Hi, I got an adorable ragdoll kitten from a breeder about a month ago, and recently he started having problems. He is currently 4.5 months old, and is already neutered. Ever since the night I took him back home he just wouldn't eat a lot. At first I thought it was because of the new environment, but he didn't have any other signs of stress and even as time went on his appetite never increased. I tried changing brand and consistency of food, but nothing worked. Another problem is that he seems to have problem going to the litter box. He urinates and defecate everyday but he tends to vocalize during these times, and he would urinate small amount of urine frequently.
All of these are minor and I thought he just needs more time. However, about a week ago I started noticing that his gait is looking weird, the hind legs seem to be a bit weak. I was afraid that he injured himself or I injured him when I accidentally pulled on his tail. I took him to see two different vets, got blood work and xrays done, everything came back normal with the exception of some inflammation. He had no injuries at all anywhere on the body. The xray did show that his belly is full of feces, which is probably why he wasn't eating. Like I mentioned earlier, he defecates daily, although since a week ago he would defecate outside of the litter box because pieces of feces would get stuck on his fur around the anus, and due to discomfort he would come out of the box. I think this is also due to the weak hind legs. He's also urinating on the floor a lot now, although mostly just in the small room that he stays every night. His hind legs have been getting progressively worse over the course of the week, and now when he walks his hind legs tend to lean on the left side and the left hind leg is especially weak, sometimes even dragging on the floor. The vet suspect something neurological, perhaps a birth defect, but he doesn't have any other signs pointing to neurological disorders. His pupils are fine and his reflexes are fine, just the legs and wobbly gait.
At this point I'm really lost. It's only been a month but we really like him and it breaks our heart to see him walk like that. I've seen somewhere that Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) deficiency may cause neurological problems, so I'm gonna call my vet first thing on Monday. I'm a first time cat owner and don't have experience dealing with these kind of issues, so I just want to see if anyone else had similar experiences. Is it possible for neurological birth defect to be not present at birth but show up in a couple of months? Neurological diagnosis would require neurologist, CT, and MRI, and it will cost thousands of dollars that I don't know if I can afford. I don't know what to do...
All of these are minor and I thought he just needs more time. However, about a week ago I started noticing that his gait is looking weird, the hind legs seem to be a bit weak. I was afraid that he injured himself or I injured him when I accidentally pulled on his tail. I took him to see two different vets, got blood work and xrays done, everything came back normal with the exception of some inflammation. He had no injuries at all anywhere on the body. The xray did show that his belly is full of feces, which is probably why he wasn't eating. Like I mentioned earlier, he defecates daily, although since a week ago he would defecate outside of the litter box because pieces of feces would get stuck on his fur around the anus, and due to discomfort he would come out of the box. I think this is also due to the weak hind legs. He's also urinating on the floor a lot now, although mostly just in the small room that he stays every night. His hind legs have been getting progressively worse over the course of the week, and now when he walks his hind legs tend to lean on the left side and the left hind leg is especially weak, sometimes even dragging on the floor. The vet suspect something neurological, perhaps a birth defect, but he doesn't have any other signs pointing to neurological disorders. His pupils are fine and his reflexes are fine, just the legs and wobbly gait.
At this point I'm really lost. It's only been a month but we really like him and it breaks our heart to see him walk like that. I've seen somewhere that Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) deficiency may cause neurological problems, so I'm gonna call my vet first thing on Monday. I'm a first time cat owner and don't have experience dealing with these kind of issues, so I just want to see if anyone else had similar experiences. Is it possible for neurological birth defect to be not present at birth but show up in a couple of months? Neurological diagnosis would require neurologist, CT, and MRI, and it will cost thousands of dollars that I don't know if I can afford. I don't know what to do...
