Hello.

A few months ago my darling cat Pabby, who is now 16 years old, began shaking his head an awful lot. I am home more at the moment as out of work and I can hear him wherever he is in the house due to the bell he's always had on his collar.

I took him to the vets and we tried antibiotic ear drops firstly for infection or mites but, although I have been able to administer ear-cleaning drops no trouble for the 15 years I've had him and his sister (yes, still have them both!) he would not let me administer these, it gave him great distress. If I fuss him behind his ears this makes him shake his head, too. So, we went back to the vets.
He was taken in for full blood test due to his age as the vet wanted to put him under to examine his ears properly. His test came back fine, liver & kidney function fine, just borderline diabetes for which we will re-test next month. So, she put him under and didn't really find an awful lot, just some pustular substance in one ear so he went on oral antibiotics for a couple of weeks.

He did seem to improve, although I did get some temping work and was not home all day. However, he is doing it again and my vet is perplexed.

He is NOT scratching at his ears, he merely shakes his head, mainly mid-meow or after eating, as if both those sensations irritate inside. Otherwise, he stills eats fine (he has always been quite a piggy) has not lost weight at all (still approx. 15 lbs, big cat not necessarily over-weight) and is still as affectionate as ever.

He does spend most of his time indoors now but this is due to his age, he is in his eighties! But they have always had freedom to come and go and he does go outside still, particularly if nice weather.

He is getting some odd behaviour which I have been told can be down to on-set of senility. He paces an awful lot, begs for treats a lot and eats lots when he’s pacing around, as if he can’t think what to do with himself. His toilet habits are more relaxed and he has had a poo in quite open spaces recently, including my neighbour’s front yard, which surprises me as he’s always been a bit nervy/jumpy. I have therefore had to return to cat litter, if under the garden table, in an effort to get him to poo in his own back yard rather than my neighbours, and he is using it, bless him, if still (as he has since a kitten) hanging his butt right over the side! There is sometimes some blood in his poo but he sometimes appears to strain (if I’m lucky enough to catch him doing it!) It’s not every time. And we’ve had some instances of sudden need to poo with very loud wind but he does seem to make it outside. Again, old age?

He went to the groomers this week where he has been going for about 7 years. He is not long-haired but his coat mats terribly and he is a boy! She is brilliant with him and has a fantastic rapport with him now, she even baths him as his skin gets flaky when badly matted. I told her about what’s been going on and she said she wouldn’t mess around with him too much now. He’s still eating, still bright-eyed, not vomitting and generally healthy.

I then popped into to chat to the vet. She was surprised to hear the head shaking is back and totally perplexed considering his blood tests were ok. She did say, however, that there could be a brain lesion or tumour that wouldn’t show on blood tests but to do an MRI is approx. £800 and they’d be looking for a needle in a haystack, and even if they found anything they probably wouldn’t be able to treat it. She was inclined to agree with the groomer. She did say I could try the antibiotic ear drops again as infection could have returned but without expense or being invasive she was at a loss at to offer anything else.

I love this cat – well, both of them – so much. I am 38 and have not yet had children, they are my babies. I got them at 9 months old from a rescue home, they had been abandoned at 2 weeks. I have had them over 15 years now and moved them several times and I know I am very lucky to still have them both. Pabby had an operation for a looped bowel before I got him, at 6 months old but it has never affected him. Aubrey, his sister, is very arthritic now but Metacam helps and if the sun’s out she still goes out for most of the day, if only to lie in the sun.

I’m not ready to lose either of them and I am a natural worrier, my partner feels a bit over the top but in a good way. I don’t want Pabby to be suffering but as I say, he is still eating just as much as ever and apart from getting a bit doddery he’s pretty much fine. He’s not at all deaf as yet, as I thought this might be the case. But the shaking head is constant with eating and meowing now. I’d really appreciate any advice/ideas anyone may have????

Thank you.

No ideas I'm afraid - it sounds like your vet has been very thorough though. It might be old age etc. There is little more to add I'm afraid. You will know when his quality of life is no longer good. Good luck.

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Hi

Have you had your cat tested for thyroid, either over active or under active. My 16 year old female cat, Ebony took to shaking her head in a sort of twitch, she also had intermittent bowl problems, pacing etc and over active thyroid is also linked in with diabetes in some cases.

I actually argued with my vet, because Ebony has always been a bit skittish, but when I looked at the symptoms she does actually fit quite a lot of them. If it is an overactive thyroid the treatment is a simple one a day tablet called vidalta. Since taking them, Ebony is having a second, possibley 3rd child hood. In fact I think I'll start taking them too and see if I get a new lease of life lol.

Hope this helps

Love and Light
xxxx

Hi Pabby's Mum, I was just reading your post with interest as my cat has been doing some strange head shaking, I think this is due to a wound on her head from getting into a scrap with next doors cat. I hope Pabby is ok, I can really sympathise with how much we worry about our lovely pets xx

I presume your vet checked his teeth when he was asleep? When did he last have a dental/has he ever had dental treatment?

Ok, I'll tell you what I would do....as a first step before considering anything more invasive.

You say you noticed a response to antibiotic treatment I would ask vet to put him on a stronger course and see if this works. From what you describe ( timing of head shaking ) it does sound to me as if something is irritating/causing him pain. I would have liked to have seen the response to the ear drops-it's a pity you had difficulty administering them but it's the same with most cats!

The other thing that struck me was the blood in stools. Sounds as if he has colitis-a form of IBD quite often a symptom of an allergy to something in the diet ie grains in cat food. Is he on dry food by any chance? Alternatively, parasites can be a cause so I'd worm him if not up to date.I wouldn't leave that untreated and I'd mention this to the vet. Pro-Kolin is very good in treating it-if parasites not the cause! Colitis might explain his unusual toileting habits as well!

I hope you find a solution soon!

Hello. I know you posted a couple of years ago but I hope you don't mind me asking for some advice? My cat is experiencing the same problem and my vet has also frightened us by mentioning a brain tumour. She does seem to be improving on oral antibiotics - antirobe 25mg x 2 twice a day. Do you mind very much if I ask you about the outcome for your lovely cat? Our cat is 14 and three quarters - not old in cat terms. She has had all the blood tests during a day spent in the vets. They have sent away tests for viruses and toxoplasmosis. I am due back to the vet Friday evening. We are very worried! Thank you so much.