Need your advice, opinions, experience and wisdom

Hi everyone,

This is a bit long winded, I'm sorry for that. I really need your advice, opinions, experience and/or wisdom. I need to make a big choice for Buddy.

Thank you Feralvr, for the lucky shamrock and the kind words that went with it. you have no idea how much that gesture helped me when I was very low.

On July 23rd vet said his pulse was normal and no inner ear infections.
the blood draw:
potassium level was 5.2 with a normal reference of 3.9-5.3.
thyroid level 3.2 with a normal reference of 0.8-4.7
RBC was 6.79 with a normal reference of 6-10

He was given sub-q lactated ringers on Aug. 8th for mild dehydration.

I began introducing him to a raw diet of Nature's Variety chicken two weekends ago. He likes it!

He has not yet been tested for Toxoplasmosis, but the vet said that he had it, it also would flair up quickly at the beginning of Dexamethasone. The only symptom was diarrhea for 2 days with a diet change that cleared up when the new food was removed from the diet.

Buddy's ringworm seems to have cleared up, his fur and whiskers are growing back nicely. We go to the vet on tomorrow for a culture and a liver test. The pink eye also seems to be gone, too. So what that leaves us with is the weak/wobbly legs that this all started with.

I have spent a lot of time thinking about what would be best for Buddy, whether it would be kinder to let him go. Wondering if he was suffering, considering his quality of life. I have cried a lot these last two weeks, I'm crying now. I have read a lot of threads on this site about the "right" time and what quality of life means and is Buddy's life's quality still quality. What I keep coming back to is this: he still eats pretty well, he has never not gone potty in his box even at his worst, he still wakes me at 5 a.m. to cuddle and be loved up, he still "yells" at me to turn out the light when he wants to go to sleep, he still purrs, still drools when he is being brushed or he gets his treat, still loves on the computer when it gets more attention from me than he does and still wants to watch the birds outside. I've been watching Buddy and from what I see he is feeling almost his old self, almost...except for his legs.

The vet told me that if he couldn't care for himself he should be let go, even if he is in a good mental condition. I've seen and read plenty about paraplegic cats living good lives and those that didn't. I know that part of being a responsible pet owner is not keeping them in this life just to keep my heart from breaking. I accept this.

If Buddy had cancer the vets said it would spread within several weeks of using the steroids and we would know it. It's been almost 3 months and no other signs of cancer. His immune system since stopping the Dexamethasone has improved. Even if it were a lesion on his spine it seems it would have progressively worsened over the last months BUT he improved, slowly, and had a couple of weeks of jumping and walking and climbing stairs alone, unassisted and without aids. If not for this period of improvement I would be less inclined to feel he would ever improve. Then he got ringworm and pink eye, wore a e-collar and became depressed and his legs began getting bad again. He was so depressed he barely got off the bed, I know muscle atrophy didn't help the legs. Once the collar came off his depression instantly improved.

I took Buddy to the Chiropractor this Monday and after spinal adjustments (including his cervical spine) I have seen some improvement, slight but improvement all the same. He is walking better today than he has in a couple of weeks. I simply can not let Buddy go when there is a chance that this condition is reversible to a degree that he can get around on his own where he wants to go, withing reason.

To that end I have decided to discuss the steroids with the vet, or some other medication that may help Buddy while I continue taking him to the Chiropractor and work to rebuild his muscles.

My request is any information, good or bad, about Dexamethasone or other steroids that are used as anti inflammatories. What are your experiences, opinions, ideas or thoughts and wisdom on them. I would like to have some ideas to take with me to the vet, if possible, if not this time for the next visit.

Thank you all for for all the help you have given, even if it is an unspoken wish for buddy to get better.

Janice and Buddy

I'm sorry, I have no experience with back problems in cats, but I have a ton of it with dogs - we have three dachshunds and one has back problems. I also had a foster dachshund that had been completely down in the back and couldn't walk, while she was with us we got her walking again. I will double check the medications as to whether or not they're safe for cats and offer you the advice that we use with the woofers.

I'll start with what we do that doesn't involve medication. The first is crate rest, I know it will be harder with a cat, but it can be crucial to their improvement. You need anywhere from 6-8 weeks of confinement. When they are confined it gives the spine time to heal without being reinjured through jumping/playing/etc. If his spine is "just" out of alignment, this may not be necessary, but if there is calcification around the disc, bulging discs, etc it's extremely important so that the disc doesn't slip or the calcification doesn't progress and cause complete paralysis requiring surgery to remove the calcification. Have you talked to a specialist about his back? If not, I would suggest sending the xrays that you've had taken to a specialist for review - they should be able to tell you exactly what's going on and why.

The second thing we do is start them on chiropractic care. I know you mentioned that he has started that and it's working for him - that's great! How often are you taking him and is he holding his adjustments for the entire length of time? We always do once a week for the first month or so until they start holding their adjustments better, then go down to every other week for a month or so, then go to once a month when the adjustments are being held. We continue on with once a month indefinitely, although sometimes switch down to once every other month.

The third thing, acupuncture. It seems to really get the blood flowing around the injury and speeds up healing. When we've used in in conjunction with crate rest and chiropractics we've had amazing results. After a bit of acupuncture, we will sometimes do a bit of electric acupuncture where a small electric pulse is sent through the needs to stimulate the nerves more. In some cases, it has seemed to awaken nerves and reconnect signals (sorry, I can't think of how to word that better so that it makes more sense).

Have you done any exercises with his legs to help with the atrophy? If not, you can move his legs in a bicycle wheel pattern to help keep the muscle. You can also gentle push his leg towards his body, he will put pressure on your hand and push the other way, using the muscles. If he will let you, you can also take a long strip of cloth and put it around his belly, near his back legs. Hold the ends and support him, but allow him to walk. It will help to exercise the muscles, but you will be supporting him so the pressure won't be on his spine.

You should also apply heat, as you would to any other injury. Along with massage it can greatly increase the chances of healing and improve nerve regeneration.

Remember that nerve regeneration is slow, it takes about a month for one inch of the nerve to regenerate and any additional injury will slow that, or even stop progress.

I would strongly advise you to keep him as confined as possible for as long as you can (up to 8 weeks). It will be hard for both of you, but it is extremely important with spinal injuries (even misalignment), until the injury has healed and he is holding his alignment for longer periods of time.

Janice, I don't have much advice to give you other then loads of . I am freaking out myself this morning. I have been dealing with "chin acne" on three of my cats. Perla and Perkins are worse again. I am taking them to the vet this morning for a look. I am starting to freak out thinking it is ringworm. Because ringworm can manifest itself as chin acne.

I feel for you and Buddy, hun. Hang in there, one day at a time. I keep telling myself that, but it is hard because more things keep happenning.