Possible brain damage

[AndreaBav]

Hi, my partner and I adopted a six week old kitten five days ago. He was fine until left alone for the first time. When I came back he looked lethargic, his head was drooping and he generally had no energy. Within 3-4 hours though he snapped out of it so I thought nothing of it. Then it happened two more times so I took him to the vet who said the problem looks neurological as if he sustained some kind of brain trauma. She said he also appears to be blind as his pupils are completely unresponsive to light. She suggested putting him down as he could have no quality of life and his chances of surviving are slim. She also gave him steroids to see if they will help. However, he purrs when stroked or touched and has sudden bursts of energy as if he was never ill. I've been reading about a drug called Mennitol that may help. Does anyone know anything that might help us? I dont want to put him down without giving him a fighting chance. Thanx

[opus88]

If you just started this food recently....and the hair loss started prior to that than NO its certainly not Purina food.
keep on with the cream and see what happens if the skin test reveals if its not ringworm than I'll send you some other possible causes.
was he on a dry food before the pate? it could still be a food allergy however now with a change in diet and off dry food(if thats what he was eating) it could clear up on its own...but don't stop the cream it won't cause him harm..no matter what the cause its going to take awhile before you see new hair growth...

[AndreaBav]

No, the vet didn't do a test per se. He scrapped some of the skin off cos it was very dry and flaky and looked at it under the microscope and said it is most likely ringworm but that cultures take three weeks so it's best to put the cream on him.
The food we're giving him now is PURINA Veterinary Diet Feline NF Renal Function. Could he be allergic to that then?
We've got another vets appointment in a week. Will it be ok to wait that long for a result with the cream, cos I don't know how long it takes to start healing and looking better.

[AndreaBav]

Hi, he's doing much better. We actually got a second opinion because we were not happy with our vet. The second vet said he thought he might some sort of liver problem so we've put Barney on a special diet for now to see how he's gonna do. So he's been fine and had no more phase outs and he's eating again and putting on weight so all is positive. He's not out of the woods yet but it's all positive. The only issue we have now is he's going bald around his neck and the vet thinks he's got ringworm so we're putting cream on. We have only been putting it on for a couple of days but I can't say it seems like it's working... any advice? Also, should we be taking any precautions because the vet didn't say anything about us.

[opus88]

hi again, I would be inclined to think its more due to the shot than anything else, how is he today???

[AndreaBav]

Thank you for the quick responses guys. I'm not as concerned about the blindness because I had a cat for 16 years who was blind, epileptic and had HIV so I can deal with such issues. I just dont want to be causing him any pain and because of his general behaviour I dont think I am. But he's been sleeping all day today when he's been very active and awake the past days. Could this be because of the steroids shot he had or the injury?

[aligator79]

It's great that you are giving this baby some extra time.  Vet's seem to not give our babies a good chance to recover.  It takes them some time and some extra TLC. You will be able to tell when/if he is ready to go and has lost that quality of life.  

Would it be a thought to get another baby to hang with him especially when he's alone?  They  seem to become good buddies and help each other.  They don't know they are blind or that the problem is not normal so they just adapt and keep going.  :)

[opus88]

hi and welcome....so glad you are doing some research to try and help this poor little critter, Vets sometimes are in too much of a hurry to put them out of their misery..
it does sound like your little guy may have some neurological damage but he doesn't appear to be in any distress...the blindness may NOT be permanent and even if it is many cats live long and happy lives even when blind..so please give this some time and see how the little guy does.

to answer your question abt mannitol, from what I know of this drug its useful to reduce the fluids on the brain...IF there is swelling than its normally used immediately following an injury, its is possible that there is some fluid accumulation and thats why he is showing the symptoms he is
It would be worth talking to your Vet about

http://www.drugs.com/vet/mannitol-injection.html

please keep us posted and let us know how things are going or if we can help with any questions we certainly will try...good luck♥