Hi everyone, long-time reader (oh how many threads I've read!), first time writer. I'll try and keep it succinct as there's a lot to cover...!
Dec 31, 2015: After being in a warm room most of the day (it's summer), my 15 yo indoor-only cat tried to jump onto a footstool and made a clumsy effort which was out of character. I pondered if he was a bit dehydrated after the day's heat and offered a bowl of water at his feet, which he drank down. I also pondered if he could be constipated as I hadn't had to clean his litter in the past 24. Gave him some of the laxaxtive he loves and, lo and behold, a few hrs later he produced a sizeable, unbroken BM of a kind I haven't seen him do for a long time. And so to bed.
Jan 1-3, 2016: Kept an eye on my little guy and while he seemed "relatively" normal on the whole, I could see his back legs were still weaker than usual, partly through the way he was moving and partly from the way he'd only walk a short distance, then sit down. Aside from that, he had "symptoms" that have been with him for some time, such as occasionally scratching at his ears (his ears are fine inside), and occasionally flicking his front paws at random times. He will often paw flick when going to drink from a bowl. About the moment his lips contact the water, he flicks one paw, then the other (often hitting the bowl in the process), and if the flicks are too close together, sometimes overbalances slightly.
Jan 4, 2016: Took him to the vet for a looking over. I covered the leg weakness, the ear scratching, the paw flicking, the possible dehydration, the constipation, the sitting down and just generally seeming "different" to his normal self for the past few days. She took all of this in and checked him over (heart rate, lungs, ears, etc), and based on watching him move and bloods that had been done 8 months ago when I thought he was drinking excessively (and all the bloods were normal), decided it was unlikely to be anything besides arthritis. The question in my head, which I didn't ask due to the way the conversation flowed, "Why would arthritis come on so suddenly?" And, in saying that I acknowledge that he's enjoyed being a climber, more than a jumper, for some years. But, that doesn't mean he hasn't been a jumper at times, too. So a refined version of the question would be, "Why would the signs of arthritis, which he had to some degree, get a lot worse overnight?" She prescribed Meloxicam - 0.8ml initially then 0.4ml daily for two weeks (0.1ml / kg basically) and if any symptoms presented, to get in touch. Otherwise, talk in two weeks. For those who talk of Meloxicam causing kidney issues, the vet mentioned this can happen in the long term but already at 15 yo what is the "long term" basically?
Jan 6, 2016: Third day on Meloxicam and within 30 mins of taking it, a massive, massive vomit... albeit with a large hairball in the middle. I called the vet, pondering if the hairball or the Meloxicam was the culprit. The advice was to not re-dose him, and to simply have a go the next day and see what happens. Within another 30 mins he had another vomit. Not food covered this time. Basically another hairball.
Jan 7-9, 2016: I didn't dose my cat with Meloxicam as his appetite had disappeared and I simply couldn't observe him eating enough of his kibble to feel confident about giving him the drug. I was also a little scared off with the way he'd had that big vomit.
Jan 10, 2016: Took my cat back to the same vet, but a different member of staff was on duty. I explained how he was still weak in the back legs, still acting different at times, and how the Meloxicam was hard to judge as he hadn't taken it for a few days. I pondered to him if it could be my cat's kidney's, pointing out that the bloods which the other vet had referenced were 8 months old and, surely he would agree, kidneys can change very suddenly? He agreed and offered to do bloods that day. The results were all fine. Kidneys good. Not a diabetic. And so on. It seemed to cover quite a lot of things which he largely brushed over as none of them stood out. He had a little concern at my guy being anaemic -- not to the degree that it actually registered as a problem on the test results -- and gave him two shots, both of which should help with the anaemia.
Jan 12, 2016: I'd been keeping an eye on my guy for a couple of days. Still not giving the Meloxicam as I wasn't seeing him eat enough still. Keep in mind, however, that these had been REALLY hot days (even inside, even with the a/c on), and maybe he just didn't want to eat a lot? But I slipped over to to the vet on my own to discuss. I pondered to them if he'd had some big hairballs of late, maybe there was still some inside him? Maybe a blockage? They gave me tablets they use when animals are in hospital to stimulate appetite, and also medicinal paraffin. I went home and gave him the tablet and within half and hour he was eating and eating and eating and eating. I actually took his bowl away after awhile as I thought he was now eating way too much, too fast. While this was going on, I read 101 horror stories about giving medicinal paraffin and how it can be aspirated into the lungs. I decided not to use it. I got his good old tube of laxative (as used on Dec 31, and contains paraffin itself), and gave him that.
Jan 13, 2016: Massive BM. I thought a dog had gotten into the house instead. Very satisfied he had 1) Eaten well and 2) Wasn't blocked up. Otherwise, not a lot of change with the other stuff. Still weak in the back legs. Drinking well. An observation of mine: he seems to be strongest and most alert at dawn and dusk, like many cats, but outside of those times, the symptoms seem worse as he's just so tired.
Jan 16, 2016: After a few days of eating and drinking well, and neither declining or improving on the back legs issue, I decided to try Meloxicam again. He took it readily. Had a relatively normal day. He slept for a large chunk of it. Noticed that when he was awake he drank well but wasn't too interested in his food and with a much lower temperature than other days, I couldn't blame it on the weather. At night he became active but seemed a little worse on the leg strength issue. Climbing seemed more laboured and, at one stage, he tried to jump off the footstool but his rear legs didn't want to come to the party. He sort of crashed onto his front legs but afterwards showed no signs of damage, outside of already being weak in the back legs and sitting down every few metres he walks. At no time, however, has he ever wailed or shown distress at any of this?
Jan 17, 2016: Woke up this morning and the first thing I noticed was he leaped onto the bed (no climbing) in one, fluid motion. I commented to him that he must be feeling good and he chattered back at me -- something he's been doing less of since New Year's, which has also bothered me as he's normally a very chatty cat. I got up and he followed me around the house. Still stopping to sit at random places, however. Took a shower and he came into the bathroom, like normal. When I got out, he saw water dripping off me and made his "motor noise" and ran out of the room. Yes, ran. Making the noise he's made in the past. Sort of his, "Coming through!" noise. I looked out into the hallway, however, and he'd stopped and was sitting down again.
I'll stop here and simply throw it open to comments.
- I have a cat who seems poorly in his back legs. Although he's old and he liked to climb in the past, this affliction came on very fast.
- Two vets have seen him in recent weeks. Bloods have been done. The biggest concerns were arthritis and ensuring he eats.
- He moves slowly and sits down a lot. Still mostly climbs and has been clumsy at times... but...
- He has moments of fluid jumps, of trotting (or even running) in the house, and never makes a noise to indicate he's in pain.
I don't know what to make of any of this. I went to bed in tears last night as it seemed his legs were degenerating again and no one seems to know what's going on... yet this morning he's already made a beautiful leap and had a little run... what on earth is going on?
The above might seem nice and clinical and precise, but I'm at my wit's end with worry at times. Thank you for reading this far.
Dec 31, 2015: After being in a warm room most of the day (it's summer), my 15 yo indoor-only cat tried to jump onto a footstool and made a clumsy effort which was out of character. I pondered if he was a bit dehydrated after the day's heat and offered a bowl of water at his feet, which he drank down. I also pondered if he could be constipated as I hadn't had to clean his litter in the past 24. Gave him some of the laxaxtive he loves and, lo and behold, a few hrs later he produced a sizeable, unbroken BM of a kind I haven't seen him do for a long time. And so to bed.
Jan 1-3, 2016: Kept an eye on my little guy and while he seemed "relatively" normal on the whole, I could see his back legs were still weaker than usual, partly through the way he was moving and partly from the way he'd only walk a short distance, then sit down. Aside from that, he had "symptoms" that have been with him for some time, such as occasionally scratching at his ears (his ears are fine inside), and occasionally flicking his front paws at random times. He will often paw flick when going to drink from a bowl. About the moment his lips contact the water, he flicks one paw, then the other (often hitting the bowl in the process), and if the flicks are too close together, sometimes overbalances slightly.
Jan 4, 2016: Took him to the vet for a looking over. I covered the leg weakness, the ear scratching, the paw flicking, the possible dehydration, the constipation, the sitting down and just generally seeming "different" to his normal self for the past few days. She took all of this in and checked him over (heart rate, lungs, ears, etc), and based on watching him move and bloods that had been done 8 months ago when I thought he was drinking excessively (and all the bloods were normal), decided it was unlikely to be anything besides arthritis. The question in my head, which I didn't ask due to the way the conversation flowed, "Why would arthritis come on so suddenly?" And, in saying that I acknowledge that he's enjoyed being a climber, more than a jumper, for some years. But, that doesn't mean he hasn't been a jumper at times, too. So a refined version of the question would be, "Why would the signs of arthritis, which he had to some degree, get a lot worse overnight?" She prescribed Meloxicam - 0.8ml initially then 0.4ml daily for two weeks (0.1ml / kg basically) and if any symptoms presented, to get in touch. Otherwise, talk in two weeks. For those who talk of Meloxicam causing kidney issues, the vet mentioned this can happen in the long term but already at 15 yo what is the "long term" basically?
Jan 6, 2016: Third day on Meloxicam and within 30 mins of taking it, a massive, massive vomit... albeit with a large hairball in the middle. I called the vet, pondering if the hairball or the Meloxicam was the culprit. The advice was to not re-dose him, and to simply have a go the next day and see what happens. Within another 30 mins he had another vomit. Not food covered this time. Basically another hairball.
Jan 7-9, 2016: I didn't dose my cat with Meloxicam as his appetite had disappeared and I simply couldn't observe him eating enough of his kibble to feel confident about giving him the drug. I was also a little scared off with the way he'd had that big vomit.
Jan 10, 2016: Took my cat back to the same vet, but a different member of staff was on duty. I explained how he was still weak in the back legs, still acting different at times, and how the Meloxicam was hard to judge as he hadn't taken it for a few days. I pondered to him if it could be my cat's kidney's, pointing out that the bloods which the other vet had referenced were 8 months old and, surely he would agree, kidneys can change very suddenly? He agreed and offered to do bloods that day. The results were all fine. Kidneys good. Not a diabetic. And so on. It seemed to cover quite a lot of things which he largely brushed over as none of them stood out. He had a little concern at my guy being anaemic -- not to the degree that it actually registered as a problem on the test results -- and gave him two shots, both of which should help with the anaemia.
Jan 12, 2016: I'd been keeping an eye on my guy for a couple of days. Still not giving the Meloxicam as I wasn't seeing him eat enough still. Keep in mind, however, that these had been REALLY hot days (even inside, even with the a/c on), and maybe he just didn't want to eat a lot? But I slipped over to to the vet on my own to discuss. I pondered to them if he'd had some big hairballs of late, maybe there was still some inside him? Maybe a blockage? They gave me tablets they use when animals are in hospital to stimulate appetite, and also medicinal paraffin. I went home and gave him the tablet and within half and hour he was eating and eating and eating and eating. I actually took his bowl away after awhile as I thought he was now eating way too much, too fast. While this was going on, I read 101 horror stories about giving medicinal paraffin and how it can be aspirated into the lungs. I decided not to use it. I got his good old tube of laxative (as used on Dec 31, and contains paraffin itself), and gave him that.
Jan 13, 2016: Massive BM. I thought a dog had gotten into the house instead. Very satisfied he had 1) Eaten well and 2) Wasn't blocked up. Otherwise, not a lot of change with the other stuff. Still weak in the back legs. Drinking well. An observation of mine: he seems to be strongest and most alert at dawn and dusk, like many cats, but outside of those times, the symptoms seem worse as he's just so tired.
Jan 16, 2016: After a few days of eating and drinking well, and neither declining or improving on the back legs issue, I decided to try Meloxicam again. He took it readily. Had a relatively normal day. He slept for a large chunk of it. Noticed that when he was awake he drank well but wasn't too interested in his food and with a much lower temperature than other days, I couldn't blame it on the weather. At night he became active but seemed a little worse on the leg strength issue. Climbing seemed more laboured and, at one stage, he tried to jump off the footstool but his rear legs didn't want to come to the party. He sort of crashed onto his front legs but afterwards showed no signs of damage, outside of already being weak in the back legs and sitting down every few metres he walks. At no time, however, has he ever wailed or shown distress at any of this?
Jan 17, 2016: Woke up this morning and the first thing I noticed was he leaped onto the bed (no climbing) in one, fluid motion. I commented to him that he must be feeling good and he chattered back at me -- something he's been doing less of since New Year's, which has also bothered me as he's normally a very chatty cat. I got up and he followed me around the house. Still stopping to sit at random places, however. Took a shower and he came into the bathroom, like normal. When I got out, he saw water dripping off me and made his "motor noise" and ran out of the room. Yes, ran. Making the noise he's made in the past. Sort of his, "Coming through!" noise. I looked out into the hallway, however, and he'd stopped and was sitting down again.
I'll stop here and simply throw it open to comments.
- I have a cat who seems poorly in his back legs. Although he's old and he liked to climb in the past, this affliction came on very fast.
- Two vets have seen him in recent weeks. Bloods have been done. The biggest concerns were arthritis and ensuring he eats.
- He moves slowly and sits down a lot. Still mostly climbs and has been clumsy at times... but...
- He has moments of fluid jumps, of trotting (or even running) in the house, and never makes a noise to indicate he's in pain.
I don't know what to make of any of this. I went to bed in tears last night as it seemed his legs were degenerating again and no one seems to know what's going on... yet this morning he's already made a beautiful leap and had a little run... what on earth is going on?
The above might seem nice and clinical and precise, but I'm at my wit's end with worry at times. Thank you for reading this far.
