Hypertension and hyperthyroidism / issues to walk

[RubyPenny]

Hello all,
last sunday my boyfriend's 16 year old cat all of a sudden started to fall over her front legs and was not able to put weight on them / control them. We immediately took her to the clinic and got the diagnosis that she is suffering from Hypertension and Hyperthyroidism.
She stayed in the clinic until yesterday and is now back home with him. Today she started to show some first signs of improvement like cleaning herself and is eating / drinking well. She tries to get up by herself but still falls over once she tries to stand on her legs. One time I was able to help her stand up with a little support but it also only lasted a few seconds.
Has anyone here ever experienced something like this? Are there any things we can do to support her healing? She is now on medication for both the Hypertension and Hyperthyroidism and I figure, it also needs some time until the medication develops its full effect.
We have the next check-up in the clinic on friday.
Thank you so much for any input!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi and welcome to TCS, despite what brough you here. If the front leg weakness is from the hypertension, it could correct itself once the meds kick in, and by Friday may not be long enough. A lot of times, any impacts from hypertension due to hyperthyroidism are reversible once both are under control. I'd ask the vet that when you see them on Friday. Usually, for hyper-T meds, they want to re-test 3-4 weeks after starting the meds, so you can see just by that time frame alone, it may take a while. I am sure the BP meds are the same or similar in timeline. Ask the vet if there are any other tests that should be done, focusing on this leg weakness.

In the meantime, just make sure everything she needs is close by - food, water, litter box, etc. And, if you can, take her to the litter box throughout the day and night and help support her body weight when doing so. It might help to get a very low sided box for now, just so it doesn't feel daunting for her to be inside it. You can always buy puppy pee pads to lay underneath her if by chance she needs to go and can't get to the box on her own. That will save your flooring and make her more comfortable as you can replace the pad with a fresh new one when any accidents happen. If needed, get some unscented hypoallergenic wipes to help clean her behind if she should have an accident.

Given that she is grooming, eating and drinking, I think you are in the midst of a waiting game and hopefully you will see gradual improvement over the coming weeks.

Keep us posted!

 

[RubyPenny]

Thank you so much for your reply! This gives us hope and it will take whatever time it takes
And thank you so much for the tipp with the puppy pee pads. In all this chaos and fear we really did not think that far.

Ifound it so positive that she started grooming (and even more importantly complaining! She loves to complain about everything and everyone.), too. We will take it one day at a time.

I will keep you posted

 

[RubyPenny]

Hi and welcome to TCS, despite what brough you here. If the front leg weakness is from the hypertension, it could correct itself once the meds kick in, and by Friday may not be long enough. A lot of times, any impacts from hypertension due to hyperthyroidism are reversible once both are under control. I'd ask the vet that when you see them on Friday. Usually, for hyper-T meds, they want to re-test 3-4 weeks after starting the meds, so you can see just by that time frame alone, it may take a while. I am sure the BP meds are the same or similar in timeline. Ask the vet if there are any other tests that should be done, focusing on this leg weakness.

In the meantime, just make sure everything she needs is close by - food, water, litter box, etc. And, if you can, take her to the litter box throughout the day and night and help support her body weight when doing so. It might help to get a very low sided box for now, just so it doesn't feel daunting for her to be inside it. You can always buy puppy pee pads to lay underneath her if by chance she needs to go and can't get to the box on her own. That will save your flooring and make her more comfortable as you can replace the pad with a fresh new one when any accidents happen. If needed, get some unscented hypoallergenic wipes to help clean her behind if she should have an accident.

Given that she is grooming, eating and drinking, I think you are in the midst of a waiting game and hopefully you will see gradual improvement over the coming weeks.

Keep us posted!

Thank you so much for your reply! This gives us hope and it will take whatever time it takes
And thank you so much for the tipp with the puppy pee pads. In all this chaos and fear we really did not think that far.

Ifound it so positive that she started grooming (and even more importantly complaining! She loves to complain about everything and everyone.), too. We will take it one day at a time.

I will keep you posted

And sorry for the double post- my mind is not working properly right now.. :/