Case 11

Signalment

Rintu is a 3-year-old castrated male domestic shorthaired cat.

History

Rintu's owners noticed that he was having full body tremors and experiencing intermittent crying starting at about 2 a.m., so they presented him to the veterinary hospital first thing this morning. The owners report no overt seizure activity, loss of consciousness, or convulsing. The owners wrapped Rintu in a towel most of the night because they thought he might be shivering due to cold. He has experienced no vomiting, diarrhea, coughing, or sneezing.

Rintu is a strictly indoor cat, and he has been healthy up to this point. The owners report no known trauma or changes or accessible toxins in his environment. He is fed a high-quality cat food and was eating and drinking normally until the tremors began. Rintu lives with a Labrador retriever named Max that is healthy, and they are known to play well together. Rintu is not receiving any long-term medications, and the owners have not given him anything for the tremors. They mention that they saw fleas on Rintu yesterday, so they applied a veterinary-prescribed topical flea product that they had for Max.

Physical examination findings

• Bright, alert, and responsive

• Temperature = 104.2 F (40.1 C), pulse = 210 beats/min, respiration = 35 breaths/min

• Weight = 11 lb (5 kg)

• BCS = 5/9

• Heart and lung sounds are normal

• Abdominal palpation reveals no abnormalities

• Neurologic evaluation reveals no strabismus or nystagmus, normal pupillary light reflexes, and he appears to be visual. His mentation appears normal, but he is moderately ataxic, has moderate generalized tremors, and is intermittently vocalizing.
• The rest of the physical examination findings are normal.

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