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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / January 2004Cat making a Chewing Like Movement all the time
Hello, After spending almost a grand, there seems to be not one Vet in Canada that would diagnose this problem with our cat. He moves his head from left to right frequently with a chewing motion. I know it is hard to explain but I'll try ... Imagine a human vigourously chewing gum and at the same time nodding his head. We thought initially it was hairball but that is not the case. It has been going for a month now and his eating has almost stopped even though he takes a few jabs of his food here and there and generally seems to be in a poor health. Had anyone had or heard of this problem with cats. Thanks in advance. > Hello, > [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > Thanks in advance. Has anyone checked his ears? I'm thinking maybe an ear infection? circa Sat, 17 Jan 2004 05:59:55 GMT, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, Rex (no-one@no-spam.com) said, > Hello, > [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > Thanks in advance. Yes. There are several things that could cause this. One is nausea. Another is a sore or infected tooth. As Karen mentioned, ear problems might also cause it. Given the other behaviors you list, I'm thinking more towards mouth pain or nausea. What have the vets done as far as diagnostic tests and exams? Laura  SignatureI am Dyslexia of Borg, Your a.s will be laminated. >From: "Rex" no-one@no-spam.com >After spending almost a grand, there seems to be not one Vet in Canada that >would diagnose this problem with our cat. Have you tried a veterinarian dentist? ________ See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm >Imagine a human vigourously chewing gum and at the same time nodding his >head. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > >Thanks in advance. As the others said, it could be an inner ear issue or dental problem. I do squirrel rescue and I sometimes get in squirrels with head injuries. They nod their head, sometimes chew. Generally it goes away in a couple of weeks if it was not a major head injury. I had one who did it forever. He couldn't eat normally. I had to feed him with a syringe. Hopefully it's just a dental issue. >He moves his head from left to right frequently with a chewing motion. I >know it is hard to explain but I'll try ... > >Imagine a human vigourously chewing gum and at the same time nodding his >head. Without more information on the cat, I can't say much about whether this idea really has any merit, but when I read the subject line, it reminded me immidiately of "bruxism" (teeth grinding), which is listed as one of the side effects of Prozac, and other psychotropic medications. This seems unlikely, but it is possible that the cause is psychogenic. Disclaimer: I'm not a vet, or a pet psychiatrist (if those really exist yet). Jim Thanks for all the replies. The vets checked his tooth and found no problems there .. Just in case we had a tooth cleanup done as well. The vet saw him do that and thought it might be arthristis on the neck .. The x-rays apparently confirmed that as well. The whole thing started about a month ago, when he started vomitting frequently and this was just a side occurance. Also had blood work done on him and kidneys etc seem alright. He 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. > >He moves his head from left to right frequently with a chewing motion. I > >know it is hard to explain but I'll try ... [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Jim My Maine Coon, Sooty Foot, used to lean against your hand when happy and gnash her teeth and purr. If there was no hand nearby she'd lean on the nearest object. She lived to almost 21 years. > Thanks for all the replies. The vets checked his tooth and found no problems > there .. Just in case we had a tooth cleanup done as well. [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > > > > Jim circa Sat, 17 Jan 2004 22:38:12 GMT, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, Rex (no-one@no-spam.com) said, > Thanks for all the replies. The vets checked his tooth and found no problems > there .. Just in case we had a tooth cleanup done as well. > The vet saw him do that and thought it might be arthristis on the neck .. > The x-rays apparently confirmed that as well. The whole thing started about > a month ago, when he started vomitting frequently and this was just a side > occurance. Okay, he's vomiting a lot? What does his stool look like? Has he had an abdominal ultrasound? Bloodwork? Laura SignatureI am Dyslexia of Borg, Your a.s will be laminated. > Thanks for all the replies. The vets checked his tooth and found no problems > there .. Just in case we had a tooth cleanup done as well. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > 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. > > 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. "Rex" <no-one@no-spam.com> wrote in message news:<oPiOb.150333$X% > Thanks for all the replies. The vets checked his tooth and found no problems > there .. Just in case we had a tooth cleanup done as well. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > 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. I entered those signs in Cornell consultant and got only two diagnoses: rabies and the one below. Although the condition below is more common in young animals, you might want to look into it. -Difficulty in prehending or chewing food -Vomiting or regurgitation, emesis -Head shaking, headshaking PORTOSYSTEMIC SHUNTS, HEPATIC MICROVASCULAR DYSPLASIA, IN DOGS AND CATS Portosystemic anastomoses or shunts can occur in dogs and cats, allowing venous blood to bypass the liver. Most common in young animals. In portosystemic shunts, vascular communications between the portal and systemic venous systems allow bypass of the liver. Hepatic microvascular dysplasia has been described in dogs; small intrahepatic portal vessels and portal endothelial hyperplasia allows communication between portal and systemic circulation. Hepatic microvascular dysplasia can be an isolated disease or can be present in conjunction with portosystemic shunts. The presenting signs may be primarily related to the digestive tract, or there may be signs of neurologic disease due to hepatoencephalopathy. Hyperammonemia, ammonium biurate crytalluria, and bile acid elevation can occur. Diagnosis confirmed by contrast venography, although in hepatic microvascular dysplasia biopsy is required for diagnosis. A syndrome resembling idiopathic noncirrhotic portal hypertension has been reported in Doberman Pinschers; these dogs lacked intrahepatic arteriovenous fistulae, portal vein atresia, or intrahepatic fibrosis. Uric acid stones associated with shunts can cause signs of bladder disease. Other possible signs: Abnormal behavior, aggression, changing habits, Abnormal proprioceptive positioning, Anisocoria, Anorexia, Ascites, Ataxia, Blindness, Circling, Coma, Constant or increased vocalization, Deafness, Decreased amount of stools, absent feces, constipation, Decreased, absent thirst, hypodipsia, adipsia, Diarrhea, Difficulty in prehending or chewing food, Disoriented, Dryness of skin or hair, Dullness, Dysmetria, Dysphagia, Dysuria, Excessive salivation, Excitement, Fever, Gagging, Generalized weakness, Head pressing, Head shaking, , Hematuria, Hyperesthesia, Hypothermia, Icterus, Increased frequency of urination, Lack of growth or weight gain, Mydriasis, Pale, Palpable enlarged kidney , Paraparesis, Pica, Polydipsia, Polyphagia, Polyuria, Propulsion, Proteinuria, Pruritus, Red or brown urine, Rough hair coat, Seizures or syncope, Tachycardia, Tetraparesis, Tongue protrusion, Trembling, Tremor, Underweight, poor condition, thin, emaciated, unthriftiness, ill thrift, Vomiting or regurgitation, Weight loss > "Rex" <no-one@no-spam.com> wrote in message news:<oPiOb.150333$X% >> Thanks for all the replies. The vets checked his tooth and found no problems [quoted text clipped - 36 lines] > portal vein atresia, or intrahepatic fibrosis. Uric acid stones > associated with shunts can cause signs of bladder disease. Last months Cat Fancy had an article about this condition. Perhaps you could find it at your library. Karen |
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