Need expert opinion on cat with loss of use of legs.

zambonie

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We have a cat that is ~8 months. Male. Positive for feline leukemia. Was brought into a kitten nursery at <week and we adopted him and was bottle fed. No other known issues.

About a week ago, the cat started having a slight lethargic look and became very "lazy" as in it would just lay and sleep and not really do much. He remained eating fine. After about 2 days, he begin to display a little trouble walking (noticed it late night). Next day, he seemed to show better progress then as the day went on, he got worse with the walking. His gums were slightly white and dilated eyes. 

At this point, I took him to the vet. The vet did an X-Ray and kept him 2 days under fluids with pain/muscle meds and antibiotics. The X-rays didn't show much other than constipation. Blood work showed slight dehydration. He is now home with the same symptoms and really no new information. He still has bowel movements. Seems very alert, but has very little use in the back legs and front legs are pretty much non-functional. It first seemed as if he had problems with his back legs, then they worked and his front legs pretty much stopped working. Now, he displays small use (such as light kicking) with  back legs, but cannot stand. Any time he uses the bathroom, it is where he is laying. He eats with no issues. He doesn't seem to drink much, so we've started feeding him water through a syringe and it seems to help a little more.

I do not have the money to take him to a brain specialist as I'm already over $1,000 on vet bills. I am asking to see if anyone has an suggestions or ideas on what I can do without a vet as that is out of my budget.
 

catwoman707

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Obviously he was born to a momma cat with felv, which is not a good prognosis.

When an adult is bitten and becomes positive, they can live for years before showing any signs of deterioration, but kittens born with it, well sadly they just don't last long.

Often they will suddenly go downhill, which he clearly is now.

No telling what's going on but felv attacks anywhere it wants to in their systems, but it doesn't look good in my opinion.

Try to remember, we all know how painful and difficult it is to make a choice of having our fur kids pts, but try your best not to keep him around longer then he is comfortable.

If he doesn't play and enjoy life as kittens do, he is not happy to be kept alive until his body lets go.

It can be a slow and suffering existence.

Best of luck.
 
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zambonie

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When the kitten was first brought into the nursery, it was positive with FELV. a couple months ago, we retested and it was a "strong" positive. However, another thing to note, was that the Vet mentioned that it seemed more in line with a trauma. He is an indoor cat, so very little can happen, but we have a 2 year old so anything could happen. He mentioned that it seemed more like a trauma in the spine midway down, but X-rays didn't show anything.

He does shows happiness when he does get attention and he remains alert and aware of everything going on. Most the time, we keep him put away from people as the holidays we had guests and we have kids.

But, if I need to make the decision to put him down, I will make sure to get it done. I just don't want to put him down if there is a recovery chance. It's just difficult to tell when that decision needs to be made.
 
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zambonie

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Also, just wanted to mention, in case I didn't make it clear. The Vet said that this did NOT seem like it was related to the FELV, but more in lines with trauma. However,  I do not know enough about it to be able to come up with my own opinion about it.
 

catwoman707

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That certainly may very well be the case since you have a 2 yr old.

One of the most common injuries in cats is their tail is pulled, causing usually permanent spinal damage and incontinence.

I understand your heart is right where it needs to be, and I am sure I would be doing the same as you are now.

Hopefully this is something that can heal and allow kitten to enjoy life again :)
 

cinqchats

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Hrm. From the little I know, I'd guess at trauma to the spinal cord or some sort of injury/breaking down in the brain. Can there be an autoimmune disorder that attacks the nervous system? Whatever it is, I'm guessing it's going to cost a lot to fix or manage, if that's at all possible.
 
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