Vestibular Disease
What is vestibular disease? Vestibular disease is a general term that describes diseases impacting the sensory system of the inner ear, the vestibular nerve and the balance control center in the brain. The vestibular system serves two purposes: to stabilize a cat’s head position and to stabilize the eyes and vision when a cat moves his head. When the vestibular system is dysfunctional, a cat may feel like he is spinning and he will attempt to right himself. His pupils will quiver or wander in an attempt to focus. This is often more commonly described as “dizzy kitty” disease.
How does my cat get vestibular disease? Vestibular disease can be inherited or occur as a result of injury. Some cases of vestibular disease in cats are idiopathic, in other words, due to unknown causes. In some acute cases, the condition disappears within a week or two with little or no symptoms. The disease can be classified as central (brain) or peripheral (inner ear or vestibular nerve), depending on which system that the disease originated from.
How do I know if my cat has vestibular disease? Cats affected with vestibular disease will tilt their heads, move their heads side to side, stagger, circle, roll on the ground, fall on one side, display crossed eyes or quivering eyes or act dizzy and be unable to maintain consistent balance. This can be a tricky disease to diagnosis. Your veterinarian will need to perform a complete physical exam, take a detailed history and conduct tests to rule out other possible causes such as drug toxicity, brain tumor or head injury. An otoscope may be used to look into the ear to check for signs of infection or debris. Special radiographs under anesthesia called a “bulla series” (named after the ear bone called the tympanic bulla) may be required to determine the condition of the middle ear. More expensive tests such as MRI or CT scans may be advised.
What can I do about vestibular disease? If your veterinarian suspects an infection in the ear, he or she may first do a thorough cleaning of the ear. However, the cause may be due to brain stem or lesions in the middle and inner ear and require surgery or medications. In some cases of idiopathic vestibular disease, the use of anti-inflammatory steroids or anti-nausea medications may be used to try to lessen the severity of the symptoms.
Is there anything I can do to prevent my cat from getting vestibular disease? It is difficult to prevent this condition since it can be inherited or occur as the result of an injury, especially to the head. In some acute cases, the symptoms disappear and the cat is able to walk and see normally again.
Are there certain breeds that get vestibular disease more often? Yes. Burmese, Siamese and Tonkinese are among the breeds identified as being at risk for this disease.