Guppy had a serious problem which she couldn’t hide any longer! The challenge was working out why. She wasn't walking normally, couldn’t jump up or down properly, was very floppy and struggled to hold her head up. An important part of her history was she had convinced her family to only feed her kangaroo pet mince without any cat food. We ran a complete blood profile and completed a full neurological examination to determine her level of neurological function. This suggested that Guppy had a Thiamine (Vitamin B1) deficiency. Further research by Dr Jenni found that in some rare cases reported by Sydney University, cats fed kangaroo mince developed thiamine deficiency. The preservatives used in pet kangaroo mince contain a thiaminase which destroys thiamine. The awesome news for Guppy was we started vitamin B1 injections, convinced her to eat cat food (easier said than done) and she improved quickly. She turned back into a naughty kitten, jumping onto the kitchen bench!

The photo below was taken of Guppy before we started her treatment - she couldn't even hold her head up.