FCE Cat with full rear leg paralysis - am I doing enough?

[criv227]

Hi everyone,

About 9 months ago, my 8 year old kitty, Monk, had a sudden FCE. This site and these forums have been AMAZING, and my thanks to you all in the panic that began this whole thing, and the treatment, and how to do everything you need to learn how to do. Thanks!!

Long story short: one morning, he suddenly collapsed and couldn't move his back legs. I rushed him to the vet on a makeshift stretcher. There was nothing on the x-ray, but absolutely no pain reaction when the vet pinched his toes. Steroids were given for a while, plus I worked his legs daily, all to try to help with any rehabilitation. After a few months with no improvement in rear leg movement, the vet said he probably would never gain use of his back legs at all.

But, not a sad story! Monk has seemed to adapt very well to the paralysis, and seems like a perfectly happy cat. I live in a 1000 square foot, carpeted apartment, and he pulls himself along happily and hangs out with everyone. He's an indoor cat only, and was never that active before - eating, sleeping in the sun, etc. - so lifestyle hasn't changed much at all. I express his bladder (and he has no leaks throughout the day), and I pick up his daily poop wherever it ends up.

So my question to you all is: am I doing enough? For example, he does just shuffle around the house and seems fine and happy, but people have questioned whether he should get a cart. My thoughts on those were they seem to only be successful for a few cat owners in these forums, and that's mostly for outdoor, highly active cats.

Or how about a Protective Drag Bag, or those Leggings for Love (crocheted leg covers)? I feel like those would be more annoying to my kitty than anything else, and I do check for any sores or other issues and have not seen any so far. (Or, am I being mean in waiting for the sore first, rather than protecting against it from the onset?)

Should he be shaved on his bottom half, since sometimes urine gets on him and he needs fairly frequent washing of his fur?

Should I think about acupuncture or other holistic treatments, even though he feels nothing from the hips down? (I don't want to seem cheap in paying for things like that, but I would rather give extra money to my local humane society than spend on something expensive that likely won't do much, if you know what I mean...)

Thanks in advance for any of your thoughts. I know cat FCE is rare, but this is definitely the place us owners would come

[critters]

Hi everyone,

About 9 months ago, my 8 year old kitty, Monk, had a sudden FCE. This site and these forums have been AMAZING, and my thanks to you all in the panic that began this whole thing, and the treatment, and how to do everything you need to learn how to do. Thanks!!

Long story short: one morning, he suddenly collapsed and couldn't move his back legs. I rushed him to the vet on a makeshift stretcher. There was nothing on the x-ray, but absolutely no pain reaction when the vet pinched his toes. Steroids were given for a while, plus I worked his legs daily, all to try to help with any rehabilitation. After a few months with no improvement in rear leg movement, the vet said he probably would never gain use of his back legs at all.

But, not a sad story! Monk has seemed to adapt very well to the paralysis, and seems like a perfectly happy cat. I live in a 1000 square foot, carpeted apartment, and he pulls himself along happily and hangs out with everyone. He's an indoor cat only, and was never that active before - eating, sleeping in the sun, etc. - so lifestyle hasn't changed much at all. I express his bladder (and he has no leaks throughout the day), and I pick up his daily poop wherever it ends up.

So my question to you all is: am I doing enough? For example, he does just shuffle around the house and seems fine and happy, but people have questioned whether he should get a cart. My thoughts on those were they seem to only be successful for a few cat owners in these forums, and that's mostly for outdoor, highly active cats. Well, they ARE independent critters, and they typically like to do things their own way. I can't say that our experience with carts has been terrific.

Or how about a Protective Drag Bag, or those Leggings for Love (crocheted leg covers)? I feel like those would be more annoying to my kitty than anything else, and I do check for any sores or other issues and have not seen any so far. (Or, am I being mean in waiting for the sore first, rather than protecting against it from the onset?)These are a possibility. We've never used them, but we've used splints (both custom and regular) and shoes (custom). Koi had contractures in his foot, and the skin on his foot would break down without them. He adapted to them fine, but they were absolutely necessary.

Should he be shaved on his bottom half, since sometimes urine gets on him and he needs fairly frequent washing of his fur?That helps a lot.

Should I think about acupuncture or other holistic treatments, even though he feels nothing from the hips down? (I don't want to seem cheap in paying for things like that, but I would rather give extra money to my local humane society than spend on something expensive that likely won't do much, if you know what I mean...)We've never done any of that stuff.

Thanks in advance for any of your thoughts. I know cat FCE is rare, but this is definitely the place us owners would come

Your boy is lucky to have you!

[CarolC]

Personally I would not get a drag bag unless he is getting sores. It seems like most people here who have cats who drag do not use protection for them, unless possibly a diaper on the hips to protect the skin there and make it easier to drag. Have you seen the Pookie video which shows climbing trees and ramps for disabled kitties? Has the vet rechecked him for deep pain sensation in his legs? Even though it was absent following the FCE, it is possible it might have returned later.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdIBtw8_7No

[CaliCatsMom]

How is Monk doing? Read my story at viewtopic.php?f=5&t=17974&p=94482&hilit ... ime#p94482

I have spent a fortune at the vet and feel guilty about what the money could have done for a pet shelter. I know healthy animals are being put down for want of a home, but my Cali-cat has been a loving pet for 10 years and I could not let her go. The first 3 months were rough, the next three month a little better and these last three months have gotten easier. I treasure every good moment with my girl. She has been recovering and I am optimistic about her full recovery.

[criv227]

Thank you all for your help and advice, and kind words! Monk's still doing well, shuffling around, sitting like a person, lounging in the sun in crazy contorted positions.

The time I wrote this post, I was feeling really down. I had actually just returned from picking Monk up from the vet's, where he'd been boarded for 10 days over Christmas (unavoidable, unfortunately). Normally a wonderful place, for some reason the vet assistant who brought Monk out was being pretty critical. Said I should get a wheelchair, that he was being difficult when they expressed his bladder, that his claws were too long (which I did under the vet's advice!), that shaving his lower half would cause chaffing, etc. It just brought me down, but luckily all of the support and advice on this forum helped. I think it was just a one time thing, and with my vet not being there they were likely stressed - we're all allowed bad days.

Critters:
Thanks for your advice - I heard the same about carts, and Monk really does shuffle around just fine. He gets caught on cords and furniture sometimes as it is, so I can't imagine his difficulty with a cart

CarolC:
Thanks for the thoughts on the drag bag. He's doing just fine without sores - he doesn't favor one side, so I think that helps. He might be getting a diaper once we go to our new home in a few months though, just to keep the little accidents to a minimum over the new wood floors I'm having installed.
I've tried setting up some ramps, though I will say Monk shows no interest in going up and down. (I love him to death, but I wouldn't say he's the smartest cat around, which might have something to do with it...) Content at ground level, I suppose!
At his last vet's visit around November, he tested for the deep pain sensation, and nada. We'll definitely keep checking though, I know you never know if recovery will happen.

CaliCatsMom:
I read your story, thanks for sharing. I know, it's so hard to say that there's a limit on what you should spend on your pet when there is an injury or other sudden issue. I don't think any of us could know what we'd do given a sudden injury and the option of expensive surgery. Don't second guess yourself to death - you're between a rock and a hard place when an injury happens, and how do you make the decision at the moment?

I was lucky in that regards for the FCE - there was no surgery, so really it hasn't been too costly for me. But my vet gave me some great words of wisdom about his profession: it's not about extending an animal's life, it's about enhancing it. If your Cali is doing well and is happy, well then you should feel good about it.

What I've learned about cat paralysis, at least for my kitty, is that it doesn't seem to affect quality of life at all. Monk still doesn't like his bladder expressing sessions a year later, but as I tell him during, it's gotta be done! But for him, I don't think he'll ever recover - though no pain and just fine moving himself around, I'm absolutely OK with it.

By the way, great he's able to use the litter box - I'm sure that makes a huge difference.

[CaliCatsMom]

Hi,

One low budget suggestion is for you to learn to do acupressure or your cat. There are u-tubes on line an one particularly good book I found Acu-Cat: A Guide to Feline Acupressure, get it cheap at Amazon.com.

Also, my girl got significant help from a chiropractor. She had dislocated her back, in terrible pain and the vet could not help. I waited a month to take her because my vet was negative. But he got her back in line and significantly diminished her pain. Too late, the nerve damage was done, but the she was in so much pain I was considering putting her down. It is somewhat risky, but cats have more simple spines than people or even dogs.