by Frank Will

Created on: October 30, 2009   Last Updated: October 31, 2009

Head tilting in cats can be a very frightening experience for any cat lover as it is usually accompanied by other problems soon after the initial tilting. In almost every case where your cat starts to tilt their head, they will also start to fall, roll, or start to circle continuously.

It is usually the result of an inner ear condition, but it may also be caused by something much more sinister that is threatening your cats life.

If it is a severe case, your cat may also develop what is referred to as nystagmus, which is a condition where they will develop jerking movements of the eyes. If the head tilt and the falling scares you, this reaction may absolutely terrify you as it definitely not normal.

Head tilting in cats is a persistent tilt or turning of your pets head that is associated with the moving of the central axis to one side as if they are loosing their balance. The reason for this is very simple; they are loosening their balance. The tilting are signs of a vestibular disturbance that are usually form some type of an inner ear infection, but it could also be caused by something much more serious such as cancer or an inflammation that is attacking not only your cats ears, but their brain.

The vestibular system in your cat controls their balance and equilibrium, and it is essentially responsible in keeping your cat from falling down. It performs this task by constantly assessing the head movement as well as the body movement relative to their position, and sends information to the central nervous system generating a neural code. A neural code basically controls how both sensory and other information is represented in your cats brain by neurons.

The vestibular system itself in your cat is a sensory system that is made up of a receptor organ that is found in your pets inner ear, as well as the vestibular nerve itself. It also incorporates the balance control center that is found in the back of your pets brain. The organ in your cats inner ear detects the movement of your cats head at all times so it reads if your cat is moving, resting, or sleeping.

When this system is affected by some type of an infection or a disease, it becomes a very eventful situation for both you and your cat. The tilting that can and does occur can happen in a clockwise motion which is frightening in itself, but it can also be a counter clock wise movement. When this happens, it can almost look like a scene from the Exorcist.

To make this experience even more eventful, your cats

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