It is surprising that he missed it, but I am so relieved that the 2nd
vet found the ear infection. I wouldn't have figured an ear infection as
a possible root cause but I guess it makes sense.

I've had Abelard on my mind all day, and am much relieved now.

Oh, but he has known this cat since his birth, because he's the vet used by
the lady who gave him to me. He neutered Abelard and did some extra surgery
on his left eye at the same time. The eye had the inner eyelid completely
covering it up before the surgery, and afterward the eye was much closer to
normal looking (although still blind). He has treated this cat several other
times over the years as well.

But it's not so much that he missed the ear thing - although he did spend a
lot of time examining his ears yesterday and even questioned me about them.
What really made me mad was his whole attitude and treatment of me. The
receptionist was just as bad, maybe worse.

I was quite nervous and scared when I first brought the cat in, and my mouth
had gone completely dry. I asked if I could get some water and they refused
to even let me use the restroom! And when we left the exam room to go back
to the treatment area, the doc hands me a bottle of disinfectant spray and
some towels and tells me to clean the chair I was sitting in... like he
thought I had cooties on my slacks or something!?!

And I asked to use the phone there to see if I could reach the roto-rooter
guy (a local call) to ask the name of the cleaning product he told me to
get, because I had forgotten it, and they refused to let me use a phone,
said "use your cell" twice after I told them I don't have one. I had to go
out and find another phone to use. When I came back I had the name of the
product and wanted to call poison control - a toll-free call - and they
wouldn't let me. They also wouldn't let me call the local hardware store to
ask them what the caution label says on the product.

There were more little jabs than I have time to recount.  Suffice it to say
they were just unbelievably rude to me.

I had several inner ear infections several years ago (talking about
*myself,* not my cats).  The first one got fairly bad before I went to a
doctor.  After that, I recognized the symptoms quickly and never let it get
so bad.  I never had "twitchiness," but I completely lost my sense of
balance.  I could not walk a straight line.  In fact, I could not walk *at
all* without leaning on furniture or someone's arm, and I would stumble into
a wall if I let go of arm support.  It was all solved quickly with some
pills the doctor prescribed.  I was vomiting, had tinnitus, and had a bad
headache.  (I was a counselor at a summer camp in a remote location at the
time, which helps to explain why I waited so long to go to a doctor.)  If I
remember correctly, the doctor also had me drop just a *little* rubbing
alcohol in the ear.  You might want to ask your vet about this.

I found this site that discusses inner infection in cats:
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=1&cat=1336&articleid=1564

MaryL

I'm glad that Abelard seems to be doing better.  I hope it is just an
ear infection that can be cured with antibiotics.

There's a big difference in ear infections.  If it remains in the outer ear
it's fairly easy to deal with, if it gets into the inner ear it's a whole
different ball game.  It can even start up in the inner ear like the
vestibular syndrome I spoke about before.
An inner ear problem will cause severe balance problems,  nausea( which is
why they won't eat) and neurological signs like eye-flicking. If a vet is
not clued up on this can lead to advice to euthanise.
It's always worth a go but they do have to be nursed quite intensively for
the first couple of weeks which Pat is doing and seems to be seeing
improvement.
They are rarely left without some slight impairment if they do recover, like
a head tilt or some wobbliness.
Sometimes they do not recover (but I hasten to add Abelard is showing such
improvement he will be one of the lucky ones)
This is from my own experience.

I wish someone had told me all those years ago, when my first heart dog
Pollyanna had a vestibular attack that totally knocked off her feet and with
eye-flicking.  I was persuaded by a young vet that I should have her put to
sleep because she'd had a stroke so I did.  I know now that I could have
saved her.  They DO NOT have strokes.

Tweed

On May 10, 2:31 am, "Pat" <just_a_ghost@in_this_house.com> wrote: