What could this be? Our veterinarian is puzzled...?

Hi there,

This poor kitten surely has a lot going on in his young life. I bet he is a very sweet little guy, and it is obvious that you love him a lot. For that he is one lucky kitten. Your blog is a wonderful tribute to him.

From the descriptions of his behavior and the inability for the eye to dilate, it sounds like this little guy may have a neurological problem along with his other issues. When folks play around with genetic mutations very often there are defects in so many genes which affect many organs and of course the brain. All these problems may be attributed to the mutated genes in the Primordial Dwarfism breeding program. (sigh).

That he has balance issues is another symptom which falls into neurological disorders, which may be related to "wobbly kitten" syndrome.

http://www.fabcats.org/owners/wobbly_kit...

His calling out loudy waking up from sleep and then going back to sleep sounds similar to elderly cats with dementia. I am not a veterinarian but if I were,with this constellation of symptoms and negative testing for other conditions, these mysterious symptoms would be very puzzling.

Here is a very interesting article about Primordial Dwarfism in cats. Included in the article are some health problems associated with this breeding which may add a piece of the puzzle.

http://www.messybeast.com/dwarfcats.html

I wish you all the best with your little guy. I do hope Messybeast's article is of help to your vet.

Troublesniffer

Owned by cats for over 40 years

Former CFA registered breeder of Siamese and Oriental Shorthairs

I think that the problem lies in what you've just told us - the breeder was one of those irresponsible one breeding 'teacup' cats. The only way that is done is by breeding the runts, which are generally not the healthiest ones in the litter. So while no, he's technically not inbred, but he's inherited the worst of the genetics, and not the best.

I'm guessing you've got more than one issue going on. The main one sounds like it's neurological, but not the standard seizure disorder. Do you have a vet teaching hospital nearby? It sounds like a consult with a neurologist is in order now. The fact that he was bred to be a dwarf is very important - and be sure to explain how these poor things are bred - runt to runt.

He's a cute little guy, I hope you can come up with a diagnosis for him so that they can treat him successfully.

Wow! That poor kitten is having a hard go. Have you changed his food to a really high quality food that's completely grain free? If not, I would certainly do that. I would also make sure that he gets ONLY canned food for now so that you can make sure that he's hydrated enough and his organs are getting properly flushed. Wellness makes a really good canned cat food.. While his food probably won't be the answer to all his ills, it's certainly a place to start. I read a review on the Wellness kitten canned food that may be of interest to you. Here's what this person had to say.

I have a 3-month old kitten recently diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy. It is very important to me that I monitor everything he eats so I know exactly what is going into his little body in addition to his medication. I rest easy knowing that Wellness kitten food is providing an all-natural meal with all of the extra nutrients an active kitten needs and nothing he doesn't need. He loves the flavor and dives right in at every meal. When my older cats were ill and had reduced appetites, I was delighted when they showed interest in this highly nutritious food. I will always keep some on hand, even when all of the kittens are grown, as a healthy, tempting treat.

http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/products/Wellness-Ca...

This next link is to the ingredients in the Wellness Canned Cat Food. I actually like the extra meat in the adult formula but your vet will guide as to which food is best for a kitten.

http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/products/Wellness-Gr...

The other thing that I would do if this were my kitten, I would get some broad spectrum Probiotics and add it to his food. The probiotics helps to balance their digestive system and improve their immune function. Improving their immune system is critical when the kitten is fighting so hard to survive and his immune system is most certainly compromised . I only know that proper balance is so critical to health for all living things. Key nutrients, digestive enzymes, probiotics are greatly needed in order to maintian optimal health. One thing is certain about adding the digestive enzymes and probiotics to his diet, they will NOT hurt him and WILL help him to digest his food better and thereby insure that he can absorb the nutrients from his food AND eliminate it more efficiently. This little guy needs all the help he can get and the probiotics and digestive enzymes will give him a boost up.

Another thing that came to mind is asking your vet if he could do an MRI to see if there's any issues with his pituitary gland. If there's a growth on the pituitary gland, one of the first things that get's affected is the eyes because the optic nerves are right there. The smallest growth puts pressure on those optic nerves and sight is affected. It happened to my husband to that's why I thought of it. There are times that his right eye will suddenly go blind and he get's an instant headache. It's random so they haven't done surgery to remove the tumor, which is very small. The human pituitary gland is the size of a pea, so I would imagine it's very tiny in a cat. Just a thought.

Another thing that I would try, and you may want to consult your vet about this, is to give the kitten a teaspoon of Colloidal Silver by syringe about 3 times a day for the next week to make sure that any and all bad bacteria, virus, and or fungi are killed and eliminating them as any cause for his maladies. It can be purchased at a health food store at 10-20 ppm and would be much easier on his system and would be a broader approach than just antibiotics. You also eliminate the risk of a yeast overgrowth that would occur after antibiotics as they are not selective in the bacteria killed off. That is also where the Probiotics are ESSENTIAL, because the good bacteria MUST be replaced. To me, it's just a common sense approach to come at this thing from all possible angles before heavy duty drugs or steroids come into play.

I wish you and your kitten all the best. Kudos to you for being such a good companion and caring so much about this baby's well being. My prayers are with you and may God Bless you and yours..

EDIT: Wow. after reading about Primordial Dwarfism I feel pretty silly for my suggestions above. I cannot believe that ANY cat registry would accept this as a legitimate breed. It sounds criminal to me and is SO unfair to those poor kitties. It's just sickening to me that some people have such a God Complex that they feel it's appropriate to interfere with genetics and what? Outsmart God? Looks like they've failed miserably.

I did not see where an FIV test was done. Also, was this kitten from a shelter or place where there were a lot of other cats? FIP (feline coronavirus) may also be on the list of differentials. Unfortunately, both of these are terminal illnesses. If the kitten's mother had an illness while she was pregnant this could have also affected this kittens nervous system, in which case you would not see any changes except on MRI.

I'm wondering if there is a way to screen for tumors? Possibly an MRI or something like that? Expensive I know, but I'd be wanting to rule it out. A tumor could cause seizure like behavior and all sorts of symptoms. In the end it could be something genetic...there's always going to be a health possibility there because of his PD. He's a precious little thing. Good for you for rescuing him!

I would look more into his heart.

This could lead to far worse things.

I would keep an extra extra extra close eye on him always.

Think back to when he didn't do this, like right before. Did he eat something different? Or what about a mouse/rat/bird. Could he have gotten a hold of one of those?

I will make sure to pray for your little kitty. I hope everything goes extremely well. Good Luck!

Could it be possible that he was inbred? Inbred cats tend to have problems throughout their life, and the size of his heart hints at that; Inbred animals can have extra limbs, missing limbs, and having a small heart could be an indication of inbreeding. Ask your vet if that's a possibility.

**I'm not a veterinarian, but I do know a lot about cats.

I don't know what to say, poor baby. You have spent a lot of time and money trying to help him. Take him to a university with a good veterinary program. Texas A&M has a great clinic, with all the diagnostic equipment, and many of the best minds in animal health today.

TX Mom

I'd say you're lucky the freaks chose your question to rebut. but they basically said they dispute the scientific evidence of genes and biology in favor of their preconceived notions of observation helped along by the super being.

wow... i don't know, but as long as she is cute...