My kitten develpd head tilt and fever. The fever went away, but she still tilts her head. Any ideas?

Question

My 4 month old kitten developed a fever and head tilt. The vet tested her blood and did an ear swab, which was negative. We treated her with 3 different antibiotics and an ear treatment. The fever went away, but the head tilt remains. She is otherwise healthy and playful, no weight loss. She has had this for 1 month now.

The vet has seen her twice and has no idea what to do now. The kitten has a slight balance problem because of the head tilt and appears at least partially deaf.

If she head an ear infection, I assume the treatment treated the infection. Why does she stll tilt her head?

Niether the mother, father or 2 sibliing kittens developed this problem, so it is not contagious and probably not heriditary.

Will she be like this from now on? Will she get better? Can I help her?

Thank you for your suggestions.

Answer 1

she probably had a minor infection that the vet didnt catch, or when playing got clawed in the ear. either way its probably because of her deafness and she is trying to figure out a way to compensate. if she was in the wild, she would be dead now. natural selection.

Answer 2

I originally thought an ear infection, but since you say your veterinarian has treated her and the tilt still remains, my next thought is some kind of neurological problem. I agree with the first response, get a second opinion!


Also, to: The_Boot who says it sounds normal.
Are you insane?
There's a noticeable difference between an animal that tilts their head to the side out of wonderment or curiousity and an animal that continuously tilts their head to the side. I've been a veterinary technician for 2 and a half years and I've seen more than one case of head tilt presented at the clinics I've worked in. None of them resulted in the veterinarian saying, "Oh, that's normal. He's just wondering what the huck your problem is."

Answer 3

Well, this really isn't quite an answer, but I know a cat who tilts her head like you described and she's been that way for at least two years or so. She's fine otherwise, but don't count on your kitten ever not tilting it's head. I think it's permenant. But the cat I'm talking about may not've had the same thing as your kitten because this cat.....well, I swear it has mood swings. One minute it will be super friendly, the next it won't let you touch it. But that may just be because it used to be wild.

Answer 4

Vestibular syndrome can come on abruptly and dramatically - I've literally seen it appear in under a minute. A kitten who appears completely normal suddenly starts staggering in circles, with a severe head tilt. The head will tilt down on the side of the affected bulla, and the kitten will continuously turn in that direction. A polyp is a fleshy stalk that grows out of the inner ear, or the "bulla".
See if your vet finds a polyp.

Answer 5

Ear infections are tough, my gf just went through 2 rounds of anti-biotics for it and is still having problems, probably still some bacteria in there, you should try another round of treatment if that doesn`t work it may need a cat-scan (no pun intended) for a brain lesion or tumor.

Answer 6

I have a pack of Fyre Dogs and each reacts differently. Salsa gets dizzy trying to maintain eye contact. Sancho is a disgusting brute and he always runs forward in the hopes a juicy piece of ear wax falls out and he can snatch it up. Dolph gets confused and thinks the earth is tilting since, obviously, I am the center of the universe. Athena thinks it's very cute and runs for her camera to snap a picture of it for her album. Rhumba uses the distraction as his chance to go eat out of the other dogs' dishes. I think you might have met Rhumba. His mother was named "Rum and Coke" and his father is the famous champion "Buck Off ******."

Answer 7

something is wrong with it's ears, my dog gets severe ear infections, so he tilts his head, and it throws off his balance sometimes to the point where he cant walk...your vet sounds like a moron

Answer 8

Are you, may I ask, a liberal? Seriously, animals often tilt their heads as if thinking "what the huck is his/her problem?" if they suspect you are a liberal loser.

Intelligent human beings do the same thing, I wouldn't worry..sounds normal.

Answer 9

I would get a second opinion from another vet.

Answer 10

well, she might get better if you take her to the vet, but if that doesn't help then you need to go and get an x-ray to see if somthing is wrong with her spinral cord.