Neurotoxins found on farm?

I hadn't thought of rabies, but after reading the symptoms, the paralysis (final stage) is all that fits. He (along with the other barn cats) are seen/played with on a daily basis so any of the other symptoms would have been noted. He was just fine, until he wasn't, if that makes sense.

I don't think the clot fits either, his rear paws stayed warm to the touch and pink and at no time did he seem to be in any pain.

The spraying....I dunno. Is there anything one would spray on a yard in the late winter?

On distemper....his poop was normal and he never well, changed in any of the ways listed.

No symptoms of antifreeze poisoning...nor diabetes.

Botulism, tumor or injury (with no outward signs, I went over his spine multiple times looking for swelling/breaks/differences) seems most likely. Botulism looks REAL likely, except the timeframe is a bit longer in our case.
I've already buried him and an autopsy isn't an option for us.

Thanks y'all and by all means, keep the ideas coming.

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could he have eaten a mouse that was poisoned...??

Umm I would just like to point this out that organophosphate posioning is a nuerotoxin. If you use pesticides and some fertilizers you are running said risk. Signs of organophosphate posioning include: salavation, lacramation, urnination, gastric distress, and vomiting.

Perhaps he had tick paralysis.

http://www.petmd.com/cat/conditions/...s#.US2y8TfkpD0

We had this happen to a dog and she thankfully recovered completely, but that was mainly because it didn't continue to the point where she could not breath on her own. She was completely flat and unable to move about 36 hours from the first symptoms. We took her to our vet who diagnosed here and basically said "keep her bowels moving, make sure she gets enough fluid to survive, and hope it doesn't effect her breathing". We did all of that and she made it, but it was very strange and was sounding a lot like what your cat had.

I should add that she was unable to sit for about 2 weeks, walk completely normal for about 4 weeks. It was a very strange, labor intensive convalescence but obviously worth it to keep our little girl going. Was very thankful my vet figured out what it was without tons of expensive tests.

Rabies is a serious concern if he was not vaccinated. Progression of symptoms is quite rapid with the affected animal dead within 5 days of showing neurological signs. They may not show all the classical signs. Since you had your hands in his mouth for force feeding you should submit the brain for testing if at all possible.

Another possible infectious cause of neurological symptoms is Toxoplasmosis.

I am so sorry for your loss.

My dog just passed last week. She was 13 and appeared to be in very good health. She went outside to go potty and when she didn't come in I checked on her. She stood shaking extremely hard, tail down and was not moving. My husband brought her in, her breathing got labored and we took her to the vet. Apparently she had a cancerous tumor that ruptured when she lept off the porch. It was pressing on her lung and intestines and also was causing blood poisoning. She also had a high fever.

It does help knowing what the cause was. I hope that you can find out and I pray for comfort for you. I'm sorry.

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Sharon

it could be almost anything, but doesn't sound like rabies. could he have been hit by a car? or suffered any trauma, maybe fought a possum or coon or something? you said he was a tom.
also if you don't know how old he was, he could have had one of the many illnesses that eventually take us all out. like kidney failure and stroke.
but i'm leaning toward trauma.

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It's uncommon but could it be tetanus?

we had a kitten get into something, probably animal poison, one time and died quickly similar to that..but we believe it might have been rat poison..she was bleeding everywhere from eyes..nose..etc..we ended up shooting her so she wouldn't suffer.

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Aw, I'm sorry, Tizrah

I just don't see the fight/car/etc scenario....he had NO marks on him. No scuffs, scrapes, sores, his spine seemed to be in alignment, no wet spots, not even ruffled hair.

As to his age...we thought him to be a young cat due to his size. But seeing as he didn't grow at all while he was here (a year, at least) I just don't know.

He presented with the rear paralysis on a Sunday afternoon but the total paralysis did not occur until late the next Sunday night. During that time he was contained, first in a crate, then in a large livestock tub. All input and outgo was monitored...other than being less that normal it was fine.

Thanks for the ideas, folks.

__________________
" It's better to ride even if you get thrown, than to wind up just wishin' ya had."

Chris Ledoux