(more) then they told me Positive test for FIV doesn't mean she has it, it only means she doesn't NOt have it. Anotherwords it;s possible she has it but can still be something else. They referred me to an out of state Cat Neurolgist! Could be FIV could be brain tumor could be poisoning(though she was never throwing up, never had convulsions, it is still possible , but the chances are lower they said). There were no cuts or bangs or swelling on her head(so probably not from head trauma, but even that is still possible). To go to the neurologists it's $150 just to walk in the door! When this first happened she went from a skittish silly cat than ran around very fast! She disppeared for a few days then came back, She seemed ok . Then someone was at my house, I saw her go to the basement. 3 hrs later she returned a very different cat! Like she was high on drugs or drunk!!! Staggering , falling over as if the room were spinning around! She wasn't eating , either. The vet gave her antibiotics , and she had yeast in her ears so they gave her ear meds(Ithink that helped with her balance which is somewhat improved. But the meds to stop her shivering she spit out and foamed and gagged so much I can't get them down her throat. Some days she has good days , some days are bad. I still feed her wet cat food and leave dry out. I can't leave her alone. Her toenails get stuck and it's as if she forgets how to take them out. But the weird thing is, she always comes when I call(never did that before!!!). She's still slow moving, jerks back and forth if you move too fast near her..It's very weird and sad!! She is only 10 mo. Old!! The vet says they need to do an MRI brain scan, but either way, he said the prognosis isn't good. If it's FIV he says she could live for days or weeks. If it's a brain tumor or anything needing surgery it will be very $$$$$. I don't want to put her to sleep, he says she doesn't seem to be in pain. The main thing is to make sure your cat eats, and give it water(somedays when she is really sick I have to use a plastic(soft) dropper and dribble it into her mouth. She seems much better when I do. On really bad days I crumble a tiny (I mean tiny!!) bit of pepcid AC into the water and it seems to make her much better!! For a while at least. I'll continue the antibiotics til they are done(Clyndacin , I think it's called, she doesn't like it but I think it helps!) and the Dr. Says her ears are now clear(she walks straighter now so I figure the ear yeast was affecting her balance). But the shivering is still there(not visible, you have to hold her close to feel it, before you could see her ears were rotating like a bat-vet says seizures, not that she's responding to sounds). I wish there were vets in Ct who could do neurology tests for no charge!! If I ever win the lottery , I will give $$ to help people who cannot afford these expensive tsts, think the MRI and tests are $1000 to $1500 or more!! It would be good if we could post videos so people can see. I checked online, dogs get "staggering disease" she fits the descrpition, but only cats in Belgium(6) and one I think in Denmark have been found to have it. I'm wondering if it is this? But it's not progressing right now, so maybe not. We are all baffled!
