# Vestibular Syndrome/Horners syndrome



## Kobster (Feb 1, 2007)

Hey everyone,

If its not one thing its another with my pets. The last few weeks have been a nightmare with Kobie. It all started about three weeks ago on a Saturday. I had gotten home from work and was laying on the couch and Kobes hopped up on my chest and was laying there purring while I petted him. I noticed he was doing this weird head shake/tremor thing and seemed sensitive around his ears. He just seemed off so I thought no harm in running him up to work (I work at the emergency vets) and have someone take a look in his ear. 

So we got there and the doctor on duty tried to visualize his eardrum but couldn't. He was being good but she was unable to get a good look. There was some debris on the end of the otoscope so she told me to go ahead and flush out his ears. So I held him while a coworker washed out his ears with epiotic (safe for cats). I was right there and he was gentle as could be with Kobie so I'm not sure how this happened but anyway....

Within minutes, Kobie was holding his right eye shut and his third eyelid was showing. Thinking he has gotten ear wash in his eye, we rinsed it out. Didn't seem to help but we thought it was just irritation and would go away. I boxed him up in his carrier and got in the car to go home. On the way home he started just screaming the most god-awful sound I've ever heard come out of a cat then he projectile vomited all over himself. By that time I was home and I just carried him inside and cleaned him up. I thought he had just gotten car sick. I felt really bad, he normally doesn't get stressed in the car so I was really uncertain as to why he was so distressed. I put him down in the kitchen and he shook his head then fell over on his side and couldn't get up. Of course, I panicked. I picked him up and took him into a bedroom and shut the door and set him down again and just watched him for a few minutes. He was walking around like a drunken sailor, and his breathing was very rapid. He cried out several more times and vomited again. 

I called work again in a panic. They said to bring him back. I got my Mom to drive us so I could hold him. When I got him outside, I noticed that his right pupil was severely constricted and his left was dilated. He kept pressing his head into my shoulder like he had the worst headache imaginable. I thought he was dying. I really did. I got him to work and they said he had Vestibular syndrome. I've seen lots of vestibular disease, but never with the anisacoria (unequal pupils) and honestly, NEVER in a cat! (though I know its possible, its very very rare). So I left him there for some anti nausea meds and motion sickness meds and monitoring. I came back four hours later and he was worse. My vet pulled some strings and got me a consult with the neurologist (by now its 9pm on a Saturday night). 

I got him there and she was very nice and did a very thorough exam of Kobie. I've never seen a neuro exam on a cat before but it was quite interesting as cats aren't as, umm, cooperative, as dogs with these things. She was also unable to see his eardrum but felt that all of his symptoms were linked to middle ear/inner ear disease and were not neurological. Also, the reason his eye was affected was he had a syndrome called horners syndrome that happens sometimes when the nerves in the inner ear are compromised. Their is no cure, you just have to wait it out for symptoms to resolve.
The big worry is that he won't be inclined to eat or drink because he's insanely dizzy and doesn't know up from down. So I hospitalized him on IV fluids and anti nausea meds and antibiotics for a potential inner ear infection and he stayed in hospital until Tuesday. I took him home Tuesday to try to get him to eat, but nothing. He hadn't eaten anything at this point since Saturday morning. Tuesday night I took him back to work and we put in a feeding tube. By this time, his vestibular symptoms were greatly improved, but he still didn't want to eat and wasn't himself. While he was under, the vet looked deep in his ear and his right eardrum was ruptured and very inflamed. So either, it was already ruptured and we put cleaning fluid directly into his inner ear OR the act of cleaning the ears ruptured the ear drum. Either way, I feel 100% guilty! 

Wednesday I transferred him to my daytime vet so I could get some sleep. (by this time, I was exhausted). By wednesday evening I was booked in the ER myself with acute gallbladder disease and waiting for surgery. So my vet, bless her, shuttled Kobie back and forth from her clinic to mine from Wednesday to Sunday when I got out of the hospital. My co workers kept telling me he was eating so I wasn't too worried about him but when I saw him on Sunday I started crying. He was skin and bones! I offered food sunday and he showed no interest whatsoever. It would be two more days before he would take food on his own. So tuesday he finally starts eating. So we begin offering small meals every 3-4 hours. I had to break down and buy some dry food - I was that desperate. 

Fastforward to today. He's eating fairly well. We are down to three feedings a day and he's eating them all on his own (well with lots of coaxing from me). I pulled his feeding tube today and he seems much more comfortable. His vestibular symptoms have all resolved thank goodness. Still has that pesky horners syndrome to deal with though and his right eye is all squinty and sunken due to laxity in the muscles around and behind the eye. That should resolve in six weeks or so. 

So, thats my saga. Here's a pic of Kobie today. You can see his eye. 









But all indications are he is going to live. My mom and I counted and this is his sixth major medical crisis and he's not even 10 years old yet! But I'll fight for him to the end because he's my precious baby boy!


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## Xanti (Nov 4, 2008)

wow that sounds like an awful ordeal for both of you, so glad he's getting better!


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

You guys have really been through the wringer!! He's gotten such good care, you should really stop blaming yourself. You have some very caring coworkers. I hope he recovers quickly. atback 

Hope you're feeling better, too.


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## Fran (Jan 9, 2008)

Oh my goodness, what a rough time for both of you! Thank God you had good care for him and for you!!!

I hope you are both well on the way to recovery....

atback 

Fran


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