritis
too, but I kept observing him and realized that he wasn't stiff after having
layed down for a while, it wasn't better with heat or worse when it was rainy
and cold. It was obviously something neurological. I didn't realize until the
vet pointed it out yesterday that his head tilts to the right side when he
walks, and we he falls, he also falls to that side. He also almost never sits
on his rear, probably because he doesn't have enough control over his balance
to do that. I read for hours on the internet last night, and what I read said
that when they have a lesion on the brain, they tend to fall towards the side
where the lesion is located. The doctor said that when she examined him
yesterday, he was definitely not "painful," so we're going to give him
prednisone to reduce brain swelling and see if that helps his balance any. I
know that it's just buying him a little more time, and I will definitely let
him go when he tells me that it's time. I always promised myself that I would
never be selfish and let any of them suffer.

Yeah, it's a heartbreak, because this cat is my best friend--all five of them
are, all in their own different ways. He's a big, silky teddy bear, and has
the sweetest disposition you could ever imagine. My 14 month old chases him
all over the place ( I try to prevent this whenever possible) and he has
never once hissed or shown any aggression towards her. He just looks up at me
with eyes that seem to say "Can you call off the little semi-bald upright
walking kitten, please?" LOL...

I guess that all I can do now is look at every day with him as a blessing and
let him be a furry pig to his heart's content. The doctor said that it would
be better if he kept his "reserves," because he might eventually need them.

) Sharon

Rhonda wrote:
Any ideas? I'll get the results of his blood workup tomorrow.

Don't feel bad -- you took him to the vet twice to find out what's wrong.

We had a diabetic cat but he did not have those symptoms. Also, he lost
a lot of weight fast and drank a ton of water. I would think you'd see
something like that before you'd see complications of diabetes, but
sounds like you will find out with the tests tomorrow.

Did the vet take x-rays too? I would check the bones, etc., and check
for arthritis even though he is pretty young for it. We have a front-end
wobbly 15 year old with arthritis in his front knee, and an 11 year old
with arthritis in her spine (but you don't notice it in her movements.)

At any point could your cat have broken a hip and it didn't heal
properly? Our vet informed us that our 11 year old had a broken hip at
some point -- probably as a kitten before we found her as a stray. It
did not heal correctly.

Good luck, don't give up on finding the answer. If the tests come back
okay, ask for more tests or get another opinion! Internist vets are good
at diagnosis if you get a written referral to one.

Let us know what you find out,

Rhonda

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