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Old June 4th, 2008, 06:00 PM
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Unhappy Mooki staggers

My Mooki started staggering and I am wondering what may be wrong please...

A little background:

Approx. a month ago, Mooki was staggering too...just came on all of a sudden then too...she had a hard time climbing, walking, etc. I took her to a vet and we did blood work on her...everything was fine except she had a kidney infection. The vet gave us Novamoxin and phosphorous...after giving her hte meds for less than a week, Mooki went into a downward spiral VERY quickly! She would not eat, drink or use the litter box. I took her back to the vet and she put her on an IV of phophorous and another antibiotic (I don't remember the name). Mooki spent the night on the IV, came home the next day and has been perfectly normal for the last month...I have been slipping the phosphorous and stomach acid stuff into her food as directed. Today, she was walking up to me, fell over and has been staggering since...what could be wrong with her?!? She is still eating and drinking.
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Old June 4th, 2008, 06:11 PM
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What tests were done? Full Blood panel & urinalysis? did they xray the kidneys? take any samples for bacterial cultures?

Are you sure it's phosphorus that was in the IV? In most incidents regarding the kidneys phosphorus should be limited.

I would get a second opinion
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Old June 4th, 2008, 06:21 PM
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Oooops...it is Potasium that the vet gave me to give her...1/4 capsule per day...

Complete blood/urine/x-rays...

Last edited by TacoGrl; June 4th, 2008 at 07:04 PM.
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Old June 4th, 2008, 07:30 PM
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A few more questions...

1) Was a urine culture performed? If yes, was it before the antibiotics, after the antibiotics or both?

2) How long was she on antibiotics? Is she still on antibiotics? For a kidney infection 4-6 weeks of antibiotics can be common.

I am concerned about a relapse, which is serious. Hope I can help out on this one.
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Old June 4th, 2008, 08:03 PM
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The urine was done before and after the antibiotics...

She was on the antibiotics for approx. 3 days then took a real turn for the worse for the next couple of days...her eyes crossed...her temp shot up...she stopped eating and drinking all together-not even her treats...her fur went all greasy. That was when i took her back to the vet and she spent the night on an IV.

The vet did not put her back on antibiotics when she left because we were more concerned about her eating and getting her weight back up...

For the last month, she has been her usual self...eating/drinking/playing/walking normally/etc. so we didn't want to risk it...it was almost like she was allergic to the meds because the reaction was so severe in such a short period of time...

Will a kidney infection cause the staggering/wobbling or are we dealing with two seperate things?

Last edited by TacoGrl; June 4th, 2008 at 08:22 PM.
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Old June 4th, 2008, 08:40 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mooki View Post
Will a kidney infection cause the staggering/wobbling or are we dealing with two separate things?
First of all, whether the is a second disease or not, a kidney infection is very serious and there is often more than one antibiotic choices available. There is not way to eradicate an infection without antibiotics and leaving a kidney infection in place is not safe. Furthermore there are many kidney supportive therapies/medications/diet changes that can help the body not only recover but also help the patient deal with antibiotics.

Can kidney infections cause staggering/wobbling? Yes, but that does not mean there isn't a second problem. However usually we try to tie clinical signs to one problem until there is reason to suspect multiple problems.

Also, the urine tests... urinalysis only or urinalysis and culture? How high are her kidney enzymes and how dilute is her urine?
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Old June 4th, 2008, 09:40 PM
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The vet did not provide me with any information regarding levels...she just said that Mooki had a kidney infection and gave me antibiotics to "cure" it.

I believe it was just urinaysis...I don't remember hearing anything about a culture and the bill does not mention it...

As for how dilute is her urine? Her catbox does not smell strong, but it never did...I found that kind of odd because other cats I have had have always had an initial odor...and Mooki normally just urinates and doesn't cover it up...still no odour...has done that for the last 13 years...always in the box though...no accidents.

If there are other antibiotics, then it saddens me that the vet did not recommend any of them...she did put Mooki on a new food "Medi-Cal Gastro"...she keeps it down and eats a lot of it...along with Fancy Feast and Temptations as treats.
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Old June 4th, 2008, 10:57 PM
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i would be talking to the vet please let us know what he says

if he is good he will find another way or if he is stumoed he should recommend someione i might get a second opinion anyway and really educate yourself about this

good luck and remeber cats are tougher than you think
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Old June 5th, 2008, 06:42 AM
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I am sorry to hear about Mooki. Hope you can get some answers.
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Old June 5th, 2008, 10:37 AM
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I agree with Jim Hall. At this point, you need to talk to your veterinarian again. There are too many questions here that need answers. Please let us know. Feel free to PM me if you need to.
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Old June 5th, 2008, 04:47 PM
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Thx everyone for the support...wish I had found this site when I was dealing with Jaeger (died from mouth cancer 4 yrs ago) I only hope I can be of some support to someone here.

As for Mooki...we went to a new vet this morning and he re-hydrated her (she has been drinking/eating so I don't get that) after taking some more blood/urine (will hear back in a couple of days)...he doesn't know what is going on either and has asked for the reports from the other vet to see if there are any differences in the numbers. He got her playing and she would fall over...almost like an inner ear infection or something with her equalibrium...he is going to get into that further after the tests come back. On the plus/weird side of things, Mooki seems to be back to her normal self this afternoon after she had 4 hr nap...her coat is even soft again and not greasy...no sign of staggering...eyes straight...can jump up without using the basket I put by the bed...maybe she is just trying to psych me out...wouldn't put it past her...she is a tabby after all LOL!
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Old June 5th, 2008, 04:57 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mooki View Post
...we went to a new vet this morning and he re-hydrated her (she has been drinking/eating so I don't get that)... On the plus/weird side of things, Mooki seems to be back to her normal self this afternoon after she had 4 hr nap...
I am glad she is feeling better. Reason for rehydrating when a pet is drinking. This is usually a cat phenomenon however if the pet is has kidney disease, then they are looking large amounts of fluid and what they are eating and drinking does not always address what they need. Many cats with kidney disease live in a mild to moderate dehydrated state which actually contributes further to the kidney's downfall. This is the reason for rehydration and why so many cat owners give fluids under the skin to their cats at home - it is a constant battle of fluids.

Let us know how the results turn out!
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Old June 5th, 2008, 10:46 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mooki View Post
On the plus/weird side of things, Mooki seems to be back to her normal self this afternoon after she had 4 hr nap...her coat is even soft again and not greasy...no sign of staggering...eyes straight...can jump up without using the basket I put by the bed...maybe she is just trying to psych me out...wouldn't put it past her...she is a tabby after all LOL!
That's the rehydration most likely with lactate ringers solution which is one more reason it puzzles me that the first vet used phos

glad she's doing better

I'll be looking for that update
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Old June 7th, 2008, 09:13 PM
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Ok, so here's an update...

The new vet is totally confused as well...he found the kidney infection (mild-he is treating with diet because it has improved greatly since the last test results and same story, he wants her to get weight back before giving meds) and a lung that has a hard growth on it, but apparently looks as if it may have been there since birth? He said he has to wait for her to be staggering again to test for anything inner ear or blood pressure related...he doesn't understand why it comes and goes.

She is still good today...no signs of staggering...she is eating well, playing, etc...she even headbutted the vet a good one when he was examining her...caught him by surprise-he was concentrating so hard because she was purring so hard LOL!

I am wondering though if arthritis can kick in and out like that...perhaps one of her hips goes out, but when I message her when this is happening, nothing seems to hurt...
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Old June 7th, 2008, 09:36 PM
Jim Hall Jim Hall is offline
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why would a milgd kidney or a poorly functioning kidney give the staggers
with no other symptoms

I bettin on inner ear or some other balance problem
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Old June 7th, 2008, 10:20 PM
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The symptoms Mooki has displayed could be just from the infection but it could also be ear infection as mentioned or somthing like diabetes. Anytime there is an issue with the kidneys those symptoms can mask other issues making the diagnoisis of a secondary issue difficult.

Sounds like you've found a good vet who is looking into all options
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Old June 8th, 2008, 12:06 AM
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I agree that an inner ear infection might cause this. Also something intracranially may be a cause. I think arthritis is not a likely scenario. I wish the best for you both.
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