Paralysed kitten is walking again

[Mimi the cat]

Hi carol, i emailed you two pictures of mimi standing tall on her four legs, please upload them here for the others to see how she is progressing...soon i will try to make video of her walking and learn how to upload it so it will be full case study

[CarolC]

Look!!!

(I just noticed something in the second photo Does she have a lump on her back, or is it just the way she is standing?)

[Mimi the cat]

Hi Carol thanks for uploading the photos. What you noticed is kind of correct, what she has isn't a lump as much as it is a dip. The spine is fine from the shoulders up to the end of the lump, and then there is a dip that goes down at the pelvis area. That dip used to be much deeper but we are noticing a reduction in it as she is progressing and standing. Perhaps due to healing of spinal cord, but that is only an assumption as i am not able to take her for an x ray.

[CarolC]

OK, yes, dip is a good word for it. The reason I noticed it is because...I have seen something like this once before. Where I worked, we had an outdoor cat named Dewey. He was a very friendly short-haired tabby cat, muscular, very well adapted to living outdoors. One day I saw he suddenly had a big misalignment of his back, very noticeable with his short hair. He was walking, and he looked somewhat uncomfortable, but not as much as you would expect considering how out of line his back was. I wondered if I should take him to the vet, but he was a feral cat and he was getting around OK, so I left him alone. Gradually during the next few weeks, his back got more and more into better alignment, until it looked more normal. As far as I know, he recovered completely. I do not know what happened to cause his injury. I do not know if someone hurt him, or maybe he fell out of a tree or off the balcony of an apartment. I decided cats are so slinky, they must be able to do their own "kitty chiropractic" and pull their own back into alignment with their own muscles? I don't know if that's true, but it seemed to be what happened. That's why I remembered Dewey when I saw Mimi today.

[Mimi the cat]

OK, yes, dip is a good word for it. The reason I noticed it is because...I have seen something like this once before. Where I worked, we had an outdoor cat named Dewey. He was a very friendly short-haired tabby cat, muscular, very well adapted to living outdoors. One day I saw he suddenly had a big misalignment of his back, very noticeable with his short hair. He was walking, and he looked somewhat uncomfortable, but not as much as you would expect considering how out of line his back was. I wondered if I should take him to the vet, but he was a feral cat and he was getting around OK, so I left him alone. Gradually during the next few weeks, his back got more and more into better alignment, until it looked more normal. As far as I know, he recovered completely. I do not know what happened to cause his injury. I do not know if someone hurt him, or maybe he fell out of a tree or off the balcony of an apartment. I decided cats are so slinky, they must be able to do their own "kitty chiropractic" and pull their own back into alignment with their own muscles? I don't know if that's true, but it seemed to be what happened. That's why I remembered Dewey when I saw Mimi today.

This is good news...we will keep our fingers crossed that her back will straighten by itself

[critters]

Wow! She looks great! I was expecting her to be walking low, or even down on her hocks (flat-footed).

[Mimi the cat]

Wow! She looks great! I was expecting her to be walking low, or even down on her hocks (flat-footed).

When she first started to walk she was walking on her hocks but now she is walking the right way and today she started running i swear she run i saw her with my own eyes

[CarolC]

Wow! That's amazing! She's running already? She is doing so well! That is wonderful!

[Mimi the cat]

Wow! That's amazing! She's running already? She is doing so well! That is wonderful!

Yes she is progressing really fast, everyday there is better change but the only thing is she has to look straight forward when she is walking, if she turns her head right or left to look at something, she loose balance and fall, but she stands up again and keep walking, she doesnt give up at all

[jmarti41]

That's so awesome!! Thank you for sharing your story. So glad to hear of Mimi's recovery! It gives hope to us all.

[Mimi the cat]

That's so awesome!! Thank you for sharing your story. So glad to hear of Mimi's recovery! It gives hope to us all.

Please never loose hope at all...this is the lesson i learnt from Mimi to never loose hope in life in any matter not only in a case of paralysed pet...and dont forget to give your pet alot of love and petting because this will help them recover fast, now im thinking of keeping Mimi with me permenantly although i have another cat indoor and its a bit difficult to have two cats but i dont think i can let her go after what we shared together...she is really so preciouse

[Mimi the cat]

That's so awesome!! Thank you for sharing your story. So glad to hear of Mimi's recovery! It gives hope to us all.

I have read your post about your dog and im so sorry for that, but since his x rays shows no fracture or injury for his spine then i think he has good chance of recovery, maybe there is some swelling on his nerves which will take time to heal but it will heal even if he is ten years old...just be patient and try to see if there is any feeling in his legs and see how he respond and if there is even slight change everyday then its good sign...but i would suggest giving your dog vitamine B12 supplement..please ask your vet about it, its very important for nerves healing...and i wish he gets well soon

[jmarti41]

That's so awesome!! Thank you for sharing your story. So glad to hear of Mimi's recovery! It gives hope to us all.

I have read your post about your dog and im so sorry for that, but since his x rays shows no fracture or injury for his spine then i think he has good chance of recovery, maybe there is some swelling on his nerves which will take time to heal but it will heal even if he is ten years old...just be patient and try to see if there is any feeling in his legs and see how he respond and if there is even slight change everyday then its good sign...but i would suggest giving your dog vitamine B12 supplement..please ask your vet about it, its very important for nerves healing...and i wish he gets well soon

I will definitely check with them about the vitamins. It's hard to see him this way but I'm going to continue to be patient with him because I know he's a strong pup! Thank you for all your kind words and encouragement, I appreciate it!

I hope you do end up keeping Mimi. I'm sure the kitties will learn to get along and love each other. She's a little miracle and thanks to your help, she's able to walk again!

[FYI]

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=18185

[HandicappedPets.net]

I wanted to let you know that we have posted the story of Mimi the cat from Syria on our blog along with photos, and we have shared it on our social networks as well.

http://www.doggiewheelchair.com/2013/12 ... first.html