# Loving Kitty Turned Cujo



## doranco (Aug 31, 2005)

i'm desperately hoping someone can offer me some advice. our once loveable kitty has turned into a complete stranger. first i will say that she DID start going outside this summer which i'm sure is the root of the problem, but i still don't know how to handle it. one day, while seemingly fine in the morning (she did not go out that day; as a matter of fact, she hadn't been out for about two days), i came home to a cat that seemed spaced out. My son and the babysitter said she was fine and then they heard her later, in the bedroom meowing. they said she seemed to have her head caught under the bed. (that would be impossible, though, because there is enough room between the side board and the floor.

As i said, she seemed kind of spaced so i thought it a good idea, to just let her be. she retreated to the basement and we let her stay. the next day, i know it sounds crazy, but she kind of reminded me of cujo; just kind of crazy looking. On the following day we brought home a new puppy (i know, bad timing but some things can't be controlled.) Anyway, she came upstairs and just started attacking everyone. Annie, our old english whom she loves, me and was eyeing that puppy like mouse. I had to crate the puppy, toss a blanket over her and crate her; she was actually scary looking. 

the next day i took her to the vet. they did blood work, etc. gave her a shot for inflamation and sent me home with antibiotics. She was dropping her back leg occasionally when walking, so i thought neurologic but the vet seemed to blow me off. She was a bit better the next day, but nothing major.

It's now two weeks later. she rarely comes out of the basement, her pupils remain dilated and although she seems to know me, she's not really there. She seems afraid of everything and it's almost like there has been short term memory loss. Like she's semi feral. I can't figure what's happened to her and short of kitty MRI (which I can't afford) I don't know what to do with her. 

I'm hoping there's someone out there who can offer me some advice on what may be going on and if they think my old kitty will ever return


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## jennifer2 (Mar 5, 2005)

First off, this is a wild idea, but I have heard of this happening before, are you SURE this is your cat. I did hear a story of someone who let their cat out and eventually figured out there was another cat that looked JUST like their's that was occasionally wondering into their house, they'd actually been taking care of 2 cats instead of 1.

Other than that, my only suggestion would be to get a second opinion. There is obviously something wrong.


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

Is that in one of Pam Johnson-Bennett's books? I remember reading that, too. 8)


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## doranco (Aug 31, 2005)

i THINK it's moey. She looks like moey and she responds to her name and all. but she has like a schizophrenic look on her face. like everyone is out to get her. she doesn't purr anymore either...

how does a cat look after some kind of poisoning? i DO have trumpet flower plants in my yard (Datura) I didn't know at the time, but i guess they're poisonous. in the old days they'd use them to induce delirium in enemies (great!). Cause that's what it looks like is a bad acid trip! 

has anyone ever heard of the effects of this plant? i'm wondering if this could be the problem and if so, do they ever recover?


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## chris06516 (Mar 12, 2005)

Wow, that sounds so bizarre! I would definitely try calling your vet again, but if you are not comfortable with him, call around to a different vet. It just seems so strange and I can imagine that you are frightened. Please keep us posted.


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## Luciole (Aug 19, 2005)

I'm very sorry to hear about your situation. I had a cat "turn" and behave similiarly to how you are describing yours. In my case it was a young cat that I had had since she was a kitten (her name was Idee). We took her to the vet to get her spayed and flea-dipped. Well, according to the vet she had an "allergic reaction to the flea dip" and they ended up keeping her an extra few days. I'm not sure what all happened (and truthfully I think the vet screwed something up somehow because I later heard many horror stories about that vet's office) but in the end Idee slowly lost her mind and went crazy. 

When we brought her back from the vet's, initially, she was sluggish and had a vacant look about her, was relatively unresponsive etc. As she began to feel better she became increasingly aggressive and began attacking our other cat regularly and growling at us. She was my cat and she would tolerate me at first so she ended basically living in my bedroom (I was a teenager at this time). Eventually she attacked me really badly one day (I have scars on my hands to this day from it) and my father ended up giving her to a man who owned a barn and kept barn cats. We figured she had her claws and was spay, so she could defend herself and wouldn't have kittens, and we couldn't keep her around anymore, she was just too violent. And any shelter would have put her down. It still bothers me to think about it now 

Anyway, I'm not sharing this with you to say that it's the same situation or equally hopeless for you. But, you mentioned being concerned about your cat having eaten a poisonous plant etc. and I would consider that a legitimate possiblity given the experiences that I had with Idee and her reaction to flea dip.

If I were you I'd try calling around to local pet shelters and maybe even breeders and just asking their thoughts... anyone who loves animals and might have experienced similar will probably be willing to lend some free advice/ideas. 

I hope everything clears up for you and Moey.


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## doranco (Aug 31, 2005)

i don't know what to think anymore. i am taking him back to the vet tommorow. i called first to let her know we were coming and told her everything about how he's still acting. the vet was quite suprised cause this has been like three weeks at this point and she said if it was poisoning, by now he should have recovered or died.

i did discover something pretty odd today. i went up to moey with a flashlight to see if those huge pupil would react to light. they did not. as a matter of fact, i think he's blind. if he sees at all, it's shadows. but i waved things in front of his face and brought them in real close like i was going to poke his eyes and nothing.

the vet doesn't know about the blindness yet but she said it all sounds peculiar and the only thing she can think of is like a brain lesion, a stroke and she keeps mentioning toxoplasmosis. i looked up toxoplasmosis on the internet and although none of my options are desirable, i sure hope it's not that. anyone have any personal info on that parasite?


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## Luciole (Aug 19, 2005)

I found this:



> Ischemic Encephalopathy
> 
> This is a parasitic condition that primarily affects young to middle-aged outdoor cats. It is cased by aberrant migration of Cuterebra larvae. A sudden change in behavior featuring, sometimes featuring irrational aggression may be the only presenting sign, but other neurological signs, including sudden onset blindness and circling may also occur. There is no established treatment though the parasiticide, ivermectin, along with appropriate supportive therapy, may help.


at http://www.petplace.com/articles/artShow.asp?artID=2472 .

I also found this site with some causes of sudden blindess in cats discussed: http://www.vetinfo4cats.com/cateye.html .

I'll be thinking of you and your cat and keeping you both in my prayers *hug* I hope you're able to resolve the problem at the vet tomorrow.


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## Nell (Apr 7, 2005)

I'm really sorry to hear about your kitty. I don't have any information to offer, but I want to let you know that I will be thinking of you and your cat. I hope you are able to figure out the cause of this strange behavior. 

Please keep us posted.


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## doranco (Aug 31, 2005)

thanx to all of you for your concern. It's with heavy heart and through tears that i type this this afternoon. We decided to put poor moey down yesterday afternoon. there was never a deffinate diagnosis but the conclusion was some type of neurologic infection or lesion of the brain and the chances of old moey coming back were slim. she also seemed to be getting more agitated and tried to go after my son again. 

It sounded an awful lot like that ishemic enciphalitis which is caused by parasites carried by rodents and birds but God only knows. It doesn't matter much at this point...

She was so young (only 2) and all I know is, I promised to take care of her and I failed miserably. 

Please to all, don't let your cats out. Ours had only been going out since June when it got warm and it wasn't even a daily thing. anything can happen and it's very heart-wrenching to watch. again, thanx for all your concern, help and hope I wish I could be reporting better news.


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## Lori (Jun 8, 2003)

I am so sorry about your cat. It doesn't sound like you had much choice, you had to consider your safety and the safety of your child. 
Please don't feel like you failed her. She spent her life with a loving family, that is more than a lot of cats get. You had no way to know anything like this would happen. More than likely she was miserable too. 
Again, my sincere sympathy to you and your family.


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## Luciole (Aug 19, 2005)

Doranco--

I'm very very very sorry to hear such sad news. Please don't blame yourself. Just because you let Moey out doesn't necessarily mean that she picked up something from outside. You probably know many people, just like I do, who let their cats in and out regularly and never suffer any consequences.

The unpleasant--but perfectly realistic--truth is that Moey may simply have had something destined to be wrong with her internally since birth. It is not in any way your fault if Moey developed some kind of neurologic problem. You obviously cared a great deal about her and I'm sure that you provided her with a very happy life. 

I'm so sorry that you had this happen to you but I do think you made a wise choice.


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## doranco (Aug 31, 2005)

thanx again so much. you've all been a genuine help and i appreciate it.
mary


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## Superkitties (Jan 30, 2004)

I am so sorry for your loss.  

Moving this over to Rainbow Bridge for you.


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## EmmaG (Jan 7, 2005)

I am so sorry Mary for your loss


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## MA (Mar 30, 2004)

You' ve been through so much with the uncertainty of the change in Moey's behavior. How distressing of not knowing. She was so loved and cared for by loving family. My thoughts are with you.


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