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I am searching for advice. We have a 7 month old kitten we adopted 3 months ago. My son chose him at the Humane Society because he has a little stub for a tail that he was born with and he was worried no one would want him. He was healthy, super out going and so fun and playful.
One day a couple months after we got him, I noticed he wasn't fully using his back legs and that he would walk a few steps and sit down or lay down. I took him to the vet, she did X-rays and saw nothing wrong. She prescribed pain meds to see if it was an injury and that he may be in pain or that it could be a neurological disorder that he may have been born with seeing his short tail. We tried the pain meds for a few weeks with no improvement.
So I took him to a different doctor to get a second pair of eyes and advice. After looking at his chart, xray and a quick examination he said it was most likely neurological as he didn't seem in pain but that he seemed to be losing strength in his back legs. He said to keep giving him the pain meds but that he most likely wouldn't improve if it was in fact neurological.
A week later I noticed more limping coming from his front legs and the next day he would try to use the litter box and seemed to use it fine but then would get out and finish right outside the litter box. From that day he progressively got worse and was barely able to walk at all. We had to carry him in and out of the litter box and bring him food and water. He continued to eat and drink and use the litter box when placed inside of it but couldn't climb out on his own. It was heart wrenching as he seemed so alert and happy to see us and be around us.
I called the vet and asked if it could be a virus or if there was anything else we could do and he said that the next best thing would be euthanasia. Our hearts broke, as I was about to call to make the appointment to bring him in I decided to call the first Vet we saw to tell her what our next steps were looking to be and if she could offer any other advice. She said since we are talking about taking that next step that she thought we should give antibiotics and steroids a shot. I jumped on the opportunity and went straight to pick up the prescriptions and started him on them immediately that afternoon and then we waited.
The next morning I thought I saw a bit more mobility but thought it might just be hopeful thinking but by they next day he was up and walking again!! Using the litter box and getting around by himself. He still couldn't jump up on anything but using the litter box and getting to his food and water was absolutely beautiful to see.
Its been 2 weeks and he continues to improve so much that he is able to jump up on to the couch and our bed, he's running around a bit more but still lays down quickly if he does expel a quick jolt of energy. We just finished the antibiotics and are weening him off the steroids. My fear is that once we stop the steroids his symptoms will return as I know we can't continue him on steroids forever.
I wish I had never ending money and could pay for an MRI and a Neurological specialist but we just can not financially afford something like that with the probability of not finding an answer or being able to help him either way from the concern from both vets.
With all of this said, does anyone have any advice or have you heard or seen anything like this in a young cat? Are there natural supplements that could mimic what the steroids look to be doing to help him? We are keeping our fingers crossed that it was the antibiotics that fixed him but my anxiety of waiting to see if his symptoms return is overwhelming as we continue to ween him off the steroids. Any advice is so appreciated.
One day a couple months after we got him, I noticed he wasn't fully using his back legs and that he would walk a few steps and sit down or lay down. I took him to the vet, she did X-rays and saw nothing wrong. She prescribed pain meds to see if it was an injury and that he may be in pain or that it could be a neurological disorder that he may have been born with seeing his short tail. We tried the pain meds for a few weeks with no improvement.
So I took him to a different doctor to get a second pair of eyes and advice. After looking at his chart, xray and a quick examination he said it was most likely neurological as he didn't seem in pain but that he seemed to be losing strength in his back legs. He said to keep giving him the pain meds but that he most likely wouldn't improve if it was in fact neurological.
A week later I noticed more limping coming from his front legs and the next day he would try to use the litter box and seemed to use it fine but then would get out and finish right outside the litter box. From that day he progressively got worse and was barely able to walk at all. We had to carry him in and out of the litter box and bring him food and water. He continued to eat and drink and use the litter box when placed inside of it but couldn't climb out on his own. It was heart wrenching as he seemed so alert and happy to see us and be around us.
I called the vet and asked if it could be a virus or if there was anything else we could do and he said that the next best thing would be euthanasia. Our hearts broke, as I was about to call to make the appointment to bring him in I decided to call the first Vet we saw to tell her what our next steps were looking to be and if she could offer any other advice. She said since we are talking about taking that next step that she thought we should give antibiotics and steroids a shot. I jumped on the opportunity and went straight to pick up the prescriptions and started him on them immediately that afternoon and then we waited.
The next morning I thought I saw a bit more mobility but thought it might just be hopeful thinking but by they next day he was up and walking again!! Using the litter box and getting around by himself. He still couldn't jump up on anything but using the litter box and getting to his food and water was absolutely beautiful to see.
Its been 2 weeks and he continues to improve so much that he is able to jump up on to the couch and our bed, he's running around a bit more but still lays down quickly if he does expel a quick jolt of energy. We just finished the antibiotics and are weening him off the steroids. My fear is that once we stop the steroids his symptoms will return as I know we can't continue him on steroids forever.
I wish I had never ending money and could pay for an MRI and a Neurological specialist but we just can not financially afford something like that with the probability of not finding an answer or being able to help him either way from the concern from both vets.
With all of this said, does anyone have any advice or have you heard or seen anything like this in a young cat? Are there natural supplements that could mimic what the steroids look to be doing to help him? We are keeping our fingers crossed that it was the antibiotics that fixed him but my anxiety of waiting to see if his symptoms return is overwhelming as we continue to ween him off the steroids. Any advice is so appreciated.
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