Old Cat Weakness in Hind Legs

[zoes]

My cat has been on a steady decline over the past year or so (understandable as she is 19 years old or more). Her hind leg weakness is starting to affect her quite a bit now. I am going to bring her in to the vet for a dedicated appointment for this, but I would also love to know if anyone has any holistic suggestions, PT advice etc.

Background:
She is hyperthyroid (managed.)
She is on monthly solensia, and she would be getting her fourth injection later this month. It has been helping somewhat, but I feel like after a couple months of improvement she is back to where she was before - I don't know if this is that the medication isn't helping anymore, or if she's declined further but the med is still helping her.
Blood tests (last one was a few months ago) show she is in "great" shape otherwise (I assume this to be relative to her age.)
She had an xray a couple weeks ago for a foreign body ingestion (which she passed naturally no problem). This was at an emergency vet and all I know from that is that she lungs are bad (relating to surgical risk.)
At home, she gets lots of omega-3 oils and occasionally gabapentin, and some other woowoo joint supplement, but I think that, if those help at all, it's a drop in the bucket.

Behaviourally, she is OK. She can hop up on the bed by way of a stool and a nightstand, and hop down (from the bed to the floor which always scares me - I have put some shock-absorbing mats on the floor). When she is motivated to get somewhere, she can walk without a limp, but if she's idly wandering she is shakey and unstable on her hinds. Her muscle mass is poor and her weight is low, but I wouldn't call her skeletal. She eats well, litter box habits are normal, and in the context of her age her attitude, joy, and interests seem fine. She grooms a little - feet, bum - but isn't motivated to play. I have started helping her with the rest as she is developing an old cat smell.

Given all this, I'm concerned there's nothing more I can do so I am really hoping for some out of the box suggestions. Would encouraging more physical activity help or hinder, or is better to cushion her life as much as possible? Are there any supplements you have found made an actual difference? Would throwing down more area rugs help?

I know to some extent this is just advanced aging but given that her mind and so many of her processes seem fine, I want to extend her comfort as much as possible. Open to any suggestions. Thanks all!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Your cat sounds like she is doing better than mine (19+ yo). Feeby has overall 'weakness' but not specific to her hind legs.

I am going to tell you that you need to understand her blood work numbers. That means knowing where she falls in the 'managed' thyroid level. If it isn't controlled as well as it could be it can lead to high blood pressure, which can lead to other heart issues that could impact her hind legs. Has anyone checked her BP?

You said her blood work was in 'great' shape a few months ago, but do you actually know how her kidneys, liver, etc. are functioning based on results within the Chemistry panel that should have been part of the blood work? Many times, hyperthyroid cats, once treated, can reveal kidney issues.

For a cat of her age, there are some vets that just assume the less treatments the better. And perhaps that is true. But that is your decision to make - with counsel from your vet. However, you can't talk about all the variables if you rely totally on the vet to make the decisions for you.

In your case, some vets will recommend PT in the form of acupuncture, laser therapy, and/or even water aerobics. Things that should be mentioned to you by the vet and then you can research and pursue the options and decide whether or not they are suitable for your cat. X-rays of her spine and limbs could be helpful to see where any arthritis is concentrated, and if that might be part of her hind leg weakness.

My cat was on Solensia for 6 months before I stopped it. It did seem to reduce in effectiveness over time, but it actually took 3 months to see a real improvement before the decline. After that, she seemed to be having some side effects from it as well. I don't know what these 'woo hoo' joint supplements are, so I can't address that aspect.

First and foremost, get her BP checked - it normally requires 3 separate testing's in a single vet visit followed shortly thereafter with another 3 separate testing's during another vet visit in order to get a 'true' reading (e.g; 'white coat syndrome, if you have heard of that). Have her heart checked too. And see where her numbers are with what I would hope to have been a Chemistry panel included with a CBC for her blood work.

 

[zoes]

I am going to tell you that you need to understand her blood work numbers.

Thank you, this was immensely helpful! I have found that my vet is not as forthcoming with old age solutions as I’d like. Even the solensia -she only told me about a few months ago!
The emergency vet was the same and pushed euthanasia but agreed to “cut the cord and pray”. I thought she was coming home to die, but she passed it just fine.
I suppose some people aren’t so willing to spend big money on cats that will die soon. I find myself more willing than ever to give her more good time - I’ve had almost 20 years, this feels like something I really want to do for her as long as she’s still walking, eating, pooping, and finding joy in life.
Your comment kind of congealed these stray thoughts for me, so thank you. I will communicate more clearly with my vet that I want to pursue these avenues.

I believe her liver is fine - I was overdosing the felimazole for a period and after the blood test my vet noted that despite that her liver values were “great” - my perception was, no underlying liver disease revealed by the hypothyroidism state.

In the meantime, I did pick up a few area rugs which she seems to walk better on. And I think the gaba is making it worse - maybe it cuts the pain a smidge but it seems to exacerbate the ataxia.

 

[zoes]

She found some pep tonight and made it four floors down to the basement where she explored and ate cobwebs for a while. She managed a few stairs back up but I carried her for the rest. She really seems to do better on flooring with better traction like the concrete basement floor.

 

[nishottara]

sounds like kidneys are failing...

 

[jmichaelp]

Hyperthyroid cats drink more water than usual. This could deplete potassium, causing muscle weakness. I had this happen with a CKD cat. You can try massaging her back legs for arthritis. The muscles are probably tight due to the stiff joints.