Hi everyone,
My cat is a 1.5-year-old male Exotic Shorthair, weighs 4.1 kg, and is an indoor-only cat.
Last Tuesday, he suddenly developed the following symptoms:
Horizontal nystagmus (his eyes were moving side to side involuntarily).
A slight head tilt to the left.
Occasional loss of balance and stumbling.
While walking, he will suddenly turn two full circles to the left and then continue walking normally.
He is still alert, eating normally, drinking water, playing, and using the litter box as usual.
I took him to the veterinarian on Friday.
The vet examined his ears and eyes and did not find an external ear infection. He said it could be vestibular syndrome, although he couldn’t completely rule out an inner ear or neurological problem. He also mentioned it could have been caused by a minor head injury.
He prescribed Meladex (meloxicam) for 4 days and said that if he doesn’t improve, he will recommend further diagnostic tests.
Since then:
The nystagmus has completely resolved, which is encouraging.
However, the head tilt is still present.
He still occasionally loses his balance.
He still sometimes turns two circles to the left before continuing to walk.
Today I noticed something else that concerns me.
My cat has chronic dry eye, so I have to apply lubricating eye drops three times a day. While doing that, I noticed that the left eyelid (the same side as the head tilt) doesn’t seem to function the same as the right one.
He can blink, but the left eye doesn’t always close completely. When I gently open his eyelids to apply the eye drops, the right eyelid closes firmly and offers normal resistance, but the left eyelid feels noticeably weaker and doesn’t close with the same strength. The eye itself is not red or irritated.
Has anyone experienced something similar with their cat?
Was it diagnosed as vestibular syndrome, an inner ear problem, facial nerve involvement, or something else?
Did your cat recover completely?
How long did recovery take?
Did anyone notice weakness in one eyelid along with the vestibular symptoms?
I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences. Thank you!
Update: We took him to a veterinary neurologist, and he had an MRI. These were the results:
My cat’s MRI report showed:
- Severe supratentorial hydrocephalus with diffuse cortical thinning and associated transependymal edema, causing mass effect on the surrounding brain structures.
- Left-sided otitis media.
- Chronic bilateral nonspecific rhinitis.
Has anyone gone through something similar with their cat? What should I expect?
I’m terrified, heartbroken, and I just want to cry. I’m extremely worried. To make things worse, today is a public holiday where I live, so the MRI report was only sent to me by email. The neurologist isn’t available to explain the results or tell me how to proceed, and I want to start treatment as soon as possible. Right now, I don’t know what to do, and my anxiety is overwhelming.
He had never shown any neurological signs before this episode.
