Cat unable to walk

cheznor

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Last Sunday our kitty (10 months old) started "skating" a little -  he would push with his back legs and slide his front legs.  By monday morning this went from an occasional goofy behavior to him not walking right - very wobbly and not walking upright.   It has progressed to him barely being able to walk at all and having to be held up while using his box, being fed by hand etc.

We went to the vet at the first signs on Monday. With no signs of injury, we took him to a neurological specialist Tuesday.

All of the tests have come back negative but one - he has the Coronavirus.  With that thought, the doctors have agreed he has the dry form of FIP.  But... they can't be 100% sure since there is no sure way to tell if a cat has FIP.

But the only symptom he is currently showing is the inability to control his legs - he can move his head, he purrs, no fever, has an appetite, is alert, etc.

He is normally a high energy kitty but now nothing, barely able to sit-up most of the times with bursts of small movement.

While this could very well be FIP and be untreatable, and... well.. you know.  I need to know, has anyone else seen something like this? Could it be something else? He has had x-rays - clean.  Blood work - fine.  No inner ear infection. ???

His sister is fine and besides herself trying to comfort him.  I can't lose him - any ideas?

The vets have suggested steroids as a way to lessen the impact of FIP but we are still staring down that road yet.

Sorry for the first post, its summer, beautiful days, i should be telling you about an over-hyper kitty we nick-named water spider, not asking this.

thanks
 

mrsgreenjeens

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I am so sorry this is happening.  I remember reading another poster with something very similar, but I can't seem to locate her thread, and I'm not sure whatever happened.

I think if I were you, since he's already been seen by a neurologist, I'd probably start the steroids to see if they help any.  Doesn't seem like there are many other choices, since it doesn't sound like it's any sort of infection. 


This is just heartbreaking


 

lilin

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I had a kitty with clinical toxoplasmosis, which can also cause neuro symptoms, brain swelling, lesions, etc. She had ataxia from the disease. At its worst, she couldn't take more than a step or two without falling over. I had to hold her up at her food bowls. I hated seeing her like that, so I know how awful it is, and I'm so sorry.


Before we figured out what it was (clinical toxo is quite a rare diagnosis for an adult indoor cat, so it took a while to figure out, and it didn't show up on normal blood panels), we did put her on steroids, and it actually helped her mobility a fair bit, probably by bringing down the swelling and slowing down the growth of the lesions. So I would say that is definitely worth a shot, at least as something to slow down whatever it is that's going on in his brain.

It does seem like a weird diagnosis to me, given that he isn't showing any of the usual symptoms. If his only symptom is neurological, there's still some other things it could be. I might get a second opinion if I were in your position.

Perhaps try another kind of imaging. The brain would be where I'd want to look. I think it's really strange that they didn't suggest this. I mean, his only symptom is neurological. Seems kind of obvious, if the blood work doesn't show anything. I would also get the toxo test (you can do it through a blood draw, but I think it also shows up on brain scans sometimes). Ya never know, and if there's one thing I learned, it's never rule out the weird stuff.

Best of luck to you and your lovely kitty. Obviously quite a soldier! Don't give up hope yet. He doesn't sound like he's giving up, so you shouldn't either. I hope you get some good news.
 
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