Julie's mysterious condition...

Julie

A mystery...

Julie, our 15 year old black and white DSH has not been herself for the last few months... but we couldn't put our fingers on what it was that caused us to realize this. She did have a small wound on the left side underneath her neck that she kept scratching at and making bleed. I would clean it with some peroxide and it never changed much... but neither did it heal - 1st thing we noticed, but didn't take too much concern with. 

Then we noticed that she was shaking her head and scratching at her left ear. It was very pink... (from the scratching or ?) I watched this for a while and it never seemed to get any better, so we took her to the Vet about a month ago to check her ear and that wound under her neck. Vet was not worried about the neck wound - looked like it was healing and may not be a wound, but a small growth that wasn't a problem except that Julie kept making it bleed. She was diagnosed as having a yeast infection in her left ear and we were given some Tresaderm to treat this. We did this. She didn't seem to be shaking her head much any more, but the outer ear remained pink.

A month passed and she kept scratching at the left side of her face. We also noticed that she had lost her voice (she talks a lot - or did) . She only squeaks now... and barely that. Then the week of Christmas I also noticed that she was having some difficulty eating. Thought to myself  -  OK, maybe it's a tooth problem and tried to open her mouth to check. I could not get her mouth open - and certainly didn't want to force it. Around this time I also noticed a slight discharge from her left eye... clear but still. 

This did it. We took her to the Vet again the Monday after Christmas. By this time I was getting really worried. She was losing weight, but as cats get up in age, again this isn't unusual. She acted fine as far as running around and jumping on counters and all - but something wasn't right. 

We told the Vet that we needed Julie to be thoroughly checked over... a complete physical exam, but to concentrate on the left side of her head/face. We were told to leave her at the clinic and they would sedate her, examine her, and run some blood work. We agreed to this... reminding them of her age. I told them to call me as soon as they knew something. 

As it turns out, the exam and blood work all came out normal except for one thing: her jaws are locked shut. The Vet could not open them even under anesthesia. What could cause this? Many things apparently could, but all unusual. Where to start?  They recommended an x-ray of her skull. Did this and didn't see any abnormalities. I asked about antibiotics, muscle relaxants, etc.  Vet consulted with other Vets on premise and recommended we try a steroid injection to start, and some liquid steroids given orally to see if it would reduce inflammation.

Julie was one of 5 kittens born and left in our backyard by a feral mother 15 years ago.  Actually she was one of 5 that we took in (adult kids took 2 and we kept 3). These kittens/cats were/are the sweetest, most loving creatures we've ever had in our house-hold (and we've had many).  She has never been outside since we took them in at about 4 weeks old. And she's never had to go to the Vet's except for annual vaccinations.

Julie is kitten in front at 6-8 weeks when oldest grand daughter (now 18) was 3

I cried that Monday afternoon when the Vet called. First of all I felt awful that I didn't notice that her jaw was locked. How could I have not known this?  She and the other 2 are constantly in our face and on our laps. She showed up and seemed to eat and drink as usual at mealtimes. It wasn't until this last week that I noticed her having difficulty eating. The Vet said that she believed this was a gradual thing and had only become worse recently. 

Anyway, I mentioned cancer, a tumor of her jaw, her larynx? Possibly. But also possibly an arthritic condition that might benefit from steroids. This is what we're trying first. And she is eating fairly well. I blend up her food and offer her the top of the open cans (where the gravy accumulates) and she goes for it. Still not opening her mouth much, but possibly a little more (definitely enough to get that tongue out to lap up food and water). 

If anyone has ever come across anything like this condition in a cat, I would love to hear from you. I had 4 years of Animal Science at LSUBR and 2 years of Animal Medical Technology - but this stumps me (and apparently the Vets also). 

If it isn't something simple like an arthritic condition, the other possibilities are not good. So we are hoping this treatment will bring some results... at least enough to get her mouth open so that the Vet can examine teeth, throat, etc. 

Please keep Julie in your prayers. She means a lot to us.


Hugs,
Rian

(I'm putting this out there so that possibly someone has an idea that we haven't thought of as to what might be causing this. I may put it on Facebook also - to hit a larger audience.)