My kitten doesnt work!

Question
My kitten- 10 months old so I still call him a kitten- has been without coordination since we adopted him from an animal shelter last summer.  It started out being cute and almost funny.  Now, it's getting sad.  We took him to a vet when he made a puddle on the floor and acted like he wasn't hungry anymore.  After expensive blood work and antibiotics for ear mites, he has not improved.  Periodically he can make it to the litter box but I have found 2 accidents in two days.  He's lethargic and will lay in one spot for hours.
The vet says he has Coronavirus that can lead to FIP.  I have spent a week researching those diseases and find no symptoms like them in my cat.  He has never had diarrhea nor has he ever had any leakage from his eyes or any other orifice.  I can't really afford another vet and I want to know if you could suggest some other things that may be wrong with him or other websites that may detail symptoms more clearly.  I will have him humanely put down if he is truly suffering but I am unabashedly attached and would hate to do that.  I can't stand to think he will die a slow and painful death if we can't figure out what's wrong with him.

Answer
Hi Judi.  FIP is confusing to many pet owners, and even to veterinarians to a great extent.  What we DO know is that kitties are first infected with a feline enteric corona virus which may cause diarrhea.  Enteric corona viruses, specifically, may cause diarrhea, while some other corona viruses can cause upper respiratory symptoms.  But it is one certain enteric corona virus that can lead to FIP.  In some cats, it causes no symptoms at all.  Several weeks to months after infection, after the virus is basically gone, a few who were infected with one certain strain of corona virus develop a condition called FIP.  Clinical FIP can cause neurological symptoms like the ones you're seeing, in addition to lethargy and other signs like fever and anemia.  If your vet ran a corona virus titer test or a PCR test which came back positive, and there are other indications on his bloodwork that might indicate this is FIP, then I believe the neurological signs could certainly be caused by "dry" FIP - the form which affects the neurological system.  Kitties with FIP will often have high globulins, low red blood cells, high neutrophils and sometimes liver or kidney impairment, among other indications found on bloodwork.  If all these things point to FIP, then I think euthanasia is definitely the kindest choice.  It's truly the worst disease I've ever seen a cat suffer.  Here's a good site to learn more about FIP:

http://www.cfa.org/articles/health/FIP.html

It could be possible that your kitty is suffering from idiopathic vestibular disease, but this typically has a very sudden onset, and cats make a recovery from it in a couple of weeks, on average.  Sometimes vestibular disease is not idiopathic but has a cause such as ear polyps or tumors.  These are often visible on a physical exam, but more advanced diagnostics would be needed before deciding that a case was idiopathic.

Another possibility might be cerebellar hypoplasia, an underdevelopment of a part of the brain caused by an active distemper infection during fetal development.  These kittens have a permanent lack of coordination and appear almost drunk.  With a little safety-proofing, most of these kitties can live a perfectly healthy and happy, full life.  I worry that this may not be what your kitty has because cerebellar hypoplasia typically does not worsen with age.  Also, the lethargy doesn't fit, unless that's being caused by a secondary problem.  You can see a kitty with cerebellar hypoplasia at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBtmcpViR2I

Toxoplasmosis, a protozoan parasite, can be a cause of neurological symptoms when it leaves the intestinal tract and creates cysts in other tissues.  If the cysts form on major nerves or in the brain, neurological signs result.  There are tests for toxo, but it's very hard to detect once it forms these cysts and becomes dormant.  Treatment with clindamycin kills toxoplasmosis and usually resolves symptoms, although certain problems, like sight loss, could be permanent.  If you are facing euthanasia, you may want to discuss adding a toxoplasmosis treatment in, since his other antibiotics haven't seemed to help much.   

Aside from this, the only thing I could think of may be poisoning.  Be sure that if you have any houseplants, they are on the non-toxic list at http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/plants/  Also, if there is any suspicion of lead exposure, you should have him tested.  Finally, stay away from using any flea products that contain permethrin, etofenprox or phenothrin, which all pose high risks of toxicity and can have adverse neurological effects.

I hope all goes well!

Jessica