WELCOME

Your cat have a tremor, contraction or kind of spasms and you want to find a diagnose ?

Here is some informations collected about this symptom you can read about.

Please, fill the questionnaire available on this page to help the research. 

Here is some videos examples of this tremor :

3 TIPS FOR OWNERS

1 - First, a complete blood test and ionogram at the veterinarian is important.

As well as a more suitable change of diet, on the advice of the veterinarian.

2 - Then, after a lapse of time, try the different food supplements (K, Magnesium, B1, Arthovet, plants, etc.) as you go, in order to proceed by elimination if results are visible.

3 - Finally, don't panic! Many testimonies including mine show that cats affected by these tremors do not seem to be in danger in the short term just because of these tremors. Many cats have lived with it for several years. This is the cause that must be sought and treated, methodically and calmly.

ADDING INFORMATIONS / Send by Natalie, cat owner, by email

"Hello Sanu. Sorry for the late response regarding your email.  I have responded to a few similar emails like yours in the past and maybe my information can help you too.

In my case it was a lot of trial and error trying to figure things out.  I did a lot of trips to various vets, internal medicine doctors and neurologist specialists, but getting absolutely nowhere.

I was only causing my cat a lot of anxiety from all these vet visits.  

I did a lot of reading on my own, and felt like I read the whole internet.  I found some people had similar issues and raw food (or different diet) fixed it.  So I started concentrating on his diet since 

My guy's tremors would often start after mealtime, though not always. At that time he was eating performatrin ultra chicken stew canned food and performatrin ultra grain free kibbles. 

I read a lot about commercial foods processing and awful ingredients that go into pet food, not to mention unbalanced and low quality supplements that they often put there.  As a result lots of animals develop various allergies and diseases like IBD and other heath issues.  Cats are natural carnivores and unlike dogs can't digest carbs the same way as dogs and humans do, so I decided to work on making his diet as close as possible to what nature intended.  I wanted to try feeding raw but, although he liked it, his tummy was not handling it well. 

At that point in time my boy already had a low grade pancreatitis based on all the bloodwork we did, so I had to look for proper diet keeping in mind his pancreatitis. I  started trying different high quality commercial wet foods first, with the minimal number of ingredients and novel protein. I wanted to stay clear of chicken as it’s often the allergy trigger. I tried all the proteins that one can think of, including all the non traditional ones (like kangaroo for example), but although he loved them his tummy reacted badly, resulting in diarrhea and often bloody mucous (something none of the vets could diagnose either other than “he likely has IBD”).

 It took me good 2-3 months to try almost everything on the shelves of every pet store in Toronto.  Despite me trying out and introducing these foods slowly, they changes still upset his stomach pretty bad, SO finally I decided to put him on a Bland diet for a while with some fortiflora probiotic. I started first with boiling him some chicken thighs, cutting it up into small cubes and sprinkling with fortiflora for taste and he went for it. I fed that to him twice a day.  Shortly after I switched to chicken breasts instead of thighs, and eventually I changed to turkey breast. Beside that I also found a very minimal ingredients Italian brand canned food, Schesir, which I also introduced into his diet a couple of weeks after I started him on chicken. Schesir is a high quality food you can find at Global pet food store. BUT It’s a supplemental feeding because it only has the cooked protein and a couple of essential vitamins plus taurine in it - no other vitamins or minerals of a complete diet. But since fortiflora also has some vitamins and minerals, plus chicken having its own nutrition, I wasn’t too worried about adding any other supplements. This diet was to be done for a short period of time only to reset his tummy, and then to be supplemented with complete food. 

And what do you know, his tremors slowly started to go away and were gone completely after a couple of weeks on a that diet. Turns out it was the food all along. And although lots of kitties don’t react to it the same way, my boy is very sensitive and reacts to every little thing. After about a month I decided to try and reintroduce the performatrin ultra grain-free kibbles in small amounts, and he was fine with them as well. I kept feeding this way for a while, then removed the chicken breast and tried various schesir canned foods and pouches to see which ones feel better on his stomach.  I learned that fish based wet foods are the easiest on his stomach, so I get him wet foods like "tuna and whitebaits" or "Salmon and tuna", but that's just what works best for him.

So that’s his eating regiment now, twice a day he gets a pouch of Schesir wet food, and a performatrin Ultra Grain-free kibbles. His potty problems are mostly controlled but he still gets flair ups here and there which could be because of kibbles, but I haven't yet found any other kibbles that didn't give him bigger problems.  I haven't investigated his IBD further, I just monitor it regularly now.  He had ultrasounds and xrays done and all signs point to that.  

As I mentioned, I  dug around the internet a lot in desperate attempt to find the solution and answers, and covered numerous medical articles. I realized that despite all the tests the vets were running on him they never could settle on any definite diagnosis, so when from my own research I started to suspect he has pancreas issues I literally had to go to my vet and tell them to run comprehensive GI bloodwork with other additional tests.  My gut was right - He had pancreatic issues and needed a complete diet change to something very digestible and completely grain free. Vets kept trying to prescribe him vet food and I don’t believe in it for a second, it’s ingredients are the exact opposite of what a pancreatic animal requires. Prescription food number one ingredients are all grain, and animal by-products.. just awful. I tried the vet food regardless just to see, but he did not react well to it just proving my gut again. So I just did my own diet change, and after I did that a few things changed, his tremors went away, his bloody mucous diarrhea went away, his brown wax in the ears went away, his bowel movements are less frequent and less smelly now, he is less bloated and less gassy. Funny enough his asthma was almost gone as well (which he had regularly, and now only has sometimes when he gets really stressed).

Oh and he also got a daily supplement of vitamin B12 for his pancreas for a while since he was deficient.  He is not on it anymore but I still has to monitor his B12 levels and pancreas out of precaution. His pancreas appeared to be doing ok in the last blood tests.  Hoping it will continue. 

I am not sure if your kitty has any gastrointestinal issues or not but I think everyone will benefit greatly if their diet is as close to what nature intended, both people and animals. You might want to try a minimal ingredients diet  for your pet and see if it helps. I am a big advocate for the main meal being a wet food, it is less processed than kibble, and has high moisture levels.  And kibble as a supplement to that.

Anyways I really hope that my experience story (Novel :) helps you in some way.  I know how frustrating it is and how helpless you feel. A lot of people in the blogs were switching their pets to healthier food options or raw food and seeing lots of positive changes.

If you have any questions, you can ask and I will answer to my best ability. If I don't hear from you, all the best to you in your endeavors. 

Just as a last note, since I don't know your kitty and his/her medical history, I can't know what is best for him/her, so please be careful if you are changing things around in terms of supplements. Make sure to read on any of them and consult with a vet if you are not sure to see if they can harm your kitty.

Take care

Natalie  "

" Hi Again

I just went to your website and translated it and saw a symptom that you listed and I remembered something I read, which looks like vitamin B1 deficiency.

You might want to check for this. 

Here is a link and a description (https://wagwalking.com/cat/condition/vitamin-b1-deficiency)

Symptoms of Vitamin B1 Deficiency in Cats Since it is an essential nutrient which allows cats to break down, process, and absorb energy from carbohydrates, the first symptoms you’ll notice in vitamin B1 deficiency will involve eating and energy issues. Energy from carbohydrates is also an important fuel source for brain function and various neurological processes and the symptoms of vitamin B1 or thiamine deficiency in these areas will progress in severity as the syndrome continues. 

Below are the main symptoms you should look out for in vitamin B1 deficiency:

Lethargy: As your cat is unable to process energy, their activity levels will fall drastically. 

Drooling: Drooling or increased mouth moisture can be an indication of early neurological symptoms and/or vomiting. 

Vomiting: As your cat is unable to process and break down their food efficiently, vomiting may ensue.   

Anorexia: Similar to vomiting, as you cat becomes unable to process their food they may develop lack of appetite. 

Neck Flexion: Neck flexion, of a bending or bowing of the head downwards towards the chest, is a neurological symptom that may develop in your cat as vitamin B1 deficiency progresses. 

Seizures: Another common neurological symptom that develops from the brain’s lack of appropriate fuel sources. 

Causes of Vitamin B1 Deficiency in Cats Vitamin B1 is an important nutrient in a healthy cat’s daily diet and the AVMA has specified a recommended daily dose. To illustrate the importance of B1 for our feline companions, cats require nearly 3 times the amount of vitamin B1 in their diet than dogs.  Lack of Vitamin B1 in Commercial Cat Foods: Most modern commercial cat food diets include adequate amounts of vitamin B1, however there have been occasional recalls of name brand cat foods over the years due to an improper vitamin B1 ratio.  Raw Cat Food Diets: The biggest problem areas for vitamin B1 deficiency may occur in raw, or homemade cat food diets. Often times owners will inadvertently not provide the correct levels of nutrients or feed human foods that aren’t appropriate for their cat’s diet.  Thiaminase and Vitamin B1 Deficiency: Some types of raw fish also have a naturally occurring enzyme called thiaminase which can break down thiamine/vitamin B1.  

Diagnosis of Vitamin B1 Deficiency in Cats Vitamin B1 deficiency in your cat can be a complex diagnosis and requires the care and attention of a qualified veterinarian. Your vet will ask for a complete list of symptoms and timelines. You can assist your veterinarian in their diagnosis of vitamin B1 deficiency in your cat by documenting your pet’s behavior including eating and drinking habits, duration of neurological episodes such as seizures, and total length of time since onset of the initial indications that your cat may be sick. A qualified veterinarian will review the clinical presentation, or physical symptoms, and will also run certain baseline tests. This can include a complete blood count or CBC, a biochemical profile and a urinalysis, all of which will be helpful in determining the levels of vitamin B1 present. In advanced cases, the vet may also order imaging which may show lesions in the brain area.  Treatment of Vitamin B1 Deficiency in Cats The good news is that while vitamin B1 deficiency in your cat can be a life-threatening condition, it is also one that is easily treated. A veterinarian will initially treat the underlying deficiency by giving an injection of thiamine directly under the skin. Thiamine is water soluble and excess thiamine is easily excreted through your cat’s urinary functions, so this initial correction is safe and effective.  The next step your vet will take is management of the cause of the deficiency. This can be as simple as a change in diet; eliminating or adding certain types of food. A vet may also prescribe supplements for your cat such as a prescription multivitamin, in order to correct any nutritional deficiencies. Recovery of Vitamin B1 Deficiency in Cats After treatment, your cat should begin to recover from vitamin B1 deficiency rapidly. Thiamine/vitamin B1 is rapidly absorbed by your feline and the body immediately begins utilizing the nutrient for appropriate energy processes. Immediate relief of symptoms can be seen as soon as a few hours after initial treatment, with full recovery in as little as 48 hours. In some cases, your vet may need to administer several vitamin B1 shots over the course of a week or more. With appropriate diagnosis and management your cat will be back to its normal, healthy self quickly and completely. 

Read more at: https://wagwalking.com/cat/condition/vitamin-b1-deficiency "