Introduction
Meningitis in cats is a condition in which protective membranes around the spinal cord and brain, termed meninges, become inflamed. Cats diagnosed with meningitis often develop the disease as a result of feline infectious peritonitis, toxoplasmosis, feline immunodeficiency virus, and feline leukemia virus. In some cases cats develop bacterial meningitis, but this is extremely rare. Meningitis is a serious condition, and unfortunately the prognosis is usually very poor.
Treating Meningitis
Medication
Part of the problem with treating meningitis in cats is that it is so often caused by another serious underlying condition. The basic meningitis treatment protocol is to use immunosuppressive drugs, such as prednisone, and broad-spectrum antibiotics that will penetrate the blood-brain barrier, such as tetracycline, to reduce the swelling and eliminate the meningitis infection. Unfortunately these treatments are often of little use to meningitis in cats. In addition, these medications may not work well if the cat is suffering from another medical condition which has caused the meningitis.
Supportive care
In some cases supportive care can be administered to help the cat survive the meningitis infection. Once the danger point is passed than the underlying condition that has caused the meningitis can be addressed. Supportive care can include pain medication, intravenous fluid therapy and nutritional support, and anti-seizure medication. It can take months for a cat to recover from meningitis, and often these treatments and supportive care will need to be administered for many weeks.
If your cat has been diagnosed with meningitis, or your veterinarian suspects your cat has meningitis, you will need to have an honest discussion with your veterinarian regarding your cat’s treatment options and possible outcomes. As meningitis in cats is rare, you may want to ask for a referral to a veterinarian specialist that has experience treating meningitis in cats.