Heather's head tilt: she has gone to the Bridge

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Godmother

Godmother

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 21, 2007
Messages
12,058
Location
New Brunswick (central)
When I first laid eyes on Heather (aka Bri) at the end of vacation I thought "head tilt", but it was so subtle that I thought I had imagined it. She was as energetic as ever. My husband and I watched her carefully over the next few hours, and he could see a slight tilt also.

Even though she was full of energy, she seemed just that bit less lively than her sisters, and her balance didn't seem as good as usual. It would have been really easy to miss. A year ago I would not have noticed it at this stage. (I didn't realize Clara was in trouble until she was circling)

So last night I started her on meds: anti-inflammatory & antibiotic. I will get her in to see the vet as soon as I can, and I hope that she improves as fast as Clara did. I'll be home soon and will see how she is doing.

Fingers crossed for a quick recovery.
 
Heather's tilt was not improving, and I saw that Debbie Ducommun's book recommends either Chlorpalm, or Clavamox plus Baytril. I don't have any Chlorpalm or Clavamox.

SQ to the rescue! She has a veritable drugstore in her apartment, and she shared some of her Clavamox. I feel better giving Heather the works.

She is still very lively, so I know at least she is not getting worse. She seems more peppy than last night. I gotta admit it's hard to tell; those four sisters can MOVE! They run around like little maniacs. :heart:
 
Godmother said:
SQ to the rescue! She has a veritable drugstore in her apartment, and she shared some of her Clavamox.
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yeagh ... at present I have 18 rats on various meds, so lots of meds in the fridge and cupboard.

Hope Heather soon starts feeling better.
 
SQ said:
Godmother said:
SQ to the rescue! She has a veritable drugstore in her apartment, and she shared some of her Clavamox.
Click to expand...

yeagh ... at present I have 18 rats on various meds, so lots of meds in the fridge and cupboard.

Hope Heather soon starts feeling better.
Click to expand...

OMG How do you medicate 18 rats......I find it hard to get meds into two before I leave for work in the morning........

I hope Heather is better soon......I know I hate seeing poor little Honey with her heard tilt. I really hope it straightens out........
 
Heather is starting to tilt a little less. After a couple of days of Baytril/Clavamox/Metacam I changed to Chlorpalm and Predisone. My only previous experience with ear infection was with Clara, whose balance was almost completely gone... yet, she showed signs of recovery very fast.

If Heather isn't a lot better by tomorrow morning I will take her to the vet after work.
 
I think that her symptoms are of something even more serious than an ear infection. She never lost her head tilt, and the vet observed strabismus (eyes going different ways) instead of the expected nystagmus. Still, she has a good appetite, and she was lively and able to run and climb with her sisters.... until today.

Her movements are very awkward, and she keeps falling over. Her face looks different on one side. Her back legs seem weak, too. I had made another vet appt for next Tuesday, but it can't wait that long. tonight I am going to switch her to Chlorpalm, just in case it is an ear infection that doesn't respond to Baytril/Clavamox, and I will lower the Pred. I hope to get her in to the vet tomorrow.

It will be a heartbreaker if she has a brain tumour. Sweet Heather(Bri) has become very dear to us, and she is tightly bonded to her sisters.

Poor sweetie managed to get into the wheel just now, and was trying in vain to run in it. :sad3:
 
The Pred would make it harder for her to fight an infection. She had not been getting worse when I was away last week, and I had lowered the Pred because it had not helped her tilt. Once home, I thought that I had made a mistake by lowering the Pred, so put it back up. She got worse over the last day.

So now I am confused. But there is no getting around the vet's observation of strabismus. That was a strange thing to see; he said it was not typical of an ear infection.

She may not have had much to eat today because of her difficulty standing up to hold food. She was gobbling down porridge and Ensure just now. On the off-chance that part of her problem is hunger and possible dehydration (I'll check for that now), I will separate her from the others for a few minutes and feed her some more.
 
I am thinking that she may have had a stroke? Look for weakness on just one side...she may have had TIA's or mini-strokes before this hence the wee head tilt, and now she is having bigger ones. You mentioned one side of her face looked funny? I will assume not bulging eyes etc, since I am sure you would mention that.

I would up the pred and up the abs to compensate...the steroid is necessary at this point to help her recover from stroke or whatever is causing these neuro symptoms.
 
OK. She has been getting the full Pred dose since Sunday evening, but she deteriorated markedly over the last day. She does seem weaker on one side. She is a feisty little girl, trying so hard to climb and to get around, but she staggers. At least she is not dehydrated.

Thanks for advice. I was at a loss.
 
Godmother said:
OK. She has been getting the full Pred dose since Sunday evening, but she deteriorated markedly over the last day. She does seem weaker on one side. She is a feisty little girl, trying so hard to climb and to get around, but she staggers. At least she is not dehydrated.

Thanks for advice. I was at a loss.
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Do you think she had another stroke? I saw this with my wee Mattie. :?

She started with a very subtle headtilt..I would stare at her unblinking until my eyes watered. Then she must've had another stronger stroke because her face changed, she tilted more, and was weak on one side. Then she had a big one, and was almost immobile for 2 days then the steroids kicked in and she came back somewhat, until a last one took her away a few weeks later :(

Its a sucky thing to suggest, but I always found knowing things was better than not knowing, even if it was terrible to know

((hugs))
 
Like Jacob ...
but hopefully she will recover.
You may need to put her, with sisters, in a one level cage so she doesn't fall while attempting to climb around.
 
I think you are right, Shelagh. And I will put her & her dearest buddy Rosine in a one-level cage tonight. I can leave the other two sisters in the playpen tonight, and remove the ramp from their usual cage.

I hope hope hope that I have more time with her. She is the sweetest ratty girl.

thanks, SQ & Shelagh, for holding my hand throughout this. It's hitting me hard.
 
Godmother said:
SQ to the rescue! She has a veritable drugstore in her apartment
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We should all move to NB so we can visit the local SQ Drugmart. :D

Godmother I hope little Heather starts to feel better soon. :heart:
 
I've got a vet appt for this afternoon. She still looks awful this morning, and I am concerned that she might be in discomfort. Her face looks a little swollen, her fur is not right. I didn't put the two others back in with her, so she is just with one sister. I think her sister knows that there is something very wrong. She seemed scared when I went to see them this morning.
 
Godmother said:
I've got a vet appt for this afternoon. She still looks awful this morning, and I am concerned that she might be in discomfort. Her face looks a little swollen, her fur is not right. I didn't put the two others back in with her, so she is just with one sister. I think her sister knows that there is something very wrong. She seemed scared when I went to see them this morning.
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I am so sorry Godmother. :sad3: Poor little Heather. She's not old at all is she?
 

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