Is this arthritis? Or something worse??

Hi all,

I've noticed lately that Waggles is lying with his front paws really curled under. Not like cats usually do, but imagine bending your wrist down towards your arm until it touched. I'm including some photos that I hope show what I mean (he did move when I started fussing with him). It doesn't appear to cause him any pain as I've felt all over his paws and legs and he doesn't flinch. It does bother him in the sense that when he stands up after he's been lying a while the wrist joint doesn't want to fully support him and it 'kicks' out a bit.

Waggles has bad arthritis in his back end and we recently started Adequan injections (he's had 2) and is going for his next one in 2 days. I plan on discussing this with my vet then but I was just wondering if anyone else has noticed this in their cat. Is it arthritis or some type of injury? It happens with both wrists. I read something about tendon injuries in cats but he doesn't jump at all so I don't think he could have injured himself.

Thanks,
Dolly

Thanks for the input and support. I took Waggles to the vet yesterday and my vet said she thinks it's a neuropathy. The curled wrists isn't typical of arthrtitis.

We immediately re-checked his blood glucose as neuropathy is most commonly associated with diabetes in cats. He glucose was fine and it has always been normal. So it's not diabetes. He also has CRF and his recent bloodwork showed his potassium and phosphorus are also fine (which could contribute to muscle wasting).

My vet says it's basically an idiopathic neuropathy which can happen in particular in older cats, it's degenerative nerve damage. We don't know how old Waggles is as he was rescued as a stray but I'd say he's probably 15 anyways. She suggested methylcobalamin (B12) which has been shown to be successful in treating neuropathy in cats and people. I had been giving him this but not enough. B12 is safe to give as the excess is urinated out, so he's getting 3 mg a day. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we'll see some improvement with this.

As for the adequan--I think it has been helping as his back end seems to be more comfortable, before he would snap at me if I even petted him there but now he seems to be more comfortable and is sitting up straighter. Waggles is generally grumpy at the vet but he literally didn't even move when she gave him the injection--I don't think it hurt him at all and he didn't show any ill effects afterwards.

The adequan won't help the neuropathy though so I'm really hoping the B12 will help.

Dolly

Thanks Violet, his thyroid was also checked in January and it was 12.6 (normal 11-46, metric units of nmol/L which converts to 0.98 in US units) so he's actually on the low end of the scale. I'm not sure if this could be a cause or not, my vet didn't mention it. I think certain drugs can lower the T4? Waggles is on several meds. for CRF and pancreatitis.

Thanks for looking into this Violet, I really appreciate it. Waggles gets the following:
1/8 pill zantac 2x/day (total pill=75 mg)
1/4 ondansetron/day (total pill=4 mg)
1/2 Fortekor/day (ACE inhibitor)
5 mg prednisolone every other day
potassium gluconate supplement
sub-q fluids every other day
now 3 mg B12 methylcobalamin/day

I had been giving him 1 mg B12, but started him on 2.5 mg about 3 weeks ago but that doesn't seem to have helped yet--at least not with his front paws. If anything it seems to be getting worse. His back legs though seem to be a little better, he isn't walking on his hocks as much. After seeing the vet yesterday I'm going to 3 mg and might go higher since it can't hurt him.

Any idea how long it might take for the B12 to help?

This has me quite concerned. With everything else going on, I would hate for this to ruin his quality of life.

Thanks again Sharky and Violet for your input and questions. His potassium and phos. have always been in the normal range. His most recent values (Jan. 23) are

potassium 4.6 (3.7-5.8), has ranged from 4.4 to 5.0 since CRF diagnosis in Sept. 08
phos. 1.5 (0.8-2.5), has ranged from 1.2 to 1.8 since Sept. 08 (sorry these are Canadian values)

His sub q is lactated ringers, 100 ml eod.

I see the vet again next week for another adequan shot. Maybe I will mention the B12 injection idea.

thanks,
Dolly

Thanks Violet, is the injectable B12 the methyl or cyano form? Is is only available from the vet or can it be ordered online?

Would the cyano form help at all in this situation, or is it primarily for malabsorption issues?

One other thing I forgot to mention is that Waggles has been on a 6-week course of baytril for a suspected infection (his Jan. 23 bloodwork showed elevated white blood cells and pancreatitis). He had been showing more signs of nausea when we did the bloodwork. Fingers crossed I think the infection may be under control as he seems to be feeling much better and is eating well, but now that I think of it the curled wrists has just started in the past few weeks. I don't necessarily think that Baytril itself would cause it, but it does make them drink and urinate more, so could he possibly be losing more B12 from that? Just a thought.

Thanks Otto and Violet, I think the orthopaedic specialist is a good idea and I will definitely ask my vet about B12 injections.

Otto, my understanding is that oral B12 is not absorbed into the body as readily as injections are so if you are giving them 3 mg orally then the body will actually only use a fraction of that. With injections the body uses a lot more of it.

Were you giving Ootay the cyano form of B12 only or the methyl form?