(-L.) wrote in message om...

appears to be hungry. When we put the food out he rushes to the dish but
simply does'nt eat enough.. We have'nt looked at ear infections. .. To the
touch and visual examination his ears seem OK. He is 13 years old.


This behavior can be a sign of seizure. Take your cat to a feline
specialist and ask them about all of the possible diagnoses people
have offered in this thread. I will bet this cat has developed a
seizure disorder.

-L.

Try 1/8th grain or small dosage of phenobarbitol.
It used to be phenobarbitol is the drug of choice for cats.
Most vets are not familiar with seizure disorders.
Many, in the past, would recommend Dilantin, which is or was
the drug of choice for dogs, but not for cats.

Boston had a feline neurologist at one time.

If there are no lesions in the brain and there is something
wrong with the neck column, as with humans, this could be
big-time trouble.

The hammer-head motion of cats is a neurological sign.
With obvious seizures, like grand-mal in humans used to be called,
you had rigidity and it looks terrible.

There are mild seizures in humans and probably in cats which
have similar neurological make-ups, to a marked degree,
which is why cats were used for experiments and still mayb be,
then you have mild sort of wandering or spacing out.

Have you RAISED the food dish so the cat does not have to bend down?

Have to tried feeding the cat from above with your hand?

The acute angle of the neck may be getting exacerbated with the
arthritis which might have ostephytes pressing on the spinal column
and is much worse than ordinary arthritis. Probably can't see this
without an MRI. I doubt that x-rays could reveal this condition.

I wish you luck. I had a terrible time with the overall grotesque
incompetence of almost all vets in serious neurological disorders. One
moron recommended antibiotics. Another moron recommened Dilantin. The
third and fourth and fifth inompetent vets could not see the seizure
disorder even after I pointed it out to them.

If it was not for Dr. April from Boston, the situation would have been
hopeless. He was the one who said phenobarbital.

Sorry to get so testy. I get angry thinking about how incompentent all
these vets were that I took the poor cat to.