I'm not sure where to start.
My darling, beautiful cat who is my best friend just got back from the vet specialists.
To give you a bit of background-she is healthy but had an FCE in late November 2005 which paralyzed her half way down her back to the end of her tail-she has recovered well from her FCE but her back legs aren't quite as strong as they were. She also has some mild-medium arthritis in her front leg leg, shoulder and back-but this isn't causing her any issues apparently. She gets around fine and spends the day in the house or in the back garden.
About six-eight weeks ago I noticed her front left leg was sort of moving out of the joint by her wrist. Not heaps, but just slightly. We gave her an extra glucosamine supplement and wrapped it lightly and thought it was an arthritis flare-up (over the last three years she has had a limp in that leg on and off so it was nothing unusual). It got a bit better so we thought it was a flare-up. Then it got worse again-she was putting very little weight on it but the joint stayed in place more-then it seemed to get better again. Then she was putting no weight on it at all and the joint was odd. We booked a vet appointment and over about four days she started turning the leg inward and the paw was knuckling under-like in this picture: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm ... cleid=3539
She has been at the vet specialist today (best vet group in Australiasia) and had all sorts of tests run. Her x-rays are pretty perfect and the vet said her arthritis isn't causing her much, if any pain. There is no visible sign of injury or disk problems-he thought there might be a disk problem up in her back to cause the nerve(s) to do this but the x-rays are all fine. He said it has to be a nerve problem. What's odd is that somethings are firing-sometimes she's walking on her paw okay, she can feel you touching her there (although her reflexes with her toes are about a second late), and she definitely has some feeling there, but no pain. The muscle has atrophied (wasted) away a bit in that leg and shoulder but that is to be expected I guess because she hasn't been putting her weight on that leg.
The vet said it might be radial nerve damage, or general damage to the brachial plexus. He really worried me when he said it could have something to do with nerve sheath tumours-although he has no evidence to suggest it is. What terrified me is he said these things could move to other nerves or be degenerative over the whole body. I was so worried I almost vommitted at that point. Does anyone know if that's true??
At the moment we have been told to provide supportive care-splinting or wrapping, and just helping her out as much as we can. I have been told to massage her leg and give her some physical therapy which I am more then happy to do. He's giving us 10 or 20mg (I don't have my notes right now) of Prednisone to take twice a day (split into two doses) and wants us to try that for a week or more to see if it helps at all. She hasn't had an MRI scan but he doesn't believe an MRI will show anything-however an appointment is available in a couple of weeks and he says we should make a decision as to weither we want to have one or not. Why would the prednisone help if it is nerve-related?
I have no idea what to do or think? I'm so confused and scared. My cat is my absolute best friend. I'm 22 and have a chronic illness and she has been with me from day one-looking after me, giving me cuddles, making me laugh, supporting me.... she is everything to me. I'm willing to do anything and everything I can to help her. Does anyone have any suggestions or has anyone been through the same thing?? The paralysis in her leg doesn't worry me in itself-if she has to have a paralyzed leg for life then who cares?? What I worry about is more nerves being affected.
If anyone could help me out with my questions (in bold), I would be so grateful.
Thank you so much!!
Also, I would love to purchase this kitty litter box and rug: https://www.handicappedpets.com/mediawiki/?title=Litterbox_for_handicapped_pet but am unable to find either of them as I am in NZ and we don't have very good pet stores. Does anyone know a store online I could buy them at that would both take an NZ credit card and ship to NZ?? Also, I ordered a splint off handicappedpets.com awhile ago for her front leg-when I took it into the vet today he said it was a rear leg splint so I could not use it-why would I get a rear splint when I ordered a front one?? Are they just oddly shaped??
Help, Reassurance And Support NEEDED!!
Re: Help, Reassurance And Support NEEDED!!
Hi Soph_ie,
I think I can help you with the litter pan. I just checked the major online retailers (PetsMart, PetCO, and Foster/Smith) and either they don't have the right kind in stock but do ship to NZ or else they do have it in stock but don't ship to NZ. If you will send me a private message with your home address (write it out completely including the country) I will send you a litter box and pillow like in the picture. It will be a free gift for your kitty and you won't owe me anything. I have sent them to Canda, South Africa, Australia, and several places in the US already. Here is the one that went to Australia.
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=5972
I've never dealt with the sort of thing you are describing, but there have been several (two at least) people on this message board in frustration over a nerve sheath tumor diagnosis. Apparently it is hard for the doctors to diagnose them with certainty, even with modern imaging techniques? As I recall, one of the pets improved and it turned out not to be a nerve sheath tumor but it took 6 months.
I have never heard of a condition where they proliferate throughout the body. My suggestion would be that you call the hospital and ask them for the specific name of the condition they are describing. If you know the name you can look up information on it. I would definitely call them and ask, "What is the name of this condition you were describing?" If it is a long name, ask them to spell it for you so you can look it up. And please tell us here what it was--I would like to know, too. Thanks!
I don' t know exactly why they are giving prednisone, but it is good to take down swelling, and if there is swelling somewhere pressing on a nerve it may help. It sounds like it's worth a try (from what I know, I'm not a vet).
Here is a picture of the front and rear leg splints carried by HandicappedPets.com. If I were you I would email the customer service department and explain the situation.
http://www.handicappedpets.com/splints/
Here is a link with Contact Us information for HandicappedPets.com
http://www.handicappedpets.com/cs/
Hang in there!
I think I can help you with the litter pan. I just checked the major online retailers (PetsMart, PetCO, and Foster/Smith) and either they don't have the right kind in stock but do ship to NZ or else they do have it in stock but don't ship to NZ. If you will send me a private message with your home address (write it out completely including the country) I will send you a litter box and pillow like in the picture. It will be a free gift for your kitty and you won't owe me anything. I have sent them to Canda, South Africa, Australia, and several places in the US already. Here is the one that went to Australia.
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=5972
I've never dealt with the sort of thing you are describing, but there have been several (two at least) people on this message board in frustration over a nerve sheath tumor diagnosis. Apparently it is hard for the doctors to diagnose them with certainty, even with modern imaging techniques? As I recall, one of the pets improved and it turned out not to be a nerve sheath tumor but it took 6 months.
I have never heard of a condition where they proliferate throughout the body. My suggestion would be that you call the hospital and ask them for the specific name of the condition they are describing. If you know the name you can look up information on it. I would definitely call them and ask, "What is the name of this condition you were describing?" If it is a long name, ask them to spell it for you so you can look it up. And please tell us here what it was--I would like to know, too. Thanks!
I don' t know exactly why they are giving prednisone, but it is good to take down swelling, and if there is swelling somewhere pressing on a nerve it may help. It sounds like it's worth a try (from what I know, I'm not a vet).
Here is a picture of the front and rear leg splints carried by HandicappedPets.com. If I were you I would email the customer service department and explain the situation.
http://www.handicappedpets.com/splints/
Here is a link with Contact Us information for HandicappedPets.com
http://www.handicappedpets.com/cs/
Hang in there!
Re: Help, Reassurance And Support NEEDED!!
Like in Carol's pic, it's pretty obvious (to me, anyway!Soph_ie wrote:I'm not sure where to start.
My darling, beautiful cat who is my best friend just got back from the vet specialists.
To give you a bit of background-she is healthy but had an FCE in late November 2005 which paralyzed her half way down her back to the end of her tail-she has recovered well from her FCE but her back legs aren't quite as strong as they were. She also has some mild-medium arthritis in her front leg leg, shoulder and back-but this isn't causing her any issues apparently. She gets around fine and spends the day in the house or in the back garden.
About six-eight weeks ago I noticed her front left leg was sort of moving out of the joint by her wrist. Not heaps, but just slightly. We gave her an extra glucosamine supplement and wrapped it lightly and thought it was an arthritis flare-up (over the last three years she has had a limp in that leg on and off so it was nothing unusual). It got a bit better so we thought it was a flare-up. Then it got worse again-she was putting very little weight on it but the joint stayed in place more-then it seemed to get better again. Then she was putting no weight on it at all and the joint was odd. We booked a vet appointment and over about four days she started turning the leg inward and the paw was knuckling under-like in this picture: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm ... cleid=3539
It sounds to me like she might've had a dislocation, which can cause a bit of nerve damage. Nerve damage is entirely consistent with knuckling.
She has been at the vet specialist today (best vet group in Australiasia) and had all sorts of tests run. Her x-rays are pretty perfect and the vet said her arthritis isn't causing her much, if any pain. There is no visible sign of injury or disk problems-he thought there might be a disk problem up in her back to cause the nerve(s) to do this but the x-rays are all fine. He said it has to be a nerve problem. What's odd is that somethings are firing-sometimes she's walking on her paw okay, she can feel you touching her there (although her reflexes with her toes are about a second late), and she definitely has some feeling there, but no pain. The muscle has atrophied (wasted) away a bit in that leg and shoulder but that is to be expected I guess because she hasn't been putting her weight on that leg.
The vet said it might be radial nerve damage, or general damage to the brachial plexus. He really worried me when he said it could have something to do with nerve sheath tumours-although he has no evidence to suggest it is. What terrified me is he said these things could move to other nerves or be degenerative over the whole body. I was so worried I almost vommitted at that point. Does anyone know if that's true??TUMORS could grow on other nerves, but I still wonder if she had an injury of some sort, which is a FAR more typical cause. I'm not saying that she got hit by a car, probably the most common cause, but maybe she hung her leg in something, or back to a possible dislocation. If she hung up a paw or claw, she might've stretched the nerve while freeing herself.
At the moment we have been told to provide supportive care-splinting or wrapping, and just helping her out as much as we can. I have been told to massage her leg and give her some physical therapy which I am more then happy to do. He's giving us 10 or 20mg (I don't have my notes right now) of Prednisone to take twice a day (split into two doses) and wants us to try that for a week or more to see if it helps at all. She hasn't had an MRI scan but he doesn't believe an MRI will show anything-however an appointment is available in a couple of weeks and he says we should make a decision as to weither we want to have one or not. Why would the prednisone help if it is nerve-related?I would try pred if she were my kitty. It'll help if there's something inflammatory going on--arthritis, or a stretched or banged nerve, and using it short-term shouldn't turn her into a turnip.
I have no idea what to do or think? I'm so confused and scared. My cat is my absolute best friend. I'm 22 and have a chronic illness and she has been with me from day one-looking after me, giving me cuddles, making me laugh, supporting me.... she is everything to me. I'm willing to do anything and everything I can to help her. Does anyone have any suggestions or has anyone been through the same thing?? The paralysis in her leg doesn't worry me in itself-if she has to have a paralyzed leg for life then who cares?? What I worry about is more nerves being affected.
If anyone could help me out with my questions (in bold), I would be so grateful.
Thank you so much!!
Also, I would love to purchase this kitty litter box and rug: https://www.handicappedpets.com/mediawiki/?title=Litterbox_for_handicapped_pet but am unable to find either of them as I am in NZ and we don't have very good pet stores. Does anyone know a store online I could buy them at that would both take an NZ credit card and ship to NZ?? Also, I ordered a splint off handicappedpets.com awhile ago for her front leg-when I took it into the vet today he said it was a rear leg splint so I could not use it-why would I get a rear splint when I ordered a front one?? Are they just oddly shaped??
) which splint is which. Of course you could've gotten the wrong one, but it's worth a double check.Re: Help, Reassurance And Support NEEDED!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for your replies!! I feel a million times more able to cope now then I did yesterday. Yesterday was very stressful-my cat is the sweetest, gentlest thing but hates the vets. The car trip to the specialist clinic was a bit of a drive and she gets very car sick so she had vommiting and diarehha. At the vets she was sedated alot of the time for the tests and when she came home last night she had no idea where she was and was unable to move. So it was very scary-and along with the info we had been given I felt very, very helpless.
This morning she is doing much better-she's eating like a horse and most of the sedation seems to have worn off so she's getting around better. She is exhausted-she didn't sleep yesterday though so that's understandable.
Carol that is so incredibly sweet and generous with the litterbox-but I would feel awful not paying you anything!! Do you have a paypal account or something?? Even if I could just cover the cost of shipping I would feel better. Let me know.
I spent a few hours searching through and reading the boards last night-it looks like quite a few people have dealt with similar things which is encouraging. I am just terrified of the off chance it could be one of these nerve sheath tumour things. I think the not-knowing part is so hard!! I am feeling more positive though-she still has quite alot of feeling in that leg and is placing it correctly 25% of the time even if she's not holding the weight on it. Now we are both going to have to work hard to keep her using that leg and get the muscles going.
The vet specialists are going to call later today to give us the results of her blood tests that they needed 24 hours to do so I'll try and ask them about the progressive nerve thing they were talking about then. I'm very encouraged that you hadn't heard of anything like it-that's got to be a good thing.
I've probablly made the vets out to sound a bit dumb-but I don't think that at all. It's just very frustrating not having a proper diagnosis. The vet specialist we dealt with is a wonderful, lovely man who is an absolute expert-he just can't tell us for sure what's going on. My cat was under his care yesterday but one of his colleagues took a look at her for a second opinion and he thinks it's something to do with the brachial plexus (like brachial plexus avulsion) but apparently you usually see an injury before the paraylsis so her specialist doesn't believe it's that.
I think we're going to watch how she goes over the next couple of weeks before deciding on an MRI. The MRI is actually in a public (human) hospital so that will be interesting!! The cost is NZ$2000 which isn't cheap but we're willing to do anything to help. The vet specialist does not believe an MRI will actually show anything so we're best to wait anyway.
I'm happy to start her on the Prednisone-we just have to wait for a call from the vet specialists today confirming all her blood tests results before she can take them. She's never had steriods before so fingers crossed she feels good on them.
Critters-it's funny you should say that about a dislocation because that is the first thing I thought. However-it was gradual-like the joint was moving out ever so slightly for a few days and then it sort of came out completely. Wouldn't a dislocation be sudden?? I hope and pray the nerve damage was caused by something like that. I have been hoping she just injured it and the nerve damage came later but as I said-the whole thing was very gradual-not an injury all of a sudden. We also just assumed it was her arthritis in that joint so we may not have noticed any injury signs.
Lol, yep that splint is definitely the wrong one. I feel pretty stupid now, haha-in my defence we had only just sort of looked at it before taking it along to the vet to show them it yesterday. I've emailed handicappedpets.com with photos and my receipt so hopefully I can get a swap or refund.
Thanks again for all your help and kind words-I appreciate them so much you wouldn't believe it. I'll keep you updated on everything. Please keep posting if you have anything at all to say-I'm open to everything and your encouragment is so wonderful.
Love Sophie, Xoxoxoxo.
This morning she is doing much better-she's eating like a horse and most of the sedation seems to have worn off so she's getting around better. She is exhausted-she didn't sleep yesterday though so that's understandable.
Carol that is so incredibly sweet and generous with the litterbox-but I would feel awful not paying you anything!! Do you have a paypal account or something?? Even if I could just cover the cost of shipping I would feel better. Let me know.
I spent a few hours searching through and reading the boards last night-it looks like quite a few people have dealt with similar things which is encouraging. I am just terrified of the off chance it could be one of these nerve sheath tumour things. I think the not-knowing part is so hard!! I am feeling more positive though-she still has quite alot of feeling in that leg and is placing it correctly 25% of the time even if she's not holding the weight on it. Now we are both going to have to work hard to keep her using that leg and get the muscles going.
The vet specialists are going to call later today to give us the results of her blood tests that they needed 24 hours to do so I'll try and ask them about the progressive nerve thing they were talking about then. I'm very encouraged that you hadn't heard of anything like it-that's got to be a good thing.
I've probablly made the vets out to sound a bit dumb-but I don't think that at all. It's just very frustrating not having a proper diagnosis. The vet specialist we dealt with is a wonderful, lovely man who is an absolute expert-he just can't tell us for sure what's going on. My cat was under his care yesterday but one of his colleagues took a look at her for a second opinion and he thinks it's something to do with the brachial plexus (like brachial plexus avulsion) but apparently you usually see an injury before the paraylsis so her specialist doesn't believe it's that.
I think we're going to watch how she goes over the next couple of weeks before deciding on an MRI. The MRI is actually in a public (human) hospital so that will be interesting!! The cost is NZ$2000 which isn't cheap but we're willing to do anything to help. The vet specialist does not believe an MRI will actually show anything so we're best to wait anyway.
I'm happy to start her on the Prednisone-we just have to wait for a call from the vet specialists today confirming all her blood tests results before she can take them. She's never had steriods before so fingers crossed she feels good on them.
Critters-it's funny you should say that about a dislocation because that is the first thing I thought. However-it was gradual-like the joint was moving out ever so slightly for a few days and then it sort of came out completely. Wouldn't a dislocation be sudden?? I hope and pray the nerve damage was caused by something like that. I have been hoping she just injured it and the nerve damage came later but as I said-the whole thing was very gradual-not an injury all of a sudden. We also just assumed it was her arthritis in that joint so we may not have noticed any injury signs.
Lol, yep that splint is definitely the wrong one. I feel pretty stupid now, haha-in my defence we had only just sort of looked at it before taking it along to the vet to show them it yesterday. I've emailed handicappedpets.com with photos and my receipt so hopefully I can get a swap or refund.
Thanks again for all your help and kind words-I appreciate them so much you wouldn't believe it. I'll keep you updated on everything. Please keep posting if you have anything at all to say-I'm open to everything and your encouragment is so wonderful.
Love Sophie, Xoxoxoxo.
Re: Help, Reassurance And Support NEEDED!!
Soph_ie wrote:Critters-it's funny you should say that about a dislocation because that is the first thing I thought. However-it was gradual-like the joint was moving out ever so slightly for a few days and then it sort of came out completely. Wouldn't a dislocation be sudden?? I hope and pray the nerve damage was caused by something like that. I have been hoping she just injured it and the nerve damage came later but as I said-the whole thing was very gradual-not an injury all of a sudden. We also just assumed it was her arthritis in that joint so we may not have noticed any injury signs.
Lol, yep that splint is definitely the wrong one. I feel pretty stupid now, haha-in my defence we had only just sort of looked at it before taking it along to the vet to show them it yesterday. I've emailed handicappedpets.com with photos and my receipt so hopefully I can get a swap or refund.
Thanks again for all your help and kind words-I appreciate them so much you wouldn't believe it. I'll keep you updated on everything. Please keep posting if you have anything at all to say-I'm open to everything and your encouragment is so wonderful.
Love Sophie, Xoxoxoxo.
Well, at least you know about the splint now! If she's placing it right 25% of the time, I think that's fantastic!! Tristalyn had a brachial nerve injury from being hit by a car, and it was MONTHS before she did it right at all!!Dislocations are usually sudden, but maybe she had a series of partial dislocations, then something happened to pop it out altogether? Dislocations can also reduce themselves sometimes (been there, done that!
). It just seems too coincidental to me that her joint was wonky, then she got a damaged nerve.Re: Help, Reassurance And Support NEEDED!!
Well I have some great news. All her blood tests came back and they were all fine-perfect!! I was worried because she hasn't had blood tests for a few years-but they all look really good. So as you can imagine it was a huge relief to me!! She's 13-14 years old and the vet said all the functions were great and there is nothing abnormal. It's so wonderful to have a piece of good news to make you feel positive again aye??!!
She just had her first dose of Prednisone and she didn't seem to mind it (she will spit out pills-worming tablets, nutritional supplements ETC, so I''m getting quite skilled at hiding things in her food or special treats). Hopefully something will help out there. I gave her leg a good massage before and went through some range of motion type exercises. She was lying down (sleeping) so I gave her a good stretch and then she woke up and started trying to pull away which was great. Does anyone have any good exercise suggestions?? If so, I would love to hear them. I'm kind of making it up as I go along here.
Yeah, I am hoping and praying the nerve damage is from an injury. Is the actual nerve damage slow or fast to show though?? Because when she started knuckling-it happened over a few days.
Actually now that I think of it-the vet did find a sore spot in her shoulder-we didn't really think anything of it though. He gave it a few prods and pushes and she wasn't happy about that at all. It wasn't mentioned again and the x-rays there were all perfect-I wonder if she pulled something there?? Could there be something sore there that didn't show on an x-ray?? Funny the things you think of later on aye??
Thanks again for all your help and replies!! You guys are truely wonderful!!
Love Sophie, Xoxoxoxo.
She just had her first dose of Prednisone and she didn't seem to mind it (she will spit out pills-worming tablets, nutritional supplements ETC, so I''m getting quite skilled at hiding things in her food or special treats). Hopefully something will help out there. I gave her leg a good massage before and went through some range of motion type exercises. She was lying down (sleeping) so I gave her a good stretch and then she woke up and started trying to pull away which was great. Does anyone have any good exercise suggestions?? If so, I would love to hear them. I'm kind of making it up as I go along here.
Yeah, I am hoping and praying the nerve damage is from an injury. Is the actual nerve damage slow or fast to show though?? Because when she started knuckling-it happened over a few days.
Actually now that I think of it-the vet did find a sore spot in her shoulder-we didn't really think anything of it though. He gave it a few prods and pushes and she wasn't happy about that at all. It wasn't mentioned again and the x-rays there were all perfect-I wonder if she pulled something there?? Could there be something sore there that didn't show on an x-ray?? Funny the things you think of later on aye??
Thanks again for all your help and replies!! You guys are truely wonderful!!
Love Sophie, Xoxoxoxo.
Re: Help, Reassurance And Support NEEDED!!
Hi Soph_ie,
You litter box was mailed today, we will see how long it takes to arrive, they said 10 business days. I can really only answer your third question, the one about a sore spot that might not show up on the x-ray. Yes, it is possible to have a sore spot that doesn't show up on an x-ray. X-rays show bone, but they are not so good for showing lesions in the soft tissue. Tests such as CT, MRI and ultrasound can show more in the soft tissue. Why don't you ask them if they think additional tests are in order.
You litter box was mailed today, we will see how long it takes to arrive, they said 10 business days. I can really only answer your third question, the one about a sore spot that might not show up on the x-ray. Yes, it is possible to have a sore spot that doesn't show up on an x-ray. X-rays show bone, but they are not so good for showing lesions in the soft tissue. Tests such as CT, MRI and ultrasound can show more in the soft tissue. Why don't you ask them if they think additional tests are in order.
Re: Help, Reassurance And Support NEEDED!!
Thank you so very much Carol!! You're so kind. I can't wait for it to arrive-I'm so excited!! Haha, to anyone else that would sound crazy-being excited about a litterbox-but I am!!
The vet specialist wanted us to try the Prednisone for awhile before having any other tests run as he believes they wouldn't show anything anyway. The MRI isn't free for a couple of weeks and the specialist said he doesn't think it will show anything and is not worth it to put my cat under that stress. So we're giving the Prednisone good run and seeing what happens. So far, so good-well excellent actually!! Her leg and foot isn't knuckling!! She isn't putting any/much weight on it but she is placing it correctly in front of her when sitting and walking most of the time. I talked to the vet specialist a couple of days ago to give him an update and he was really surprised and pleased with the progress-he said he didn't expect progress like that so quickly. I'm also using a couple of homeopathic remedies on her, as well as her usual supplements for her arthritis so hopefully something there is helping as well. He wants us to keep going with the Prednisone at 10MG a day for another month or so and then check back in and see how she's going. He says there is probablly something inflammed there for the Prednisone to help so much. He said we might find the healing tapers and from here on in it will be a slower process then it's been-but I don't mind as long as she doesn't go backwards and start knuckling badly again. In your experiences could that happen with a nerve problem?? Have it do better and then get worse again?? I certainly hope not. I know we are so lucky to have had such great results so I am definitely counting my blessings.
Thank you so much for all your support and kind words-that really inspire and help me. I'll keep updating you.
Love Sophie, Xoxoxoxo.
The vet specialist wanted us to try the Prednisone for awhile before having any other tests run as he believes they wouldn't show anything anyway. The MRI isn't free for a couple of weeks and the specialist said he doesn't think it will show anything and is not worth it to put my cat under that stress. So we're giving the Prednisone good run and seeing what happens. So far, so good-well excellent actually!! Her leg and foot isn't knuckling!! She isn't putting any/much weight on it but she is placing it correctly in front of her when sitting and walking most of the time. I talked to the vet specialist a couple of days ago to give him an update and he was really surprised and pleased with the progress-he said he didn't expect progress like that so quickly. I'm also using a couple of homeopathic remedies on her, as well as her usual supplements for her arthritis so hopefully something there is helping as well. He wants us to keep going with the Prednisone at 10MG a day for another month or so and then check back in and see how she's going. He says there is probablly something inflammed there for the Prednisone to help so much. He said we might find the healing tapers and from here on in it will be a slower process then it's been-but I don't mind as long as she doesn't go backwards and start knuckling badly again. In your experiences could that happen with a nerve problem?? Have it do better and then get worse again?? I certainly hope not. I know we are so lucky to have had such great results so I am definitely counting my blessings.
Thank you so much for all your support and kind words-that really inspire and help me. I'll keep updating you.
Love Sophie, Xoxoxoxo.
Re: Help, Reassurance And Support NEEDED!!
Typically with that kind of nerve injury it doesn't backslide too much. She might knuckle more, say, when she's tired, but it isn't typical to slide very far.
Re: Help, Reassurance And Support NEEDED!!
Just thought I'd update you all.
Carol-We recieved the litterbox last night!! It actually arrived in NZ on the 11th of June but because of a mix-up at the post office they held on to it untill now. It was so exciting getting a package in the mail. My cat pretended she wasn't interested in it and didn't care about it but I caught her giving it a sniff when I left the room. Since her leg has been paralyzed she has been having trouble in her litterbox-she can get in there but she has been missing and her "business" has been going on the floor so we were really excited to see how large and wide this one was. We stuck it in her normal spot and waited and waited and finally went to sleep.... and at 3 or 4AM in the morning, woke up to hear her going-and it landing in the box!! She gets really embarrassed when she misses so you should have seen her walking out of there-she was practically strutting!! It was both cute and hilarious. She's so proud of herself and we're so proud of her too!! Because it's so big she can scratch around which she hasn't been able to do either. I'm going to try and get a picture of her in it, she usually goes early in the morning so I'll have to have the camera ready!! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!! Thank you so so much for your kindness-not only have you helped my cat you have helped me and renewed my faith in human kindness!! You just wouldn't believe how much this means to me and my family. I hope you don't mind but I'm sending a little something for you and your furbabies in the mail-nothing major, just a little present of thanks from my cat and me!!
Anyway, to the general update. Her leg/foot is not knuckling and the big news: She is actually putting some weight on it!! Not a huge amount-but she is!! That means the muscle will hopefully develop faster then if she wasn't putting any weight on it. In the last week and a half-ish she has also started jumping up on my parent's bed!! That is a huge accomplishment as she hasn't done that for awhile. We're not letting her jump off it at the moment because it's quite high but jumping on it is wonderful news. She's also going up the stairs to my bedroom all by herself quite quickly. She thinks she is so clever and we agree!! I've noticed small other improvements-like she will tuck that leg in when curled up alot of the time now like she used to, and she can sort of stretch that leg like she stretches the other one. Don't get me wrong, she still has a way to go-it's not like she can walk around perfectly or anything but she has made big improvements and I am counting my blessings!! She is just so much happier which makes me so happy!! She is a tough but very gentle torty and she has been so frustrated so to see her so much happier just makes me want to cry with joy.
I have a couple more questions. The first is this: She has been on the Prednisone (10mg a day) for nearly a month now. I haven't noticed any side effects and it seems to be really helping her. She has a couple of weeks of the medication to go and then the vet said we can choose weither we want to continue with it for another month or not. I automatically think we should continue with it to give her a great chance of getting that muscle back but I'm not sure if it's good to be on it for very long. What are your thoughts?? I'm also not sure what to expect when she does go off the Prednisone-will the leg/foot stay the same as it is now or what??
She is putting some weight on her leg/foot and her gait looks okay-but she is not walking high up on her foot (like on her toes). It's really hard to explain-while the left foot is placing correctly she isn't up on her toes like she is with her right foot. I'm not sure if this is because of the muscle atrophy and I want to know: Should we splint her leg/foot so she knows how to carry it the correct way, or do we leave it and assume she knows best and she will walk better when she is able to?? It doesn't look uncomfortable or awful-I just wonder if it is something we should be trying to correct??
Anyway I better be off to bed. I have a purring cat who is getting a bit cross that I haven't turned the lights off. Lol.
Thanks so much for everything guys, I'll keep you updated.
I hope this post is readable-I have a bit of a headache and am probablly writing all over the place.
With Much Love,
Sophie, Xoxoxoxo.
Carol-We recieved the litterbox last night!! It actually arrived in NZ on the 11th of June but because of a mix-up at the post office they held on to it untill now. It was so exciting getting a package in the mail. My cat pretended she wasn't interested in it and didn't care about it but I caught her giving it a sniff when I left the room. Since her leg has been paralyzed she has been having trouble in her litterbox-she can get in there but she has been missing and her "business" has been going on the floor so we were really excited to see how large and wide this one was. We stuck it in her normal spot and waited and waited and finally went to sleep.... and at 3 or 4AM in the morning, woke up to hear her going-and it landing in the box!! She gets really embarrassed when she misses so you should have seen her walking out of there-she was practically strutting!! It was both cute and hilarious. She's so proud of herself and we're so proud of her too!! Because it's so big she can scratch around which she hasn't been able to do either. I'm going to try and get a picture of her in it, she usually goes early in the morning so I'll have to have the camera ready!! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!! Thank you so so much for your kindness-not only have you helped my cat you have helped me and renewed my faith in human kindness!! You just wouldn't believe how much this means to me and my family. I hope you don't mind but I'm sending a little something for you and your furbabies in the mail-nothing major, just a little present of thanks from my cat and me!!
Anyway, to the general update. Her leg/foot is not knuckling and the big news: She is actually putting some weight on it!! Not a huge amount-but she is!! That means the muscle will hopefully develop faster then if she wasn't putting any weight on it. In the last week and a half-ish she has also started jumping up on my parent's bed!! That is a huge accomplishment as she hasn't done that for awhile. We're not letting her jump off it at the moment because it's quite high but jumping on it is wonderful news. She's also going up the stairs to my bedroom all by herself quite quickly. She thinks she is so clever and we agree!! I've noticed small other improvements-like she will tuck that leg in when curled up alot of the time now like she used to, and she can sort of stretch that leg like she stretches the other one. Don't get me wrong, she still has a way to go-it's not like she can walk around perfectly or anything but she has made big improvements and I am counting my blessings!! She is just so much happier which makes me so happy!! She is a tough but very gentle torty and she has been so frustrated so to see her so much happier just makes me want to cry with joy.
I have a couple more questions. The first is this: She has been on the Prednisone (10mg a day) for nearly a month now. I haven't noticed any side effects and it seems to be really helping her. She has a couple of weeks of the medication to go and then the vet said we can choose weither we want to continue with it for another month or not. I automatically think we should continue with it to give her a great chance of getting that muscle back but I'm not sure if it's good to be on it for very long. What are your thoughts?? I'm also not sure what to expect when she does go off the Prednisone-will the leg/foot stay the same as it is now or what??
She is putting some weight on her leg/foot and her gait looks okay-but she is not walking high up on her foot (like on her toes). It's really hard to explain-while the left foot is placing correctly she isn't up on her toes like she is with her right foot. I'm not sure if this is because of the muscle atrophy and I want to know: Should we splint her leg/foot so she knows how to carry it the correct way, or do we leave it and assume she knows best and she will walk better when she is able to?? It doesn't look uncomfortable or awful-I just wonder if it is something we should be trying to correct??
Anyway I better be off to bed. I have a purring cat who is getting a bit cross that I haven't turned the lights off. Lol.
Thanks so much for everything guys, I'll keep you updated.
I hope this post is readable-I have a bit of a headache and am probablly writing all over the place.
With Much Love,
Sophie, Xoxoxoxo.
Re: Help, Reassurance And Support NEEDED!!
Hi Sophie!
Welcome to our family...a family who gets uber excited, relieved and happy when our furbabies, poop, pee, eat and drink like they used to or even close. When my day starts with those things, I can go to work without worrying, so...,.yes, we understand excitement about the "little things". So happy to hear that things are going better for the both of you.
I cannot answer much about her leg issue, but on the subject of Prednisone, I just want to alert you to the fact that how ever long you and the vet decide to keep her on it, make sure that it is gradually stepped down in dosage rather than just stopping cold because her body is depending on it. I am sure you vet is aware of this, but if not, check back here and we will help with more information.
Stick around and keep us posted on how she is doing...we are happy to have you both!
Welcome to our family...a family who gets uber excited, relieved and happy when our furbabies, poop, pee, eat and drink like they used to or even close. When my day starts with those things, I can go to work without worrying, so...,.yes, we understand excitement about the "little things". So happy to hear that things are going better for the both of you.
I cannot answer much about her leg issue, but on the subject of Prednisone, I just want to alert you to the fact that how ever long you and the vet decide to keep her on it, make sure that it is gradually stepped down in dosage rather than just stopping cold because her body is depending on it. I am sure you vet is aware of this, but if not, check back here and we will help with more information.
Stick around and keep us posted on how she is doing...we are happy to have you both!
Christine... and Bailey, playing at the Bridge
?/1999 - 10/25/08
Re: Help, Reassurance And Support NEEDED!!
Awwww, you shouldn't have! Yesterday a fat package come from New Zealand (!) full of extra fancy gourmet cat treats, the likes of which the kitties here have never tasted.Soph_ie wrote:Carol-We recieved the litterbox last night!!
They're going to be SOOOOO spoiled! Thank you so much, you didn't need to do that (the cats might disagree) and I am glad your kitty likes the box. Please let me know if you ever need another one.
From all the kitties here
Re: Help, Reassurance And Support NEEDED!!
Hey everyone!!
So sorry I haven't posted in so long-I haven't been very well (from my chronic illness) so I've been doing alot of lying on the couch and resting and not much else.
An update for you.... My baby is doing well-she's on 5mg of Prednisone a day now which is half the dose that she was on originally. We considered taking her off it completely but it is really helping her and she uses her leg alot more on that dose of Prednisone so we've decided to keep her on it for a couple/few more months. She hasn't had any problems with it-she's still urinating and defectating only once a day, her fur is shiny and smooth and she is eating normally so it all looks good. The only problem we have with the Prednisone is trying to get it into her-she is very, very clever and we can mash it into all sorts of different foods and she still finds out it's there, lol.
As I mentioned early, she is still "flatter" on that foot-and if anyone can enlighten me on if that gets better or what that would be great. When she walks she seems to walk high on her toes (pretty much normally) but when sitting in one spot her wrist lowers to the ground more. I'm not sure if that makes sense-it's like her wrist is nearly on the ground when sitting, but not when walking. I assume it will get better as the muscle in her leg develops more-would that be correct??
Other then that though-she's doing well. Obviously she still has a long way to go before the muscle is back to normal (does anyone know how long it usually takes for a muscle to re-develop??), but she is walking pretty well and jumping up on my bed and my parents bed multiple times a day so she's feeling way more confident about her ability to use the leg. Sometimes I notice her sort of getting a jolt and then shaking or licking that leg/foot all of a sudden-I assume that's the nerve regenerating?? I hope and pray that it is.
Carol-I'm so pleased you got my little package!! I hope your cats like the treats. They're the flashest treats you can buy in NZ-but I have noticed some cats absolutely love them and others aren't huge fans. I hope your cats are in the first camp. My cat still loves her litterbox-it has made things much easier for her. She can really scratch around in there and throw the litter around whereas she couldn't in her regular box. It is much easier for her to get into as well-and she hasn't been "missing" and going toilet outside the box so it's wonderful.
Thank you all so much for your love and support-I truely don't know what I would do without you all. I'll keep you updated again-and if anyone can answer my questions that would be fabulous!!
Love Sophie, Xoxoxoxo.
So sorry I haven't posted in so long-I haven't been very well (from my chronic illness) so I've been doing alot of lying on the couch and resting and not much else.
An update for you.... My baby is doing well-she's on 5mg of Prednisone a day now which is half the dose that she was on originally. We considered taking her off it completely but it is really helping her and she uses her leg alot more on that dose of Prednisone so we've decided to keep her on it for a couple/few more months. She hasn't had any problems with it-she's still urinating and defectating only once a day, her fur is shiny and smooth and she is eating normally so it all looks good. The only problem we have with the Prednisone is trying to get it into her-she is very, very clever and we can mash it into all sorts of different foods and she still finds out it's there, lol.
As I mentioned early, she is still "flatter" on that foot-and if anyone can enlighten me on if that gets better or what that would be great. When she walks she seems to walk high on her toes (pretty much normally) but when sitting in one spot her wrist lowers to the ground more. I'm not sure if that makes sense-it's like her wrist is nearly on the ground when sitting, but not when walking. I assume it will get better as the muscle in her leg develops more-would that be correct??
Other then that though-she's doing well. Obviously she still has a long way to go before the muscle is back to normal (does anyone know how long it usually takes for a muscle to re-develop??), but she is walking pretty well and jumping up on my bed and my parents bed multiple times a day so she's feeling way more confident about her ability to use the leg. Sometimes I notice her sort of getting a jolt and then shaking or licking that leg/foot all of a sudden-I assume that's the nerve regenerating?? I hope and pray that it is.
Carol-I'm so pleased you got my little package!! I hope your cats like the treats. They're the flashest treats you can buy in NZ-but I have noticed some cats absolutely love them and others aren't huge fans. I hope your cats are in the first camp.
My cat still loves her litterbox-it has made things much easier for her. She can really scratch around in there and throw the litter around whereas she couldn't in her regular box. It is much easier for her to get into as well-and she hasn't been "missing" and going toilet outside the box so it's wonderful.Thank you all so much for your love and support-I truely don't know what I would do without you all. I'll keep you updated again-and if anyone can answer my questions that would be fabulous!!
Love Sophie, Xoxoxoxo.
Re: Help, Reassurance And Support NEEDED!!
I'm in the **same** boat. My dog had nerve sheath tumor removed in December 2007 and in the last 6-8 weeks has just crashed. Has lost almost all use of his back leg - same leg where the tumor was. I've had 3 MRIs, they can see a "thickening" of the sciatic nerve near his spinal cord and "think" it's another nerve sheath, metasasis from the original tumor, but can't tell me for sure.
Started with minor limp, then he began to draw the leg up, then the foot drop, now he can barely walk. The foot is bent in a claw position and when he walks, it collapses so he ends up on the knuckle. Has also lost all muscle tone in his leg. When he stands, the leg just sort of hangs there at any angle. Saw the neurologist on Friday - she's recommending surgery to biopsy. See the oncologist again this Friday. If tumor, it's probably inoperable. Amputation may help but only to force him to walk on three legs. It will certainly not get rid of the cancer.
I'm at the end of my rope. Over $5000 into this and no one can tell me what it is, and he is getting worse by the day. I'm going to ask about prednisone.
Feel free to send me private message if you want to share stories.
anne
Started with minor limp, then he began to draw the leg up, then the foot drop, now he can barely walk. The foot is bent in a claw position and when he walks, it collapses so he ends up on the knuckle. Has also lost all muscle tone in his leg. When he stands, the leg just sort of hangs there at any angle. Saw the neurologist on Friday - she's recommending surgery to biopsy. See the oncologist again this Friday. If tumor, it's probably inoperable. Amputation may help but only to force him to walk on three legs. It will certainly not get rid of the cancer.
I'm at the end of my rope. Over $5000 into this and no one can tell me what it is, and he is getting worse by the day. I'm going to ask about prednisone.
Feel free to send me private message if you want to share stories.
anne