After neutering

[rentuna]

Hi!
I am new here. I have a really cute cat.
We don't know his age exactly, but he's been with us for more than a year now. I was told he was a stray cat and got hit by a tram. We adopted him, then they had to amputate both his front legs because of the hit. Little later on,while on his recovery, he developed urinary issues, he had crystals. He was on treatment multiple times and veterinary diet and after he got well he was neutered! He is our first cat. He became a very hungry cat after neutering, which I am not sure if it's alright ?
Also he started to breath fast, like he's breathing normally but way faster than before.. we took him to our vet, he got some shots for pneumonia. He then got better for a few days, then the fast breathing returned. He doesn't have any other symptoms..like he feels ok, he plays,eats well ,sleeps,drinks. (he's on wet food diet with purina one and transitioning to purina pro plan) so now it's day 6 of him taking prednisone tablets, this is the last day of it, he's breathing a little better but did not resolve the fast breathing totally.. he had blood test done, things are OK. So I wonder if this is a normal thing? Or it may be because of the food? Did anyone encounter this issue after neutering? Thank you kindly!

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

This is not a normal thing, but the cause could be so many different things. Could be an allergic reaction to something, asthma, heartworm, respiratory infection, a foreign object, etc. I'm wondering if the Vet put him on pred to try to rule out some things?

I'm thinking more tests may be in order to figure this out. Did they do an xray of his lungs?

 

[rentuna]

This is not a normal thing, but the cause could be so many different things. Could be an allergic reaction to something, asthma, heartworm, respiratory infection, a foreign object, etc. I'm wondering if the Vet put him on pred to try to rule out some things?

I'm thinking more tests may be in order to figure this out. Did they do an xray of his lungs?

I am absolutely sure, he put him on pred to rule out some stuff. He told us, that because Luke does not have his front legs..his chest might be slowly collapsing and pushing his lungs..but before he jumps to conclusions,he wants to rule out things. Luke gets anti parasite pill 3 times a year. He is 100% an indoor cat, I never let him roam outside because of his disability. He uses the litterbox perfectly everytime, does not have bloody or runny stools, does not vomit, does not cough, does not have a runny nose and does not have fever. Not even bloody urine. He got 3 shots for pneumonia, which did make his breathing better for a few days, so I wonder it might be that? and needs more treatment for pneumonia. I would think and vet said too, that if Luke had for example water/fluid on his lungs , he would cough and the collapsing chest would make him be in pain. But it is not the case. About heartworm I do not know much though. Foreign object..hm I do not know anything about him eating something except his food (he is very picky). About asthma I am not sure. I did think of allergic reaction to his food ? which I changed after he got neutered. Before he was neutered, he was on RC urinary SO and after purina veterinary urinary diet dry and wet for more than 6 months. Then after he got better I slowly transitioned him to simple urinary tract health food and then to "simple" catfood ( Felix first and then Purina one and proplan) I was also thinking of taurine OR vitamine deficiency? Bceause he had to take many medicine for a good while and was losing weight. For now, our vet did not tell us to give him vitamins or anything now. Just the pred ,but today was the last day out of 6. Now his breathing is a little better. When he is sitting, or doing stuff it is not as bad, but when he rests /or looks like sleeping it gets slower and faster then slower again and little faster again.
AND sorry for the long read(

 

[fionasmom]

What kind of mobility device is Luke using, if any? I certainly am not providing you with any clear insights as to the problem after neutering, but there may be something to the slow collapse of the chest.

 

[rentuna]

What kind of mobility device is Luke using, if any? I certainly am not providing you with any clear insights as to the problem after neutering, but there may be something to the slow collapse of the chest.

we were told, that if he learns how to walk with his 2 back legs then there is no need for now, for a mobility device.
Now his 2 front legs are missing, one is entirely and basically, the other one, half of it is amputated approx. Like he does have a smaller leg there which he does use, but not too much (since it is shorter than it should be)
At first, we did get him a prosthesis for that "half" leg, but he did not really get used to it, unfortunately even though it was totally personalized for him.

 

[rentuna]

so as for now, his one shorter leg looks like this !

 

[fionasmom]

He is an adorable little guy, sort of like a tripawd. It is always iffy as to most prostheses and mobility devices. I have seen animals in carts who refuse to take even one step forward as it is just too strange to them. Does he show any inclination to walk with the back legs? There are reports of and videos online showing cats who did make that transition.

He is certainly lucky that he found you.

 

[rentuna]

He is an adorable little guy, sort of like a tripawd. It is always iffy as to most prostheses and mobility devices. I have seen animals in carts who refuse to take even one step forward as it is just too strange to them. Does he show any inclination to walk with the back legs? There are reports of and videos online showing cats who did make that transition.

He is certainly lucky that he found you.

thank you a lot !
he really is sort of like a "tripawd" ! Luke did try to walk with the "fake leg" but he always tried to chew it off and pull it off of his leg. He does not show any issues with walking on the back legs like pain, like at all (or weird posture) . I take him in my arms frequently, and he does not have pain in his chest either so far, for now (luckily) by the way, his posture for walking and running with the two back legs is almost the same as, like he still had his front legs. I mean he is in the normal "4 legs posture", but with only 2 and a half legs. He does not have any difficulties luckily for now with getting around.