Vestibular ataxia in kittens

[lordvoldemort]

So I just found my kitten acting rather odd. He is holding his head to the side, eyes jerking back and forth, falling to one side and unsteady. I looked it up and discovered it is referred to as Vestibular ataxia. He was fine an hour before I found him like this. He is about 5 weeks old and is mostly weaned. I think he may have fell off a chair because that is what I found him by. Does anyone have any experience with this? It was so sudden, I had no idea what had happened. I read that it can also be caused by ear problems, as far as I know he was not suffering from any. He is a little bit better than when I first found him. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

 

[franklinchickens]

I used to do kitten & cat rescue. The cats I've seen like this have usually eaten a poisonous lizard (can't remember what it is called-blue skink maybe?) or have an inner ear issue. Kind of like vertigo in people. Once they have this from eating the lizards, it is pretty much for life from what I understand but they can live a good life. The shelter I volunteered at had a cat that had been like that for years and was just fine, except for walking sideways. Though at 5 weeks that seems a bit young for this happening.
That's about the extent of my knowledge - hopefully someone else will chime in.

 

[lordvoldemort]

I don't think the poor little guy is going to make it. I've been trying to force feed him all morning but he won't/can't eat or drink. His pupils are fixed and dilated so much you can't even see the color of his eyes. I'm going to try my very best to save him but don't know what else to do. In my experience when an animal gives up there's not much you can do.