Conference misery::feline_v1

    I've never heard of this.  How did your vet diagnose this?
    Are there organic evidences of some sort in the blood?  It
    seems that the outward symptoms (lethargy, lack of apetite)
    are so common for many types of diseases that it can't 
    possibly be the only criteria used for diagnosis.  Do you
    have any technical/medical information on the disease
    other than the course of treatment used?
    
    Donna

    Donna,
    
    Thanks for responding.  I think that the US are far more
    advanced regarding pets.  The only other symptom which has
    left its mark slightly is the eyes, at the onset the eye
    became covered by what I believe is called the Haw because
    the animal is unable to dilate the pupils to cope with 
    different light levels the eye was constantly as though
    they were in a pitch black room.
    
    One of her eyes has never completely recovered and she does
    not like sitting where direct light (such as a lamp) shines
    on them if she does she hides her eyes.
    
    I am not aware that they have documented this disease, at
    the time my vet said that this is the first totally new
    "feline" disease in about 15 years, he also said they have
    in the last couple of years had a new "canine" disease again
    the first for many years.
    
    I have in the past owned cats who had feline enteritis, colds,
    flu, boils, abscesses, recently one of them broke a canine,
    we didn't know what it was at first he just moped.
    
    This disease was very strange in that it took months to go,
    and there was no pain other than from constipation which we 
    managed to keep at bay with too much medicine.
    
    Thanks for responding, I realised at the time of writing
    that there was so little to go on.  I just thought that
    because the US has taken Pet care to such a high standard
    and probably does far more tests on them than ours tend
    to do they might have found an answer.
    
    I would also add that I have used many vets in my life
    some of them I have had no faith in some I refused to
    use that treated the animal like a lump of meat.  This
    particular practice I have felt more than happy with,
    given their limitations.
                                         
    
    PS
    
    I have just spoken to the Veterinary Hospital in Windsor
    to try to get their description of what happens.
    
    They told me there is still no cure and that the Royal
    Veterinary College in Glasgow are working on it.
    
    The way she described it is that Key Gaskell seems to
    "muck" up the whole system.  It dries up the megasophogus
    which causes the food to get stuck and the cat to vomit,
    the pupils dilate and you need to use eye drops to keep
    them moist (I forgot that part of the treatment).  Death
    of the animal is 99% of cases.  Intensive nursing is
    necessary and if the animal does get better it takes many
    many months to achieve normality.
    
    Still a bit vague I'm afraid.  If you have any ideas please
    do say.  I think I shall try ringing Glasgow!
    
    
    Joan
    ====
    

    Re. the Royal Veterinary College,
    
    The person who is dealing with it said that there was an outbreak
    2-3 years ago and they have not had too many opportunities since
    to test on because it seems to have become a rarity.
    
    She said that it damages the nervous system, she said specifically
    the ortonomic nervous system (I'm not sure of the spelling but it
    is the nervous system the animal has no control over) which controls
    the Gut.  Basically the Gut drys up and the gullet  becomes
    distended.  If any food does get through it takes a long time to
    digest, more often than not it vomits.  
    
    When they were testing on animals with the disease they tried
    drugs which would mimic the nervous system and caused them to
    salivate, unfortunately some of the animals reacted badly to
    this and couldn't stop salivating.
    
    They have no historical eveidence yet because the disease
    is so new none of the animals who have survived have reached
    old or middle age yet.  They also don't have much on any
    relapses, two cats relapsed and died after 6 months.
    
    I mentioned that our cat is very small and doesn't put on
    weight but eats like a horse.  She wasn't surprised because
    the damage which is caused to the nervous system is irreperable
    unlike some other nerves which would recover.  Whether the
    cat lives a normal life depends on the number of nerves that
    have been killed off, and how susceptible they are to disease
    because of the illness.
    
    She did ask that we let them know how long she lives and any
    problems, like being susceptible to disease and how quickly
    they recover.  As she has passed two years then it would
    appear she should not have any relapses but they don't know
    for sure.
    
    
    Rather an interesting case isn't it?
    
    Joan
    ====
    

    Yes that is very strange!?   It is the 'autonomic' nervous system
    (as in 'automatic').  This  system regulates involuntary actions
    of the body such as digestion, breathing, heart beating, etc.  I
    wonder why the disease just appears to affect the digestive system?
    
    
    Donna

    Here is some information that I found in my Birman breed book by
    Viviane Smith.  The author lives in England by the way.
    
    Key Gaskell or Dilated Pupil Syndrome
    
    This syndrome has only been recognised as a new disease since 1981.
    It is now quite common, and the cause is thought to be due to a nerve
    paralysis following a viral infection.
    
    The clinical signs are as follows:
    
    1.Permanantly dilated pupils which do not constrict when exposed
      to light.
    2.Permanently protruded and thickened third eyelids.
    3.Difficulty in eating and swallowing-sometimes a dry mouth and
      sometimes grinding of the teeth.
    4.Gagging, retching and regurgitation of foods and fluids.
    5.Constipation, involving the lower small intestine, caecum and
      large intestine.
    6.A heavy moult is nearly always present.
    
    There is a kialtion of the oesaphagus, forming a sac.  This results
    in vomiting.  The cat soon becomes very thin and dehydrated and
    may continuously strain.  Later, if the constipation is cleared
    the catmay have uncontrollable diarrhea jue to the same paralysis
    of the sympathetic nervous system which cause the other symptoms.
    
    Treatment must be aimed at clearing the constipation as a matter
    of urgency- either by liqiud paraffin or surgically.  Dehydration
    must be treated by administering emulsified foods and liquids by
    mouth.  The cat must be ruthlessly groomed or it may relapse with
    a furball if it becomes well enough to groom itself.  The Author
    has had a reasonable success with the application of "pilocarpine"
    eye drops 0.5-1.0% twice daily in the eyes.  This causes constriction
    of the pupils and appears to have the generalised effect of stimulating
    the oesophageal and intestinal muscles.
    
    Unfortunately this condition often takes months to treat and it
    may be mote humane to carry out euthanasia, especially if the
    oesaphagus is greatly enlarged.  This can be ascertained by a Barium
    X-Ray.
    
    Again this information is from "The Birman Cat: Sacred Cat of Burma"
    by Viviane Smith (Creasy) of England.  It was printed in England
    and untill I read about this disease in this book I had never heard
    of it before.  Maybe it is known by another name in the states.
    
    JoAnn

    I know I am a bit late in replying to this but I have only just
    started reading notes and was very interested to find someone else
    who's cat had suffered with this terrible disease.
    
    About 18 months ago I got home from work went home to feed my two
    cats but one was missing.  Unusual, I thought, Dillan is normally
    the first of the two into the kitchen.  Eventually I saw him making
    his way down the hall, staggering as though drunk.  When I examined
    him his third eyelids were totally covering both eyes and my immediate
    thought was that he had gone blind, hence the staggering and bumping
    into things.
    
    By now it was about half nine at night but I thought this couldnt
    wait any longer so I called the vet who told me to bring him straight
    to the surgery.  He diagnosed "Key Gaskell Syndrome" as soon as
    he saw him and told me I should have him put down.  This really
    upset me as Dillan was three and a half, not as if I had only just
    got him as a kitten.
    
    I asked the vet for a weeks grace, I had to try.  The vet said he
    had a dilated oesophagus (sp?) and dilated pupils, his nervous system
    had totally packed up and he couldnt salivate.  He also said that
    only 1 in a hundred survived because most of them starve to death
    as they cant get food passed their oesophagus, it just collects
    in there and when full comes back out again but as I was determined
    and as there was no pain involved I could try for a week.
    
    He gave Dillan an injection of Anabolic Steriods, and gave me a course
    of pink tablets to reduce the size of his oesophagus, some drops to
    reduce the size of his eyes and a syringe for force feeding liquidized
    food.  
    
    I guess I was lucky that he was a very patient cat and put up with
    being stood on his back legs with water and liquidized food being
    pumped down him.  He did get very crafty with the tablets though,
    he used to hold them in his mouth, walk away and spit them out!!
    I think he new we were trying to help him though and after a couple
    of times he managed to gulp the tablet down as he had great problems
    trying to swallow.  
    
    After my weeks grace was up, I took him back to the vets and to
    my suprise he had made a slight improvement so I could continue
    our battle against this disease.  Dillan was given more Anabolic
    steroids, more drops and more tablets.
    
    For the next two weeks I stayed up all night, every night with him
    and took as many days off work as I could to be with him.  I used
    to wipe him down with cotton wool soaked in warm water because by
    now he was very smelly where he couldnt wash himself also his nostrils
    became very blocked and he could hardly breath so I used to sit
    him in the cat basket, covered all over with a blanket and put a
    bowl of hot water and Vic in there with him.  (Sounds silly but
    it worked).
    
    After about six months and x number of visits to the vets, I thought
    to myself "whenever I feel rotten I always have a bath and wash
    my hair and it makes me feel better" and knowing how proud of his
    coat Dillan used to be I wondered if it might make him feel better
    to look better.  It seemed to do the trick.  I bathed him with Head
    and Shoulders medicated shampoo, towel dried him and put him in
    front of the fire and for the first time he started licking himself,
    not only taking in the excess water but I think some of the medicated
    shampoo may have done him some good.
    
    The vet was amazed at the improvement the next time I took him and
    ran off with him to show all his colleagues.  
    
    Although Dillan is now what I call completely better, his pupils
    have not gone back to their normal size but he has come to terms
    with this by avoiding bright lights and not going out much in the
    daytime.
    
    I'm sorry to have rambled on so but I thought you might like to
    know the whole story.  
    
    It certainly didn't happen after a virus and he doesnt seem to be
    prone to any illness now he is over it.  The only thing that worries
    me about your tale is that you were treating him for constipation.
    Was this advised by the vet because the reason he was "Constipated"
    was that he wasn't taking in any food anyway.
    
    Sharon (Minnie) Taylor
    
    
     

    Sharon, are you in Britain?  (Holding on to the hope that this thing
    hasn't made it to the states.)  Also, maybe the virus that brings
    this on is very mild and might not be noticed....
    

    I think that Dillan is a verry lucky young fellow to have
    such a loving person as his person!  
    
    E.T.

    
    Karen
    
    Yes I am in England, (Dec Park, Reading).  Key Gaskell is Genetic
    disease rather than a virus (or at least thats what I was told,
    probably because nobody knows what causes it) it was described to
    me as being very similar to Multiple sclerosis in humans so as you
    can imagine I was very concerned about Sammie (Dillan's nephew)
    getting this disease but the vet said he was a distant enough relation
    not to get it.
    
    I think I was just very lucky that my vet had seen it before a couple
    of times and diagnosed it immediatly rather than various false
    diagnoses.
    
    And thankyou E.T. whoever you are but I'm sure if you met Dillan
    you would love him too.  My boyfriend (whom I now live with) was
    not keen on cats at all (his family had always had dogs) but he
    got very close to Dillan when he was ill and he now tells people
    that he has adopted them and they are our boys now not just mine!!!
    
    
    Sharon
    
    
    
     

    Sharon, I'm sure I would - he sounds like a doll baby. I hope
    that I'm never tested like that - I thank heaven every day that
    my 13 kids are as healthy as they are - some of them have had
    their problems, but all have come through them unscathed.  I
    told my kids about Dillan over the weekend, and they all send
    him a meow!
    
    Elaine + 13 ZhivagoCat Kids

    
    Elaine, 13 kids, how do you cope???   I think you deserve a medal!
     
    Dillan says meow back and Sammie sends a squeek too (bless him he
    cannot meow, he just squeeks occasionally!)
    
    Sharon
    ps.. are you in UK or US?
    

    Hi Sharon - yup, we're here in the US - the whole gang - actually,
    I wonder how they cope with me!  I just spend time enjoying them.
    (and vacuuming up after them).  They are really good kids - very
    little trouble - they eat like pigs, fill their swimming pool
    with lots of lumps - other than that, I can hardly wait for
    the last 5 little ones to turn a year old - these five really
    hang together - when one is messing around, you can be sure
    the other 4 are very close by getting into it also!  
    Thanks for the squeeks & meows - my kids say come and visit
    if you are ever in the states - they love company to show off to
    - and they are very friendly!
    
    E.T.

    
    Hi Elaine,  sounds great fun.  I'd love to have some more Kids but
    my place is far too small (maybe when I move to a bigger house I'll
    get some more)
    
    Thanks for the offer, I'd love to meet you and the kids but I think
    it'll be a long time before I can get to the states (shame).  The
    same offer goes out to you aswell if you are ever over here (and
    bring loads of pictures of the kids).
    
    bye for now
    Sharon, Dillan and Sammie.
    
    
    
    

    re. .12
    
    Hi Elaine,
    
    For those of us (well, "them") who don't remember, how about
    reminding them what "filling the swimming pool with lumps"
    means.  Sound like jumping in for a swim, carring a large rock
    20 laps for the Red Cross Life Saving certificate, and then
    dumping the rock on the bottom of the pool!
    
    	:-)
    
    er, is that what you meant this time...???

    Oh Pen, last night when I was cleaning the pool, I didn't feel
    like swimming in it!  Nooooo, the lumps are not rocks - although
    they come in different shapes and sizes - some flat, some round
    some long!  Yup, you all guess it - it's kitty &%$%( !!
    I fill a 3 foot child's wading pool with 25 - 30 pounds  of
    litter for my 13 kids!  I delump it  2 or 3 times a day and
    turn the sand from the bottom to dry it out.  It seems to
    last a week.  It works real well - specially if I maintain it
    faithfully - on my way out in the am - on my way in at night -
    then I check it before I go to bed.  Clean pool (or litter box)
    makes for healthier cats - the kids really hate it when I go
    to an overnighter show - I'm not home to do lumps!  Boy, do
    they let me know about that when I come home!!  They really
    love fresh litter - when I am scrubbing it out in the bathroom,
    about 6 or 7 sit in a circle and watch and wait until it's clean,
    then run down to the cattery ahead of me so they can be first
    in line when I pour in the fresh litter so they can get their
    scent in there first!  Sometimes, I peek in  and there will be
    2 or 3 of them using it at the same time - a group pottie!
    It's funny to see - they just look at me and say, "Go away, we
    really would like a little privacy around here!"
    
    HOpe your back is better, Pen.  By the way , did you need a
    truck to take your show stuff home from Plymouth??? (JUst kidding!)
    
    E.T.