Conference misery::feline_v1

    The tilted head makes me think of a postassium deficiency. Please see
    note 471.
    
    Deb

    
    My first thought is of a poison or toxic substance.  Are the cats
    in/out cats.  It is the time of year for anti-freeze poisoning,
    fertilizing etc.  Are there any new neighbors?  Awful things to think
    about but it happens.  Will keep my ears open.  Wonder if it's any
    connection to the virus that's been going around.  Keep us posted
    as to how things are going.
    
    MaryAnne

    I second poisoning.  I have been thru this with cats when I was a kid,
    and it doesn't take long for the poison to take over.  It sounds like
    the mother might be feeding it to her babies before being affected by
    it.  This means it is something other than anti-freeze.  How old did
    you say the kittens are?  Do they go outside as well? 
    What type of neighborhood?  How MANY cats are we talking about?  If we
    are talking a matter of 2 days or so, that's not long enough for a
    virus to spread to 7 or more cats, I wouldn't think.  
    
    I would have to have an autopsy (sp?) performed to put my mind at ease.
    

      I was thinking either some sort of poison..
    
      but....when I was a kid, we used to always have a large population
    of cats in our barn..and peiodically they'ed be decimated by some sort
    of disease... We were told that this was most likely Feline
    Hepatitis...  Maybe this is it....but I'm not a Vet....
    JM

    The head tilting could be an indication of Panleukopenia.  Most
    cats are vaccinated for it, but even a vaccinated cat can come down
    with it.  It is a deadly disease, very contagious.  It would make
    sense that any cats that were stressed (newborns, or their mothers)
    would be highly susceptible.  Also, any cat that had previously
    had a serious illness could still have a compromised immune system.
    
    If the adult cats are up on their vaccines, then the possibility
    of this being Panleuk is smaller, but still there.  If the cats
    have not been kept up to date on their vaccines, this this is a
    definite possibility.  Just the way that the cats were dying, one
    after another, seems to me to indicate a virus.  Generally, if someone
    was poisoning the cats, the mother cats would have died before the
    kittens.  
    
    A necropsy should be done of the last cat that died.  Most vets
    are kind hearted enough to be able to work out a payment plan with
    a client.  The necropsy would probably cost about $100 or so.  If
    nothing else, the owner may want to bring the remaining cats to
    the vet for bloodwork, to help determine if they are infected. 
    I am not sure, but I think that Panleuk is the type of disease that
    one cat could be a carrier of and spread it to the others without
    becoming symptomatic itself.
    
    I had a breeder friend lose a litter of kittens to Panleuk, and
    the head tilt was very apparent there.  Her kittens were about 3
    weeks old when they died.
    
    Jo

    It's not clear to me if any of the cats have been vaccinated?
    I have heard of distemper running wild thru unvaccinated cat
    populations.  I don't know if it is associated with head tilting.
    
    If they aren't up on vaccinations, I suggest she find a low cost
    vaccination program (often times shelters run them) or perhaps
    she can work out a payment plan with her vet.
    

I second the vote for panleuk -- as Jo said, it is contagious and deadly.
As so many cats have died, your friend is wise to not add to her cat population
until this disease is identified and all current cats are vaccinated.  It is
possible that one cat can fight off the symptoms of the virus, but shed the
virus, infecting the other cats.  She probably has a carrier cat in her
current cat population, and new additions would be very vulnerable.

I know of no poison that could be passed to kittens from the mother, killing
the kittens before killing the mother ...this definitely is a virus.

    Was there ever any update on this situation.  I am wondering how
    things are going for her now, and if there is anything we can do
    to help.
    
    Jo

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I guess it's time for an update on the cat situation......As far as I can 
determine, all the cats have been vaccinated against all the things cats are
normally vaccinated for......  The consensus of opinion on all angles seems to
be a viral condition, and the diseases that were brought up in this file have
been passed on to her veterinarion for possible causes.......As far as I know,
they are going to begin doing some testing on the adults that are left in the
colony.....Money is terribly tight at this point, but they are doing the best
they can in the situation as it is.....

She asked me to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers, because it was
helpful to know that someone else cared......and the suggestions of possible
causes were things neither of us had ever heard of......  So, hopefully it will
result in finding the right answers......  They were not able to have the last
cat that died autopsied, so can only hope from here on that no one else dies,
but we're not terribly optimistic on that score.......

If we find out anything....positive or negative.....I promise to let you all
know as soon as I know ......  At this point, there really isn't too much more
to report.....

But we both thank all of you for your concern and ideas......  Hopefully, they
will lead to a solution and a happy ending to this terrible time.......

Again, thank you!!!!!!!!!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Thanks for the update.  I am glad to hear that no more cats have
    died.  I hope that all goes well from here on out.
    
    Jo