Head shaking or trembling

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Benshuman

Benshuman

Member Since 2015
My 13 year old female cat has had a few occassions where her head randomly trembles or shakes. The first two times it happened I thought maybe her ear was itchy and she was going to scratch it. It just happened a few minutes ago. This has been going on for a month. As far as I know and have seen this is the third time this has happened. Does anyone know why this is happening? She acts fine otherwise. She is obsessed with tarter control pounce treats and wants them several times a day, could eating too many of those be causing this? The tremors seemed to start around the same time she started eating more of these treats. I am making an appointment at the vet, but I am really worried now.
 
Bron and Sheba said:
Head trembling/ twitching can also happen when the blood sugar is too low.
Have you checked her blood sugar when she does this?
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I have never had her blood sugar checked. As far as I know she has no health issues. Ben is the one who has diabetes and kidney failure. and I started posting about. I didn't know where to go to ask about her so I posted on here even though she isn't diabetic, I hope that's okay. I was just really worried when I saw this happening again. After her head trembled she looked down to the right. I am going to have her checked and when I get my glucose monitor I will start checking her as well. I am still wondering if it could be those Pounce Tarter Control treats. She begs for them several times through out the day and I give her some. I think maybe she is eating too many. I could be totally wrong. I am going to get a senior wellness check up on her as well.
 
Oh I am not giving her anymore for awhile. I feel so bad, she keeps sitting there looking at me and meowing for the treats.
 
I thought it was your diabetic cat that was trembling....sorry. It would be unlikely to be low blood sugar then.

Do you have dogs? Some of the treatments used for dogs to get rid of fleas are toxic to cats and can cause trembling. They are unsafe to use if you have cats in the household.
 
Benshuman said:
I am calling the vet Monday and making an appointment.
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A vet appointment is a good idea. Head trembling or shaking *could* also be associated with renal failure or something as easy to get rid of as ear mites! Who knows! There are so many possible causes for twitching, trembling, head shaking... far too many to guess without a thorough examination by a veterinary professional.

Good luck with the vet visit and update when you can...
 
I hope it's something easy. She was my first kitten when I went away to college, so it's hard to not be able to help her until I take her to the vet. None of my pets (dogs or cats) have any flea products on them. There are no toxins she could have gotten a hold of. I have the ant poison out of reach of all pets even when I put it out to kill the ants. She seems fine today. As far as I know those head tremors have only happened three times that I have seen anyway. On one of the links I saw a possibility of a spinal injury. My 17 pound cat has chased her around a few times to annoy her and maybe he could have caused her to fly back into something and she hurt her back. This started about a month ago I think. I don't even get shots for my cats just because I have had cats in the past that had really bad reactions to them, one almost died from them.
 
As posted above, these symptoms can indicate any number of things..!! Seeing the vet is well advised indeed.
Until you go for the appointment, if it were me..I would check her ears for mites, for sure.
Two of mine have had to be treated regularly, since birth. And one of mine has an over abundance of ear wax, which causes her to shake her head to dislodge if I haven't cleaned her ears on time. Until I realized she had such a severe problem with it, she had once scratched her face bloody, literally. I have to clean her ears several times a week to avoid further serious problems.
Good luck, I hope it's something like this, and not neurological.
 
Tucker&Me said:
As posted above, these symptoms can indicate any number of things..!! Seeing the vet is well advised indeed.
Until you go for the appointment, if it were me..I would check her ears for mites, for sure.
Two of mine have had to be treated regularly, since birth. And one of mine has an over abundance of ear wax, which causes her to shake her head to dislodge if I haven't cleaned her ears on time. Until I realized she had such a severe problem with it, she had once scratched her face bloody, literally. I have to clean her ears several times a week to avoid further serious problems.
Good luck, I hope it's something like this, and not neurological.
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Oh wow, I didnt know cats could have an overabundance of ear wax like that. I am taking her to the vet on Wednesday. Her ears look okay but maybe the vet will see something I dont. I hope its not neorlogical either.
 
Our civie has seizures set off by noises including at times when she eats or laps up water. Most of the time it is more of a head bobbing/twitching kind of thing but occasionally it progresses to a full blown seizure. I mention it here on the off chance your cat's head behavior is similar. See the report in this thread for a link to a vet journal that addresses this condition. I also found videos on the web of cats having the exact same head bobbing/twitching symptoms as our Tux.
 
ebuckley said:
Our civie has seizures set off by noises including at times when she eats or laps up water. Most of the time it is more of a head bobbing/twitching kind of thing but occasionally it progresses to a full blown seizure. I mention it here on the off chance your cat's head behavior is similar. See the report in this thread for a link to a vet journal that addresses this condition. I also found videos on the web of cats having the exact same head bobbing/twitching symptoms as our Tux.
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I read the link you sent. If it is a seizure its very very mild and its only her head. Its always noisy where I live with different pitch volumes due to my birds being vocal. So if her actions are because of bird pitches this is new. I will find out on Wednesday at vet.
 
The vet thinks the head shaking and trembling could be from dirty ears and ear infections. She also has a bladder infection and urinary crystals.
 
Hi Windy, glad the head tremors aren't serious, but sorry she has a bladder infection. BTW, what's her name? Did you bring Ben to the vet too? How's he doing?
 
Chloe is my 13 year old with the bladder infection and apparently has urinary crystals too. I will be giving her cranberry powder and amoxicillin and urinary tract food. Ben tested high on glucose today. It was 617 so he is on two units of insulin now. My Alphatrak 2 was the same reading as the vets so that's good. He doesn't really bleed much when his ear was pricked. The vet tech got a little blood to test for my meter and did a vein for theirs. I actually did the sub q fluids while the vet tech and vet stood by. I was really really nervous and must of grabbed poor Ben's skin a few times trying to make the tent. He must be feeling better because today is the first day he has ever really groomed himself. He did it after we came back from the vet.
 
Ben seems to be doing pretty well. I am having some issues getting Chloe to eat. She has UTI and Struvite crystals. She isnt into wet food and I am trying to get her to eat it and I changed her dry to the Purina UTI and ordered Pro Plan UTI to just try to get her to eat. She uis willing to eat tunafish. She is having trouble eating because food keeps falling out of her mouth because she is missing a lower canine tooth. She still wants to eat pounce tarter control treats but she has trouble eating those and she will eat my dogs food once in awhile but its a special diet for his microscopic liver shunt.

I am not sure what to do. I just tried feeding her 6 different kinds of fancy feast classic and she wasnt into them. I am giving her 250 mg of a crushed cranberry pill mixed in tunawater in a syringe once a day and am taking her to the vet again on Wednesday.

I will also try some other wet cat foods. She has to have low ash and low magnesium and high protein. She doesnt like the wet Wellness food either.
 
Sharon14 said:
Since she likes the Pounce, try crushing some of those up and sprinkling over her food
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I tried that yesterday. I even tried fish food because she loves that and even parmesan cheese. I am going to try grinding pounce in a coffee grinder when I get it to see if that helps.
 
Do you think she just doesn't like the food, or could she possibly have a stomach ache from the antibiotics? There are meds for that and also appetite stimulants if nothing else works. Also, make sure she's drinking enough water.
 
Sharon14 said:
Do you think she just doesn't like the food, or could she possibly have a stomach ache from the antibiotics? There are meds for that and also appetite stimulants if nothing else works. Also, make sure she's drinking enough water.
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I didnt even think about the antibiotic bothering her stomach. She has the sniffles now from being stressed out now too.
 
You can try a probiotic. Many here use Fortiflora. They say it also helps their appetites. I've never tried it though. Or if she likes yogurt, you can try that.
 
I gave her half of a probiotic mixed in tuna water. I didnt have the kind you suggested as I could not find it at the pet stores and if I ordered it I woudnt get it right away. I just needed to give her something. She doesnt like yogurt. I never realized how picky she was until now. Its hard seeing them not feeling well.

Ben feels alot better. He is even being fussy about getting his insulin shot now. I am wondering how well doing sub qs and glucose tests are going to work on him when I do it on my own. He doesnt really bleed much when his ear was pricked either for glucose test.
 
Glad Ben's feeling a bit better. When you start testing him, make sure to get size 26-28 gauge lancets. They are larger and make it a little easier to get blood. After some time, the ear makes more capillaries and they bleed more easily. Then you can get a smaller gauge lancet.
 
The lancets that came with my glucose meter are 28 gauge I think. I am trying to figure out what size needles to get for sub q. I have read on Tanyas site that 18 to 20 Termos are good. I have been looking at places to get the LRS and the supplies needed. I can get 4 bags of LRS for almost the sme price my vet charges for one on Drfostersandsmith.com. I wish they sold the Termo needles too but they dont.
 
Chloe has a cracked tooth. The vet gave her a pain injection and she is feeling a lot better. After her cold goes away she is going to have her tooth removed and a teeth cleaning. I am really nervous about having her go under because of her age but I don't want this tooth to get infected and cause further pain.
 
BJM said:
Maybe check out ADW for the subQ needles you need.
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Thanks, I will check. I gave Ben sub q fluids twice at the vets office while a tech watched and did the glucose ear prick and test today. I was so nervous at the thought of ever doing those things to him.
 
Sorry Chloe has a bad tooth and needs a dental, but glad you found it before it got too bad. Colin went to the vet yesterday too and we found a bad tooth, so he's going in next Wed for the procedure. I'm nervous about the anesthesia too, but it has to be done. Glad you did Ben's fluids and ear pricks. It really does get easier. Colin actually comes to me to get his ear prick because he wants his treats. Just remember to take a deep breath, and relax you're doing this to help Ben.
 
Sharon14 said:
Sorry Chloe has a bad tooth and needs a dental, but glad you found it before it got too bad. Colin went to the vet yesterday too and we found a bad tooth, so he's going in next Wed for the procedure. I'm nervous about the anesthesia too, but it has to be done. Glad you did Ben's fluids and ear pricks. It really does get easier. Colin actually comes to me to get his ear prick because he wants his treats. Just remember to take a deep breath, and relax you're doing this to help Ben.
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What treats do you give Colin that he likes so much? Are you having the human anestisia for him when he gets the procedure? My 9 year old Baxter had a teeth cleaning because it was causing a urinary tract infection and I had the human anestisia given to him. They said its better for older cats, they go under faster and come out faster. Its still nerve racking when they go under. Did Colin crack a tooth or did it just go bad? The vet was saying cats are known to get holes in their teeth sometimes and its caused by tooth decay I think.
 
I've been giving him Pure Bites, but he's happy with anything edible! He actually lost a tooth, and may be about to lose another. Vet will know more after he's asleep. Colin did not want him to fool with his mouth! I feel bad but just had his teeth checked a month or so ago, and, while they needed cleaning the vet didn't seem to think they were too bad. I don't know what kind of anesthesia they will use, didn't know to ask.
 
I never knew about anestisia until I was asked about it. Chloe can't go in for dental until she is recovered from her upper respiratory.

Since Ben has to stay in the bathroom, I expanded his area with an exercise pen and put two ikea single mattress' for him and made him a bed. He seems very content and happy laying on it. He looks very pleased like he gets to be a regular house cat again. The look on his face was cute.
 
Sounds like Ben has quite a nice set up! It should make you feel good seeing him like that, after the way you found him. He's a lucky boy.
 
Hi Windy! Colin's dental went well. He had 2 extractions. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be helping the diabetes, His BG's are still high. How are Ben and Chloe? Are getting used to giving the fluids?
 
I am glad Colin did well with the extractions. Did the vet say anything about what to do abot BG being high?

Chloe seems better but I am stalling on getting her tooth removed and having dental work. I dont like having pets put under. The vet tech says they monitor them and if she shows any signs of any problems they would pull her out, but it still makes me nervous.

Ben seems okay. He is picky about food, what he will eat one day he doesnt want the next. Trying to get him to eat correctly is hard and same with Chloe, she isnt into the uti diet and wants to eat my dogs LD and Hepatic diet, tuna and cat treats.

I have done sub q 5 times on Ben at the vet with the tech watching. On Wednesday I am going to do it on my own where I live and if I have trouble I will take him to the vet and do it there. At the vet he is pretty easy going about letting e do it.
I am having a hard time with glucose testing. Last time I pricked his ear had trouble getting blood and the blod I did get I got on my fingers. I will practice again with vet tech on that until I can get it on my own with her. At least I was able to prick his ear, its a start I guess. Ben doesnt really bleed alot.
 
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