10 year old cat dragging legs.. HELP!!

My cat Smoky was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection about 4 months ago. We took him to the vets as he couldn't pee, the vet emptied his bladder and advised us to put water in his food so he drinks more water as he had crystals in his urine. We did this and he was fine, the infection cleared and the crystals, but then we noticed when he was walking he had began dragging his toes on his left leg when walking!![emoji]128532[/emoji] When we took him back to the vets, the vet said his muscles were just hurt from straining on the litter tray due to his previous urinary infection. He proceeded to inject smoky with medication which initially helped!! After this trip to the vets smoky got quite worse... we were actually quite suspicious that the vet may have dropped him as he had a chunk of fur missing from his foot area. He now drags his legs, it's as though his legs are stiff and sometimes he will rely on his front paws to drag himself up the stairs. This happened so suddenly after his infection and after so many visits to the vets with no progress we decided to go to a new vets who told us it might have been when the other vet injected him, he could have hit a nerve thus damaging his leg. Smoky is now worse, he can still go toilet he just can't groom his lower body, he eats fine and is generally very happy especially when we all give him loads of love and massage his legs for him. he seems to walk better when I hold his tail up for him which is so strange and makes me wonder whether he fell or was dropped damaging his tail do any of you have any similar stories or advice or any ideas from your own experiences? I would greatly appreciate any advice or thoughts.

I wish I had some advice or personal experience to share. The tail is part of the spinal column and usually when you see damage in the tail it means there is a lower spinal injury in play, which would also explain the leg weakness so being dropped could also be factor (you could get x-rays to confirm and see broken or damage bones that would be the result of being dropped). But I think the second vets explanation of nerve damage is reasonable too and, luckily, nerves can heal themselves (sometimes) so he might get better with time and love. He might also have permanent damage in which case you would want to look into how to help a paralyzed cat (essentially the direction where you will find the most help even if his is more limited mobility then full). There are several cats out there who have hind leg problems and live a full life (on Instagram @scott.butt comes to mind immediately) you might want to reach out to their families to see if anyone has tips or advice in that direction.  

Kieka Thank you for taking the time to reply, we try to help him as much as we can and he can still use his legs but we try to make his life easier... it just hurts when you know only 4 months ago he was jumping around so energetically we are taking him to the vets tomorrow for a blood test. We previously got an X-ray done and the vet said his bones are very healthy! So we just don't know, I'll check out @scott.butt, thank you!

So glad his x-rays were good. Hopefully everything comes back clean on his blood work too. I had nerve damage to my toe and it took a good 2 years to get full feeling back in the toe so don't give up on him getting better but have patience with him.  Scoot.Butt is an extreme hind leg problem but the owner has a lot of adjustments and workarounds in their home to help her move around that may be helpful for you. 

I am so sorry that you have to go through this. I do understand the sudden pet problems and feel for you. Years ago we had outdoor rabbits and they both got severe infections (we think rats got into their cage and they might have ate the droppings). One day they were fine and they next we had to rush them to the vet and they were hospitalized on IV drips for two weeks. The male recovered but the female was never the same; she essentially lost her sense of balance and held her head sideways for the rest of her life and couldn't move faster then a slow hop. We had to reduce her areas size and pad corners because she would walk into things and get cuts which got infected easily. But she lived for another three years happily with her buddy and he lived for another two years after her. Have hope and faith you will get through this and be stronger for it. 

Kieka said:

So glad his x-rays were good. Hopefully everything comes back clean on his blood work too. I had nerve damage to my toe and it took a good 2 years to get full feeling back in the toe so don't give up on him getting better but have patience with him.  Scoot.Butt is an extreme hind leg problem but the owner has a lot of adjustments and workarounds in their home to help her move around that may be helpful for you. 

I am so sorry that you have to go through this. I do understand the sudden pet problems and feel for you. Years ago we had outdoor rabbits and they both got severe infections (we think rats got into their cage and they might have ate the droppings). One day they were fine and they next we had to rush them to the vet and they were hospitalized on IV drips for two weeks. The male recovered but the female was never the same; she essentially lost her sense of balance and held her head sideways for the rest of her life and couldn't move faster then a slow hop. We had to reduce her areas size and pad corners because she would walk into things and get cuts which got infected easily. But she lived for another three years happily with her buddy and he lived for another two years after her. Have hope and faith you will get through this and be stronger for it. 

Click to expand...

It really takes a while! Thank you, hopefully it comes out clear. That's so bad, I'm so sorry you had to go through with that. Rabbits are such gentle lovely animals, it's so hard to see your pet in such pain and not being the same. They really do become a part of your heart