Neurological Disorders Resources. Treatment and care for pets having pain or trouble walking or standing due to spinal injuries or neurological disorders like IVDD, FCE and DM.
Hello! I have an 8.5 year old cat named Garfield. His front leg was injured and amputated as a kitten and he got along great without it for most of his life. He gradually started limping more over the past few years due to being overweight (almost 19lbs. He is now down to 15.5lb.) In January, he slipped out of my arms and hurt his rear leg. He could still walk but was limping worse. I took him to the vet and had xrays done. They revealed bone spurs in his hips and swelling in his knee joint. He was put on metacam and did not improve much. A month later I took him back and the vet decided to splint his hurt knee. He could not stand or walk at all during 6 weeks in the splint. At that time he could still push himself into the litterbox and use it.
After his splint was removed, his leg was atrophied. He still cannot stand up on his own and it has been 3 weeks since the splint was removed. He lost the ability or desire to get to his litter box and lost bladder and bowel control. I took him to a different vet for a second opinion at the advice of a friend who is a vet tech. She felt it was neurological since he appeared to have lost function in both rear legs. The new vet agreed that it is neurological but we cannot afford 3k for an MRI for an exact diagnosis. He prescribed prednisone and recommended accupuncture.
Has anyone had experience with having a pet lose function of the rear legs and bowels go on to make a full recovery? Did prednisone fix the problem? Has anyone had succes with acupuncture? I am stretching him multiple times per day and forcing him to walk with help. I considered a cart... My old vet said he thought it was a great idea but the new vet said it would not be good for him since he is missing a front leg. Thoughts??
Please excuse typos etc. posted from my cell phone/having a hard time trying to edit!
I love this cat more than anything. I want to do whatever I can for him but I also don't wan him to suffer.
I have read about regaining nerve function after an injury that caused spinal swelling. you said he slipped and fell and from your timeline that seems to have started things, if I understand correctly.
the spurring on teh x-rays is arthritis.
I have a cat with knee and hip arthritis who one day, out of the blue, coudl not get up. we tried metacam with no improvement. He didn't act painful, I coudl move his legs (his kneecap would pop in and out of place though). We started him on Adequan injections and tadah, he was walking again. he never lost bladder/bowel function. I am wondering if your boy had an injury to his lower spine, it doesn't take a lot of swelling to put pressure on nerves, you often won't even see the swelling like you would in, say, a sprained ankle. Prednisone is great stuff and can be given along with the Adequan I mentioned (you cannot give it an Metacam together). Prednisone will help the swelling subside. it can take months for a spinal injury to calm down enough for things to start coming back.
A couple questions
can he move his legs on his own at all?
does he have feeling in his toes? if you pinch them does he react?
can he move his tail?
these things all indicate if there is any nerve function at all. The cats I have cared for who lost complete nerve function in their tails had to have the tails removed because they literally started falling apart. nasty gross business. I think you would have mentioned it if somethign liek that had happened.
I'm wondering if some kind of skateboard arrangment might work for him where he coudl pull himself along? If you are creative, you coudl get various children's toys and try to assemble something for him to get an idea of what works. My little guy Butterbean (twisted hind legs) did well with a small plant dolly for awhile, but later he did better without it. Somethign liek that might work for your guy. Another cat I had a long time ago I got a little toy wagon for, put a foam block in it to support her, and secured her to it with vetwrap. she had 2 front legs and 1 hind leg and would pull herself along. eventualy she didn't need it anymore. some cats will adapt to using devices and some won't, but I think it's worth trying something on your own and seeing.
just some ideas to hopefully get you going, please let us know what you try and the results, we'll keep brainstorming.
Thank you so much for the reply! He does have the ability to move his legs and tail. He can spread his toes if I scratch lightly on his feet. He will try to walk when I support his body a good amount. Currently he will not urinate unless I help him. I dont exactly have to express his bladder but I discovered by accident that he can pee if I rub his back near his legs. He can defecate on his own, but he seems to be in pain when he has to urinate or defecate. (Hard stomach/tail lifted and puffed/meows at me.)
He has been on prednisone about a week and a half. The vet suggested that if he doesn't have significant improvement in 4 weeks that recovery is unlikely. I wonder how true this is. I am hopeful that he can recover. However, if he does not regain use of his rear legs I am very concerned about his quality of life. Because he only has one front leg, he uses it a lot. It is overly muscular and he pulls his whole body across the room with no help from his rear legs. I just don't know what that strain is doing to his front leg. I want him to be with me forever but I do not want it to be at his expense if he is suffering.
Please excuse any typos. This site is very hard to use on my cell phone and I can't see what I am typing.
ok, its a very good sign that he can use his legs and tail.
i would say in four weeks you may see some improvement, but he certainly isn't going to be up and about walking again normally.
the pain urinating/defecating is pretty common with a lower spine injury. i would be concerned about his stool becoming to hard (when it is hard to poop, they hold it, it gets harder, then its harder to poop) even if he isn't dehydrated, extra fluid is very helpful. Does he eat canned food? That is an easy way to get extra fluid in. You could also use a small amount of miralax (i have two cats with deformed hind ends and two others with megacolon, poo issues are very well understood here!) and put just a little on his food. it is tasteless and a powder. it will soften thigns to make them easier to pass. That hard belly could well be a lot of hard poo.
Something to help him stand, and help him build some weight bearing strength, is a sling. You can take a towel and put it under him just in front of his hind legs, holding the ends of the towel in either hand, and help slowly lift him up. You may have to get a little creative. If you have a "sacrificial towel" you coudl make two leg holes for his hind legs. slide his legs in, and then the towel won't slip so much. you want to support a lot of his weight at first, get him used to the idea of standing again.
and i would definitely ask your vet about Adequan, it is a shot they give at the clinic, Here it is about $20 a dose, and I believe at first it is a weekly dose for a month. That spurring you saw makes it hard to move and Adequan is like a joint lubricant. I was amazed at the different in made in Enki (cat I mentioned who one day just said he coudln't walk).
You are looking at months of recovery, and he may never walk the same again. He will probably need to be on some kind of pain/anti-inflammatories for the entire time. It sounds like he is a cooperative guy, and that makes all this easier. Believe me, I understand wanting him to be with you forever.
If your vet starts discouraging you, you are going ot have to get fiesty. Many vets encourage people to put down animals who need a lot of care, but my feeling is you know your cat, you know what you are willing to do for your cat. A good vet will give you information and work with you.
Google lower spine injuries and rehab. Read read read read read.
Obviously not everything will apply ot your boy, but you can get an idea of what recovery is like, what different things to watch for, and ideas about what to do. I certainly don't know everything. If you are on Facebook look up Blackie the WheelChair Cat. He has two front legs but he loves his wheelchair. It will give you some idea of a cat in a chair, at least.
My two hind leg twisty kitties have very over developed front legs, i know what you mean about his one leg. Making it easier to pull himself along will help. play with the plant dolly idea, the "drag bag" might also work - it is slick and goes under him making it easier to slide along.
be creative, tryi different things, let us know how they all work. you will think of different things than i do, and that is great.
You might be able to do hydrotherapy with him in a child's wading pool when it is warm enough. It is commonly assumed that cats hate water, but if you go on youtube you can find a LOT of videos of cats doing hydrotherapy just like dogs. When the cat swims, the water supports his weight and allows him to move his limbs. With just one leg in front you might want to try a life jacket for him, but really I would just try it without one and hand guide him in the water. The secret with hydrotherapy is to start for just a few minutes the first few times to give them a chance to get used to it. A wading pool may be more agreeable to your cat than the bathtub, because he won't feel so trapped and panicky.
I agree on watching the bowel, constipation is a problem with cats. Even if he is going some, he may get backed up if he is not going as much as usual. I use lactulose syrup for kitty constipation here, but someone once said Miralax is even better. Lactulose syrup is easy to give, you just suck a little of it into a syringe and squirt it in your kitty's mouth once or twice a day, or however often the vet says. It is safe and can be used for the lifetime of the pet.
I think the stretching you are doing is a good idea. You might also try resistance, but get the vet's approval first, I don't know if he is supposed to be resting right now. If the vet approves, one way to do resistance is to simply let him lie on his side in front of you, and press up on the bottoms of his feet and let him push back. Some pets will do this lying on their back in your lap, too. It will help him preserve his muscle tone.
Thank you both so much for the tips and encouragement. I will ask about that medication and look into a cart. I plan to purchase one of those walk a belly harnesses for now. I am waiting on the decision to get a wheelchair or cart. If he shows progress I will purchase it. I just have concerns because I hoped to see greater improvement by now.
I should have been more detailed about his meds. He has been on Arthrimaxx for a month. He has been on prednisone about 2 weeks. This he takes twice per day and is about to drop to once per day. Almost a week ago I took him to the vet for my concerns over his bowels. They gave him clavamox incase he has an inection and lactulose for constipation.
He sometimes urinates a steady stream but mostly it comes out in tiny spurts and he stops before it is all empty. He has had a history of crystals in his urine so we are in the process of switching him back to c/d prescription food. I don't know why sometimes he urinates normal and other times in spurts unless it is due to a crystal/blockage/ uti.... I think he pees when I rub him because it distracts from the pain. I am thinking about learning to express his bladder, but I read something that said if there is a blockage and you express it could be deadly! Do you guys think he is safe to express??
Do you guys think accupuncture works?? My vet recommended it. I think I will take him next week.
Also, I will try the pool idea. I have two kids so they could use it too. =) I am stretching him everyday and doing resistance with him. Have been for several weeks. He will walk on his legs if I support his body, but he will not renain standing at all if I prop him up. My vet said I could make him stand/walk as often as possible and it would not hurt him. I take him outside to do it because he really perks up when we go out. He tries so much harder to walk. His assisted walking has improved since he started prednisone and exercise, but it is not drastic. I hope it will continue!
Sometimes the fact that most cats hate water is useful in the rehab process, and a little pool is also a good way to get them cleaned up. I would suggest that you make a cart out of PVC or something first, because many cats (and all of mine!) refuse to go along with such things; they're much happier doing things their own way.
thank you for giving us the details on his meds. and i'm glad to hear he has made some progress. that is good.
progress is slow, it is a litle tiny step every day, sometimes no steps for awhile, sometimes a setback. i hadn't thought of resistance exercises adn hydrotherapy but those are great ideas! this is why its always good to have more people replying more ideas.
I received an email that there was a new reply to this thread, but I'm not seeing anything... I know the thread is very old but I figured I'd go ahead and update since my cat has made a miraculous recovery! After many ups and downs and being diagnosed partially-paralyzed (unknown cause) by a neurologist and told he would likely never walk again by several veterinarians- he did walk again and is entirely mobile on his own!! It took about 2 years for him to make a full recovery but with a lot of prayer and physical therapy daily at home with me, he did it!! So never give up!
for the update! It was probably a spammer that triggered your email notification, and CarolC had already deleted the posts. Somebody else just posted that they also saw recovery for 2 years, which should encourage others to give things plenty of time. Sadly, MANY vets are still saying that recovery happens quickly or not at all, so this may help. Congratulations on his recovery!
more ideas.
for the update! It was probably a spammer that triggered your email notification, and CarolC had already deleted the posts. Somebody else just posted that they also saw recovery for 2 years, which should encourage others to give things plenty of time. Sadly, MANY vets are still saying that recovery happens quickly or not at all, so this may help. Congratulations on his recovery!