Blood and Mucous in cats stool - lots of other problems

Thanks Raibtyger for all the suggestions and help. Unfortunately Mithu has taken a turn for the worse last evening. She has completely lost movement in her left back leg and is unable to even drag herself to the litter box. The vet thinks its the first time she has been off steroids in the last month and her inflammation has flared up again. She seems in a lot of pain and is very aggressive, she has not eaten properly in 24 hours and its really difficult to see her going through this when she has always been such a happy loving little thing. In the 15 years we have had her she has never once missed her litter box or had an accident outside and its heartbreaking to see her wetting herself. We have just started her on prednisolone again this morning but we are slowly loosing hope. Will speak to the vet again in a few hours but unfortunately it looks like we may have to relieve her suffering. Maybe the prednisolone will work wonders who knows..

Here is a pic of her in happier times

What a beautiful picture of mithu.you have given and recieved 15 years of love to each other.maybe now as you say its time to end her suffering.i went through something similar with my cat kitty.she lost power of her back legs.wet herself etc.my only regret is that i force fed her tin food from the vet.she kept spitting it out she had no appetite.after much heart wrenching,i decided to end her suffering.i cried like a baby.it was like killing a family member.it was my final act of love for her.setting her free.all love comes at a price!i hope and pray with all my heart that your wee cat improves.just ask the vet to be straight with you.that way youll know if its worth continuing down this path of neverending treatments. God Bless you all during this difficult time. i wish you the strength to make difficult decisions.and comfort and peace of mind when you do.xo

So sorry for poor Mithu and I wish you the best of luck.

Keep in mind although prednisolone long-term use is not the best situation, the diabetes will not always happen and sometimes goes away if taken off the drug. Diabetes occurs mainly in higher dosages. There are many cats who are on prednisolone for years. In fact, cats tolerate steroids better than humans.

Thanks Kittybelle and Rantyger for all your thoughts, support and good wishes. We still can't bring ourselves to take a decision, yesterday we started Mithu on Prednisolone again, 2.5 mg twice a day. It has made some difference to her appetite and she is eating a little bit now and drinking lots of water as well. She is still struggling to walk, but she did manage to drag herself to the litter box last night for a bowel movement, which was encouraging. We are continuing with Prednisolone for 2 more days and we are hoping it will help her get back on her feet. She still can't make it to the litter box in time to urinate but I don't think she is incontinent at the moment, its just that she can't get there in time. We are keeping our fingers crossed and hoping for a miracle...thank you again for all the support and advise.

vishnu.thanks for the update.glad to hear mithu is eating and drinking.where theres life theres hope.she must have a strong heart and spirit.as long as shes in no pain, its good to give her a chance.keep up the good work.youre amazing!!

So good to hear Mithu has shown some improvement and that you are patient with her.

5 mg pred is not high, I hear about lots of kitties on 5 mg/day.

Have you thought about adding litter boxes so that her trek isn't as long? It does sound like she's trying. My cousin had a semi-lame kitten once that had trouble dragging itself to the litter box, so she built a handicapped ramp.

Some good wishes for Mithu.

Thanks Raintyger and Kittybelle for your continued support and encouragement. Unfortunately Mithu has gone downhill today. She is no longer able to stand up and is unable to even move to her water bowl or her litter box though they are both only a few inches away from her. We are really confused on what to do. She is eating quite well and drinks a lot of water but she is just unable to do anything else, she is even struggling to turn herself over. Though we want to do everything possible to try and help her get through this, it looks like we are just delaying the inevitable. Aside from her eating, her quality of life is extremely poor and she just seems so fed up of her situation. We are really considering relieving her of her suffering as I don't think she is looking forward to many more days of this agony of being helpless. Prolonging this decision feels so selfish and cruel to her. I hope we are making the right decision, our life will be so empty without her. I look forward to getting home every evening just to see her little face. ...but I think her pain and suffering is more important than our feelings and no animal deserves to go through pain. .

Vishnu,im so sorry to hear mithnu is now unable to move and turn herself over. This is a very sad situation to be in.when she is eating it looks encouraging.it is very upsetting to watch your beloved pet going through this.if i were in your place i would speak to the vet.get his opinion on her chances of gaining mobility.Its your love and care thats keeping mithu going.i loved my cat kitty with all my heart too.i still think about her 11 years on.only you know best.its hard on mithu,but its even harder on you watching her go through this.especially when you love her so much.what ever decision you make,im sure it will be the right one for you both.

Vishnu,

Sorry Mithu is having such a hard time! Like kittybelle recommended, I, too, would seek out the vet's opinion as far as prognosis and also how long is reasonable to wait for any signs of recovery. It is too bad that we must all make such decisions, but I am sure you will make the right one for her. Just make sure she gets lots of love either way, and she will love you always.

Thank you Kittybelle and Raintyger for your comments and support, yesterday we woke up almost ready to call the vet and take Mithu in and help her cross the rainbow bridge. However when she woke up she was so alert and lively (though she still could not walk) and was asking for food and was generally back to her usual lovable self. Unless you saw her trying to walk, you would never know she was sick. We decided that we owed it to her to give it one last try as she really did not look ready to let go, we could see in her eyes that she wanted to live and wanted to fight this. She no longer seems to be in any pain and her appetite was good so the vet decided to start her on a 3 day course of Dexamethasone steroid injections coupled with Methylcobalamine injections to help her nerves re-generate. She has now finished 2 days of her injections and though she is still unable to walk she does try and you can see that she wants to get back to her normal life. We are lucky that my wife stays home so she is able to spend most of the day with  Mithu and  help her to the litter box, keep her spirits up and generally pamper her as much as we can. We really do not know if this course of medication will help or not, but we are hoping for the best and I think Mithu wants to really fight this so we are going to keep going..I will keep you all posted on her progress and thank you so much for your support and encouragement during this difficult time..

This is very heartening news.if love can pull mithu through yours surely will.This is going to take a lot of time and patience. which you and your wife between you have in abundance.its great that shes showing a fighting spirit.a will to continue on regardless.she obviously loves you both very much and senses how much you love and care for her.hence her determination to win this battle.fair play to you both,your stars. thank you for taking time to update us. its nice to hear how you are all getting on.love and a big cuddle to mithu xo

My thoughts are with you, hoping for the best results with the treatment. It is great that she no longer seems to be in pain and that she has company all the time. Please update, sending vibes your way for you and Mithu 

That's wonderful news! Keeping my fingers crossed that the meds address the inflammation/mobility problems. Mithu is really lucky she has you to help her through these times.

Thank you Kittybelle, Raintyger and IrinaSak for all your love and wishes. Mithu has made very slight progress over the last two days. She has started trying to move her back legs now and though she still cannot stand, she does try. Her appetite is still quite good and she tells us when she needs the litter box so we just carry her to the box and she does her business. We are keeping her as comfortable as possible and hoping for the best. The vet wants to continue the Dexamthasone and Methylcobalamin for another 2 days and he says after which he may decide to give her Methylcobalamin every 3 days for a few months. I check her response in her legs a few times a day and she is able to feel me pressing and rubbing her legs and paws (which I think is good), I am reading up on some home physiotherapy we can give her, and if the vet ok's that we are going to start on that next week.  We unfortunately don't have a vet physio near us so we can't take her in for any therapy.

I was reading on another forum that someone had a similar experience of a cat with rear leg neuropathy, but without the usual causes (ie. Diabetes, Arthritis or Kidney trouble) just like Mithu, and I have posted on there to see if they have any advise. Has anyone here experienced a similar situation? Mithu's blood work in terms of her blood sugar, kidney function etc was quite normal, and I know that diabetes or arthritis can cause these problems. The vet did read from the MRI that she had some compression on a spinal nerve, but that was treatable with steroids. I am now wondering if she has anything else that we have not been able to figure out. Any help or pointers would be great..thanks so much for all your support so far..

Good to hear mithu is progressing nicely.good luck learning physiotherapy.it will keep her from seizing up through lack of exercise.and keep her blood circulating well.my cat kitty who lost power of her back legs.my vet said it was a blood clot.please dont let this alarm you.im sure mithus problems are spinal related.hopefully some one may have the correct answer you're looking for. best wishes.

This is great news, that Mithu is improving, even though it is little steps. So good to hear, too, that you've worked out a system to take care of her litter box needs. It sounds like the issue might be more pain management since she's able to move, which is better than paralysis due to spinal damage.

I'm sorry, but I don't know of anyone with feline neuropathy experience other than my cousin, who had a kitten a long time ago, and I didn't hear much about that kitten other than the issues were congenital and improved due to massage and natural growth.

Don't know what resources you have available in terms of animal medicine, but animal acupuncture is known to help with pain. Cold laser therapy also helps with arthritis issues.

You may also want to create a separate post inquiring about neuropathy specifically. It isn't specifically mentioned in the thread title, and the thread is aging, so members with neuropathy knowledge may not be looking at this thread.

I've been following your situation from the shadows, didn't have any useful advice for you.  It's really good to hear that things are looking up.  Good luck to  you and Mithu.  If you decide to start a new thread I'll be looking for it.

Thank you all for your love and support. Unfortunately Mithu passed away peacefully in my arms about an hour ago. I can't write through my tears at the moment, but I would like to thank all of you for your kindness and tireless support through this difficult time.