Questions about 6 year old cat with mild arthritis

Hello everyone, 

I am new here. 

I'd like to ask a question about my cat Oliver. To start he has always been very healthy and active. He is an 18 pound maine coon (very big guy) 

I noticed in the past two weeks he's been more sleepy during he day, yet he still is playful eating, and drinking. 

Oliver is also going to the bathroom just fine. 

About 3 days ago I thought I noticed him limping. I took a look and didn't really think he was hurt. I would keep my eye on this. 

He seemed fine once again. 

Then this past Monday night, he was meowing weird. I went to check on him and found him on the dining room floor. He seemed very uncomfortable almost stuck in a position and could not move. When I went to him he rolled off of his back and almost seemed to have trouble getting to his feet. He proceeded to limp away to the nearest corner, and laid there. I was very worried at this point. He was obviously in pain. Another cat walked by who he is always friendly with, and he growled at him. He did not want to be bothered. 

He did not look good at this point. I thought he was dying. 

I kept an eye on him, he stayed in that corner for about a half hour or so. I then went and checked and saw he had walked into my bedroom and jumped onto my bed (which is pretty high) and was resting there. He seemed content, I was petting him and he was purring. But still he seemed to have trouble with that back leg. Oliver was even positioning his leg to point straight out when he laid, as if it gave him some relief. 

The very next morning (yesterday) he was walking around, waiting for food. I gave him some canned, he ate a bit but not as much as he usually does I noticed he was not limping.  

I took him over the my vet. I explained the entire story. The vet said he was nice and pink, his heart sounded good. She checked his leg, no swelling. She also heard a pulse in his leg which she said meant there was blood flow which was also good. She watched him walk around, he seemed fine as well. I told her he was not acting himself. She said "well whatever it was he snapped out of it" then she told me about saddle thrombosis and the signs to watch out for. Oliver does not have blue pads, or cold temp on back feet. He is not dragging himself, nor is he constantly howling in pain,

I asked her to please do an Xray, because I wanted to see if it was possibly fractured. When she came back she showed me that Oliver has the early onset of arthritis, and she said wasn't too bad. He has it in both hips, but the nodules are still there, he also has it in his joints. 

I asked if this could be the cause, she did not really have an answer for this. 

I am here watching him act very tired. His back legs both now seem weak, and it is not limping. This morning he went to jump on my bed, and almost as if he knew he wouldn't make it, he failed and fell mid jump.

Does anyone else have any experience with a fairly young cat with these sudden symptoms? 

While I feel at ease that he was given a basic clean bill of health yesterday, my gut tells me there is still something wrong. 

Thanks 

Sorry to hear your big guy isn't feeling well. I personally haven't experienced a middle aged cat with arthritis. I looked around & seems like Maine Coon cats may be more prone to hip dysplasia. That may not have anything to do with it, but it's possible that some cats may have early onset of diseases. 

My arthritic cat is quite old, around 20, and her arthritis can get pretty bad. We gave her supplements & now she goes in for Adequan shots twice a year. They're glucosamine shots that help lubricate the hips. Not sure if any of this is helpful to you, but if your not satisfied with the answer you received, you could also go to a second opinion & bring the x ray.

Thank you so much for your response!

I'm sorry your kitty suffers with arthritis. He is lucky to have you 

So since I posted today, I have noticed he is walking with his legs outward almost like Charlie Chaplin 

I looked online, and his symptoms seem to match diabetic neuropathy. Looking at images of this on google it looks like how he is walking. 

He has never been diagnosed with diabetes, never had symptoms or reason to check for it. 

I think I will call the vet and ask to get some blood work done. 
I've been crying all day trying to figure out what is wrong!


 

I'm very glad that Oliver is going in for blood tests. I'm surprised the vet didn't suggest this in the first place!

While you're waiting for the results, you might talk to the vet about giving Oliver pain meds. I gave Mr. Grimsby pain meds about once a week when he was diagnosed with arthritis. Although the meds made him hyper-alert the first night, he always felt a lot better for several days afterward.

Good luck to you and Oliver. I hope things turn out well. Please keep us posted.

Best regards.

I was back at the vet last night. Vet did blood work everything came back great. 

They did blood tests from both legs and measured the amount of glucose in order to determine if there was in fact a clot. 

They said the right leg came back lower, which means not enough flow 

So I am home with him. He has a recheck tomorrow. Vet put him on plavix for the time being. They suggested I see a cardiologist with him. Sadly I have had 5 of my 9 cats come down with serious medical issues in the past 2 months (one of them a 3 time urinary blockage) 
Therefore there's not much more money I can spend on vet bills. Makes me sick to my stomach with all of this. 

At this point I am praying for a miracle. 

Thanks to all who responded