So a few months ago, I noticed Ansel was walking a little strange. It had to do with the way he put his back legs down as he walked. I really didn't think much of it at the time. He used to sleep with me every night, but he stopped doing that some time ago. I attributed that to the fact that the two girls also shared the bed...and he does not get along very well with Zan. One night I picked him up and took him to bed. Once I was settled in, he climbed on my legs, which is where he usually slept. He couldn't seem to get comfortable. He would lay down, then immediately get up and turn in a circle. He would lay down again, then get up and turn. He did this a few times. He even got off of me and went by my pillow and did the same thing. He went back and forth from my legs to the mattress a couple of times. A few times he even meowed, like he was frustrated. He jumped off the bed and went back to the front. I later learned that he was most likely in pain. The next day or so, I noticed that he was not eating well at all. I also watched him have a bowel movement only to discover that his stool was very small and dry. Saturday morning, we went to the vet. At first, the vet could find nothing wrong. Ansel had even gotten back in his carrier. The vet pulled him out again to try something. He started palpating his spine starting from the neck area and working down towards his tail. About midway down, Ansel let out a loud cry, a hiss, and turned to bite the doctor. The doctor drew his hands back quickly, Ansel jumped from the exam table, and hid under a chair. I retrieved him and put him back on the exam table. The doctor did it again and Ansel cried out when the doctor reached the same spot. So, back problems. He said he may have just pulled a muscle or something while jumping. He said the constipation was most likely caused by the fact that he was not feeling well so therefore not eating much or drinking much. He did not want to give an enema or do xrays because he said he was in too much pain and the way they had to position him for xrays would hurt too much. So he prescribed him prednisone and told me give him catlax for the constipation. Ansel does not like catlax and I had to force 3 inches of the stuff twice a day down his throat. He was also on confinement. The doctor did not want him jumping in any way. So it was off to Wal Mart to buy one of those large dog cages. I bought the largest one they had. I already have one, but it is the next size down. I bought that in the event of a hurricane evacuation since I have 3 cats. That cage, however, is at my house that I don't live in yet in another city. So anyway, I called on Monday with an update and made an appt. for Tuesday morning to bring him back. They did xrays. This revealed, and I quote, "a mild wedge shape to the most caudal thoraacic vertebrae which could be responsible to back pain. Large dense fecal balls present in colon." The vet said that he was most likely born this way. They administerd an enema and he passed a large amount of stool. They gave him a shot of depomedrol and I was told to discontinue the prednisone. I was to continue the catlax until his stool returned to normal and he was to be confined for 2 weeks. He hated being locked up. He howled all the time in the cage. I would let him out for a little in the morning and at night, but before I could blink an eye, he would be jumping on the table. He is a darn stubborn cat.
Anyway, things seemed to be fine after that. I called with a follow up after that and they told me it would most likely happen again and I would have to bring him in for another shot and get the cage out. I know you are not supposed to give them these steroid shots too often. Does anyone know the span between allowed doses? My invoice says no closer than a month apart, but that sounds too short of a time to me....but then again, I'm no doctor. Fast forward to this morning. It's happened again. He got out of jail on May 24th and now he's going to have to go back in just a little over a month later?!!! Poor baby. I'm going to have to call the vet tomorrow and see what they suggest. Not really sure what to do. I will ask if surgery is at all an option. I saw a commercial on tv yesterday for Dr. Frank's Joint Pain Relief. I called and asked about this yesterday and the doctor said he's never heard of it but try it if I like. He said to research it first. First off, I discovered that Dr. Frank is not an animal doctor but a human doctor. Hmmmm. Linda posted a thread about this recently.....
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...nt+pain+relief
I found this about the ingredients. Not sure if I want to try this or not....
http://www.mypetspainrelief.com/formula.aspx
Anyone else have a cat with chronic back problems?!!!!
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...nt+pain+relief
I found this about the ingredients. Not sure if I want to try this or not....
http://www.mypetspainrelief.com/formula.aspx
Anyone else have a cat with chronic back problems?!!!!
