What to Know About Vestibular Disease in Cats

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What to Know About Vestibular Disease in Cats

Vestibular disease — also known as geriatric vestibular disease or vestibular syndrome (cats) — can appear suddenly in your cat. One moment, your cat may be completely normal, and the next, they are struggling to stand and balance on their four limbs. It’s one of the most common causes of a sudden loss of balance in cats.

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What to Know About Vestibular Disease in Cats

The condition is caused by a problem with your cat’s vestibular system. This system has two large centers in your cat’s body — one at the base of their brain and one in their inner ear. This system’s main function is to keep your cat balanced while they move around.  

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What to Know About Vestibular Disease in Cats

It’s made up of an arrangement of nerves and fluid-filled canals that track where your cat’s head is in relation to gravity. It can tell whether or not your cat’s head is moving and, if it is, in which direction.

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What to Know About Vestibular Disease in Cats

This information from the inner ear is transmitted to the brain. The brain then sends signals to change the rest of your cat’s body — including their muscles and eyes — in response to these head movements.

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What to Know About Vestibular Disease in Cats

Vestibular disease can disrupt either the inner ear or brain parts of this system, causing your cat to lose their balance. It can happen to both male and female cats of any age but is seen more often in older felines.   

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What Causes Vestibular Disease in Cats?

There can be many different causes for vestibular disease in cats, but the most common kind is idiopathic — meaning that there isn’t any detectable cause. Other causes are problems in your cat that affect the vestibular system in some way. These include: 

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What Causes Vestibular Disease in Cats?

• Bacterial infections of the inner ear • Inflammatory diseases in the inner ear • A bad reaction to a drug — some antibiotics can cause this condition • Growths — including cysts, polyps, and tumors — in either the inner ear or the brain • Head trauma • Parasites • Nutritional deficiencies • Birth defects

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What Causes Vestibular Disease in Cats?

There’s even a reported case of vestibular disease occurring in a male cat after a routine ear cleaning at a veterinary appointment. The cause, in this case, was possibly the cleaning solution used in the cat’s ears.  

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What Are the Symptoms of Vestibular Disease in Cats?

The symptoms of vestibular disease can set in very suddenly in your cat and might look very distressing to owners, but the condition by itself isn’t a cause for alarm. In one way or another, the symptoms are all due to your cat’s disrupted balance and may include:

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What Are the Symptoms of Vestibular Disease in Cats?

• Difficulty standing up • Circling to one side when trying to walk • Falling over after taking just a few steps • Rapid and spastic-seeming eye movements in many directions   • Head constantly tilted to one side — no matter what position they are in

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What Are the Symptoms of Vestibular Disease in Cats?

• Nausea and vomiting — because the brain center is near the one for nausea • Facial drooping — because the inner ear center is near a control for facial muscles

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What Are the Symptoms of Vestibular Disease in Cats?

If your cat’s vestibular disease is idiopathic then the symptoms should begin to clear up on their own. The first 24 to 48 hours after the symptoms begin are typically the worst. Most symptoms will improve after three to five days. But it’ll take longer — possibly over three weeks — for your cat to make a full recovery.

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What Are the Symptoms of Vestibular Disease in Cats?

Even though your cat’s symptoms are likely to clear up on their own, it’s still important to bring your cat to the vet as soon as you notice these balance issues. This is because the cause could be something much more serious than vestibular disease. You need a diagnosis from your vet (based on medical history and an examination of the patient) to be sure that your cat will be okay.  

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What Are the Symptoms of Vestibular Disease in Cats?

There’s a chance — in severe cases — that your cat’s head will remain at a permanent tilt. This won’t disrupt any of your cat’s normal activities.    

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How is Vestibular Disease in Cats Diagnosed?

In order to determine whether or not your cat has vestibular disease, your veterinarian will need to physically examine your cat. They’ll look inside of your cat's ears for signs of infection, inflammation, or tumors. They will also perform a neurological exam to decide if the part of the vestibular system that is in the brain is the main cause.

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How is Vestibular Disease in Cats Diagnosed?

In some cases, advanced imaging techniques will help with the diagnosis. This could include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or a computed tomography (CT) scan.

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