Cat has tremors

[Chester and Rita]

I've noticed lately that Chester is having tremors or muscle twitching lately. I cannot get a reading from him. I bought the kit, tried everything to trick him into thinking that pricking his ear was no big deal, and he still isn't having it. He bites...HARD. So, the vet said I could pretty much just go by his behavior, on how he's acting to tell me his blood glucose ranges. Well, I see tremors now when I give him his insulin. He's down to one unit of Prozinc twice a day. Does anyone else's cat out there get tremors and if so, could you tell me what your vet said? Chester has to be knocked out for them to see him and I'm kind of feeling alone in the dark here. He's also had chronic diarrhea for the last two months and I think my vet is a moron. I've seen other vets too and they don't know anything either. I can't afford to get blood panels done, x-rays, and tell me nothing's wrong. All they do is prescribe antibiotics and that's what is giving him diarrhea. He's on probiotics now. I'm going to the vet in a bit to pick up some Metronidazole which I had to prescribe! I'm at my wits end with vet's!

 

[majandra]

I am not sure of the cost, but a friend of mine had intermittent diarrhea and fading kittens at her place. After multiple treatments for the usual culprits, she asked for a special test, and it turned out she had a cat positive for trichomonosis. After treating all the cats, she has had no sickness since. Vets seem to think it's rare, and there is also only one drug that works.

Check out this link to see if this is something that may fit your situation. Just note if using ronidazole, that it has a narrow safety margin.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1098612X17693499

 

[Elizabeth and Bertie]

So, the vet said I could pretty much just go by his behavior, on how he's acting to tell me his blood glucose ranges. Well, I see tremors now when I give him his insulin.

The symptoms you're seeing could be caused by many things. But they 'could' be caused by hypoglycemia. However there is no way of knowing for sure without testing blood glucose.
How long after giving insulin are you seeing these symptoms? Is there a pattern to the symptoms you're seeing?

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

For the diarrhoea you could try changing the food to a new protein in case he is allergic to something in the food. I’d try a different brand.
Also plain mashed boiled pumpkin with nothing else added is great for diarrhoea. Up to.a teaspoon three times a day in food. In the US you can buy canned pumpkin. Just make sure it has nothing else added to it.
Can you get a specimen of urine from Chester? If so you could test it for glucose. It’s not as accurate as blood glucose or as up to the minute but it will tell you if there is glucose in the urine.
My Sheba had tremors and twitches for a couple of months once and we could never find out what it was. The vet thought low blood sugar at first but that was discounted. She went back to normal after a time.

 

[Chester and Rita]

I am not sure of the cost, but a friend of mine had intermittent diarrhea and fading kittens at her place. After multiple treatments for the usual culprits, she asked for a special test, and it turned out she had a cat positive for trichomonosis. After treating all the cats, she has had no sickness since. Vets seem to think it's rare, and there is also only one drug that works.

Check out this link to see if this is something that may fit your situation. Just note if using ronidazole, that it has a narrow safety margin.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1098612X17693499

I'm glad to see your response! It's funny you should mention tremors and trichomonas. I picked up some Metronidazole today, gave him his first dose, and almost instantly the diarrhea went away. And the good news is, that stuff kills trichomonas and several other bad gut parasites and bacteria! Chester is comfortable again but, now he hasn't pooped. I'm hopeful though. With the probiotics I have been giving him prior, I think he'll be okay. Thank you!

 

[Chester and Rita]

The symptoms you're seeing could be caused by many things. But they 'could' be caused by hypoglycemia. However there is no way of knowing for sure without testing blood glucose.
How long after giving insulin are you seeing these symptoms? Is there a pattern to the symptoms you're seeing?

I asked the vet today id they could be from too much insulin and he said "probably not". They're so subtle it's hard to film them on my phone. He's only on one unit every 12. He's doing much better today after getting him on Metronidozle.

 

[Tina and Boozle]

Working with rescues, I can attest that metronidazole is prescribed here more often than not for diarrhea. Unless it is something like giardia, it clears it up pretty quick. We had an outbreak of that once here and that was a nightmare. They don't just have loose stools, they drip when they walk. Took two weeks with everyone on it to see any progress. Thank goodness we have a catio and it was during the warm months. We had to spray everything down and sanitize twice a day.

 

[Chester and Rita]

Working with rescues, I can attest that metronidazole is prescribed here more often than not for diarrhea. Unless it is something like giardia, it clears it up pretty quick. We had an outbreak of that once here and that was a nightmare. They don't just have loose stools, they drip when they walk. Took two weeks with everyone on it to see any progress. Thank goodness we have a catio and it was during the warm months. We had to spray everything down and sanitize twice a day.

YES! Chester is doing a lot better within a few hours. He still has the runs but he's not crying after squirting anymore. He's back to being a bully (which is just his personality). It's a good thing I was the one to prescribe Metronidazole. Yes, me! My vet is really dropping the ball lately. Oh well, as long as he has the prescription pad and is willing to do what I ask. It's going to take time to get his microbiome evened out. I'm still giving him the probiotic with the meds. I think he'll be fine. Thank you and everyone for the input! I depend more on you guys for advice than I do with my own vet, or any of them in this area.