How to Treat Vestibular Disease in Felines
Feline vestibular disease causes a cat's vestibular system to malfunction, resulting in dizziness and loss of balance. The most common form is idiopathic vestibular disease, which has no obvious source. Although the symptoms may be frightening for both you and your cat, the disease often resolves itself in a relatively short period of time. There are, however, other more serious forms and causes for vestibular disease, which is why it is so critical to seek a professional diagnosis from a veterinarian.
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Instructions
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Take your cat to the veterinarian as soon as you see any symptoms of vestibular disease, such as apparent dizziness, stumbling and staggering, motion sickness, circling, head tilting to one side, falling down, and eyes rolling around. Your veterinarian will need to examine the cat and take into account its symptoms before making a diagnosis of vestibular disease.
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Wait and observe your cat's behavior for a few days before moving forward with costly MRI or CT scans. Your cat may have feline idiopathic vestibular disease, which is the most common form of the disease in cats, and begins and resolves within seven to 14 days without any treatment. Most symptoms resolve in as little as three days.
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Treat idiopathic vestibular disease with nausea medication to lessen the motion sickness. You may also want to keep your cat indoors and away from stairs until its symptoms subside.
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Find out whether the vestibular disease is being caused by a middle ear infection. Your veterinarian should be able to determine this and can prescribe an antibiotic to clear up both the ear infection and, consequently, the vestibular disease and its symptoms. The course of oral antibiotics for a middle ear infection is usually six to eight weeks.
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Get an MRI or CT scan if symptoms do not improve on their own within a week or so. Your cat's vestibular disease may be caused by a lesion in the brain or inner ear. Treatment for these types of vestibular disease can involve hospitalization, surgery or medications.
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Tips & Warnings
Use baby gates at the foot and the top of stairs to prevent your cat from tumbling down the stairs while it's experiencing balance problems.
If your cat is displaying any symptoms related to vestibular disease--particularly balance problems--be sure to have a veterinarian diagnose your cat. The symptoms could originate from other afflictions, such as ear cancers, encephalitis, drug toxicity, or polyps.
