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- Oct 12, 2020
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Hello,
My 10-year old cat Walden has been having trouble with his back legs. I took him to the vet about 2.5 months ago and haven't been able to figure out a treatment that's effective, so I'm planning to take him for a second opinion. I'll give some background about his condition below - I'm looking for any thoughts or advice about things I should ask the vet to potentially consider.
About 3 months ago, I noticed Wally was having trouble climbing up on things. He was using his forelegs to pull himself up on the bed / couch and wasn't jumping anymore. His gate was also a little off, with a hunched back, especially if he had just gotten up from lying down. I don't know if this is related, but I also noticed his personality was changing - he's always been a dominant cat and a bit of a bully, but he was turning even more short tempered and grumpy. I thought this was due to a recent move and temporary downsizing - I had relocated and moved into a tiny apartment while I looked for a house and it's very small for 3 cats. Now I wonder if it's because he wasn't feeling well even then? Now, he has noticeable muscle loss in his back legs, can barely walk more than 10-20 steps at a time, and sinks onto his hocks after a few steps. He walks really hunched over and tends to sleep with his back legs stretched out straight (making me think there might be something wrong with his hips?).
The background to this story actually starts 5 years ago. When Wally was 5 he had the same problem - I noticed he gradually lost the use of his back legs and the muscles started to atrophy. I took him to the vet then and he was diagnosed with dry FIP. He apparently had a very high feline coronavirus titer count and combined with the apparent neurological damage, the vet suspected FIP and recommended I put him down. I didn't, for some reason. I said I wanted one more weekend with him and I'd call an emergency vet if he took a turn for the worse over the weekend. Instead, he started walked and eating again that weekend, and eventually made what looked like a full recovery. A second vet I took him to a month after his FIP diagnosis said that she suspected he had a feline coronavirus infection and some kind of spinal injury at the same time and had never had FIP, but had made a full recovery.
With this history, I took him to a vet as soon as I noticed the difficulties with him jumping/climbing again. The vet confirmed he had muscle atrophy in his back legs and difficulty walking, but did X-Rays and said she didn't find anything that she thought would account for his symptoms. She said that he had one disc that seemed a little out of place at the top of his tail but didn't think it would cause the walking problems he's experiencing. She didn't do a coronavirus titer count but consulted an expert who ruled out the possibility of dry FIP returning from remission 5 years later, so thought that would be an unneeded expense. She did a standard blood work panel (I go to a VCA clinic, if that's insightful for what a 'standard blood work panel' means) as well and didn't find any other potential medical causes for his hind limb weakness in that bloodwork.
She first prescribed gabapentin which she said can help address neurological issues. There were no noticeable signs of improvement. She did say he didn't seem like he was in much pain and the medication was mostly to address the nerve issues. I don't know if that 'not in pain' was for my benefit or true... About a week after the gabapentin ran out, he seemed to be getting worse, so she prescribed a steroid (prednisolone) and it was a miracle drug. Within 12 hours of taking the first pill, he seemed almost back to normal, and continued to do well the entire course of the steroids. About 3 days after tapering them off, however, he started to get worse and now he can barely walk again.
Unlike 5 years ago, there's no sign of a fever and he's doing well besides not being able to walk (5 years ago he was really sick - a fever, stopped eating, stopped using the litterbox for about 2 days). Even unable to walk well, he's still eating well and using the litterbox this time so it's not as bad as it was back then. He also still plays with the other cats (though in a stationary way) and with toys on a string, etc. I'm going to take him back to a vet and was wondering if anyone has had similar mysterious symptoms in a cat, and if so if you have suggestions about things I could/should ask the vet to consider? Any insights are appreciated!
My 10-year old cat Walden has been having trouble with his back legs. I took him to the vet about 2.5 months ago and haven't been able to figure out a treatment that's effective, so I'm planning to take him for a second opinion. I'll give some background about his condition below - I'm looking for any thoughts or advice about things I should ask the vet to potentially consider.
About 3 months ago, I noticed Wally was having trouble climbing up on things. He was using his forelegs to pull himself up on the bed / couch and wasn't jumping anymore. His gate was also a little off, with a hunched back, especially if he had just gotten up from lying down. I don't know if this is related, but I also noticed his personality was changing - he's always been a dominant cat and a bit of a bully, but he was turning even more short tempered and grumpy. I thought this was due to a recent move and temporary downsizing - I had relocated and moved into a tiny apartment while I looked for a house and it's very small for 3 cats. Now I wonder if it's because he wasn't feeling well even then? Now, he has noticeable muscle loss in his back legs, can barely walk more than 10-20 steps at a time, and sinks onto his hocks after a few steps. He walks really hunched over and tends to sleep with his back legs stretched out straight (making me think there might be something wrong with his hips?).
The background to this story actually starts 5 years ago. When Wally was 5 he had the same problem - I noticed he gradually lost the use of his back legs and the muscles started to atrophy. I took him to the vet then and he was diagnosed with dry FIP. He apparently had a very high feline coronavirus titer count and combined with the apparent neurological damage, the vet suspected FIP and recommended I put him down. I didn't, for some reason. I said I wanted one more weekend with him and I'd call an emergency vet if he took a turn for the worse over the weekend. Instead, he started walked and eating again that weekend, and eventually made what looked like a full recovery. A second vet I took him to a month after his FIP diagnosis said that she suspected he had a feline coronavirus infection and some kind of spinal injury at the same time and had never had FIP, but had made a full recovery.
With this history, I took him to a vet as soon as I noticed the difficulties with him jumping/climbing again. The vet confirmed he had muscle atrophy in his back legs and difficulty walking, but did X-Rays and said she didn't find anything that she thought would account for his symptoms. She said that he had one disc that seemed a little out of place at the top of his tail but didn't think it would cause the walking problems he's experiencing. She didn't do a coronavirus titer count but consulted an expert who ruled out the possibility of dry FIP returning from remission 5 years later, so thought that would be an unneeded expense. She did a standard blood work panel (I go to a VCA clinic, if that's insightful for what a 'standard blood work panel' means) as well and didn't find any other potential medical causes for his hind limb weakness in that bloodwork.
She first prescribed gabapentin which she said can help address neurological issues. There were no noticeable signs of improvement. She did say he didn't seem like he was in much pain and the medication was mostly to address the nerve issues. I don't know if that 'not in pain' was for my benefit or true... About a week after the gabapentin ran out, he seemed to be getting worse, so she prescribed a steroid (prednisolone) and it was a miracle drug. Within 12 hours of taking the first pill, he seemed almost back to normal, and continued to do well the entire course of the steroids. About 3 days after tapering them off, however, he started to get worse and now he can barely walk again.
Unlike 5 years ago, there's no sign of a fever and he's doing well besides not being able to walk (5 years ago he was really sick - a fever, stopped eating, stopped using the litterbox for about 2 days). Even unable to walk well, he's still eating well and using the litterbox this time so it's not as bad as it was back then. He also still plays with the other cats (though in a stationary way) and with toys on a string, etc. I'm going to take him back to a vet and was wondering if anyone has had similar mysterious symptoms in a cat, and if so if you have suggestions about things I could/should ask the vet to consider? Any insights are appreciated!