Cat suddenly can't walk

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.
Post Reply
Pinkslipper32
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Jun 22, 2021 3:26 pm

Cat suddenly can't walk

Post by Pinkslipper32 »

Hi,.my cat who is 2 1/2 suddebly started having wobbly legs last year,.it didn't stop her doing anything but needed steps to get up on the sofa and bed. All her bloods came back normal and the only thing we could think to cause it was her diet ... since before I got her she will only eat boiled fish and point blank refused cat food, to supplement this the vet gave her 1/2 steroid a day and vitamin b1 injections which seemed to help but didn't take her wobbly legs away.

Fast forward to this year and she recently had a bladder infection which took 3 rounds of antibiotics to clear. She was then hospitalised due to dehydration. When I collected her they told me that she couldn't stand up and was very weak.

I've been syringe feeding her for 3 weeks with a mixture of cat soup and liquivite (which she hates) or royal canin.

She is eating and drinking well, peeing daily and unlike before, she now poos daily. Her fur is lovely and shiny and the vet has checked her over and said everything is great .... apart from the fact she can't stand on her own. Her legs won't take her weight.

In the last week she has started lifting her head to look around, her feet react if I tickle them. I exercise her legs daily but not sure what else to do. I have to take her to the litter tray a few times a day and she lays on puppy pads as she occasionally has an accident. The vet is unsure why she suddenly lost her mobility and wonders if when she had the bladder infection, it took the last bit of vitamin etc out of her.

I've done lots of googling and lack of vitamins and minerals seems to be a big cause of loss of mobility. Shes now getting that, for just over 3 weeks. But I'm worried that the longer she's unable to walk, her leg muscles will get very weak.

Obviously I'm aware that at some point the vet will say she's not making enough improvement and with no quality of life etc but I want to give her every chance possible but what can I do?

Shes so loving and friendly and she had a horrible kitten hood (before I got her), Major problems with her eyes. She was born with them.stuck to her eyelids so the vet cut off her eyelids. When I got her at 4 months, the vet had to remove her right eye as it was badly damaged and she's had eyelid reconstruction surgery on her left eye. Normally her eye is very dry and I have to put.drops.in it but since having cat soup and royal canin, she now blinks her eye

Please can anyone advise how to get her to start walking.
User avatar
BendyMom
mutant kitty expert
Posts: 3197
Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2001 7:00 pm

Re: Cat suddenly can't walk

Post by BendyMom »

Wow
that kitty most certainly had a rough start, and unfortunatley may not be able to make up for such a nutrient deficient kittenhood. That doesn't mean she can't improve some though. I'm glad to hear she is eating Royal Canin, when you say Soup do you mean the "chicken soup for the soul" cat food? Since you're in the UK I don't know if t his suppliment is availabe but please check and see if you can get Missing Link cat suppliment. It is my #1 thing to give sick cats/kittens.
Physical therapy is very important for exactly the reason you say. she will lose muscle strength and tone. Can she moves her legs, but jsut not stand on them? If she is still able to move them at all, I would suggest trying water therapy. Obviously some cats aren't going to tolerate it, but if she does it is an excellent way to get her moving her legs and slowly building strength, as they will start paddling/kicking by relfex when in the water. You would support her body and have just enough water in the tub for her to float so her legs aren't bearing any weight.
If that doesn't work (I have had some cats that were fine and others who no way were happy in the water) you can make her a sling with 4 holes for her legs, so imagine a big piece of sturdy cloth with four holes in it and enough cloth on either side to be a handle. You can put her in this, put her feet on the floor and hold her up, gently letting her bear a tiny bit of weight. If you or your friends are crafty, you could make her a stander like my girl Ishkur has. Ishkur cannot stand up due to brain damage and a friend made a stander for her that supports her so she can stand. She does like it but gets excited and soemtimes bounces out. Ishkur seems to be a pretty happy kitty in spite of not being able to stand, she plays, she enjoys her food, and I have her trained (mostly) to potty on a towel. She is very clever at finding ways to get around. I will attach picts.
The vets can't euthanize without your permission, you could tell them that you are talking to people with similar cats and you need to give your girl a chance to have a life. I find that line of reasoning often goes over well.

grr, I'm having trouble attaching the file, I will try in another post.
http://www.alittletlc.com

Image

Bendy Kitty
forever in my heart
always missed
i am not the same without you.
User avatar
BendyMom
mutant kitty expert
Posts: 3197
Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2001 7:00 pm

Re: Cat suddenly can't walk

Post by BendyMom »

OK, I found a link to picts of her in her cart :)
it should give you ideas of what you might be able to do.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/4qxFyDMZsoBRyE4T6
http://www.alittletlc.com

Image

Bendy Kitty
forever in my heart
always missed
i am not the same without you.
Pinkslipper32
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Jun 22, 2021 3:26 pm

Re: Cat suddenly can't walk

Post by Pinkslipper32 »

Thank you for your reply.

The soup that she's having is a brand called Sheba and they do a range of cat soup, the fish one seems to be the one she likes and I'm mixing it with Royal Canin recovery liquid food that I got from the vets, it has a creamy consistency and the two together my cat loves.
It's hard to know what's caused this sudden loss of mobility, as I said she had wobbly legs before but she worked out that having her back legs.wide apart made her balance better so she managed quite well. I'm.grasping at straws and guessing that the bladder infection has accelerated it or just wiped her out physically. We don't know how long she had the infection for, just that it was severe and took 3 rounds of antibiotics (each one stronger than the last) to.get rid of it. They did an ultrasound and blood tests to check her kidneys, liver, stones, masses etc and all was clear. She was getting weaker with the infection which affected her wobbly legs and then suddenly, one day she couldn't walk anymore

Shes my rock and she's been thru so much and I just want to give her every chance possible. I had to give her a bath the other day as she had an accident and was covered in pee,.omg you'd have thought I was killing her, she hated the bath so not sure hydrotherapy would work on her lol. I did try using a scarf to take her weight, she didn't understand what I was trying to do so wasn't helpful. I ended up holding her and putting her back legs down and that went OK, when I put her front legs down, it all went to pot and she just went all floppy... I think it was too many legs for her.to.concentrate on

Yes she can.move her legs, if I tickle them, she flinches. Shes recently started trying to clean herself again which is a good sign but she can't lift her paw to her mouth. If her paw happens to be near her mouth she'll clean it, or if I raise her paw she'll clean it but she can't lift it herself.

All food has to be liquid atm as she can't sit up to eat and I've tried giving her little bits of food while she's laying down but most of it ends up outside her mouth
User avatar
critters
Founding Member
Posts: 14360
Joined: Sat Apr 28, 2001 7:00 pm

Re: Cat suddenly can't walk

Post by critters »

:strobe: More or less random musings:

It sounds to me like she got spinal cord injured somehow, especially with the UTI popping up.

As for bathing, yeah, been there, done that. :lol: I'd suggest claw whacking a day or 2 ahead of time to help limit the damage.

Increasing disability with a UTI isn't unusual, even with humans.

I've had severely brain damaged furs who couldn't eat standing up who did fine eating whatever lying down, so I don't know why your baby can't eat kibbles lying down...
Pinkslipper32
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Jun 22, 2021 3:26 pm

Re: Cat suddenly can't walk

Post by Pinkslipper32 »

Shes never eaten kibble, has always refused cat food and all treats. I am trying to give her bits of meat and fish to get her back to chewing food

I'm not sure how she would get a spinal injury as she is an indoor cat. I have taken her into the garden but I've always been with her and she's terrified of the garden as her sight in her only eye is blurry

Apparently UTI's are quite common for cat with wobbly legs, the reason is unknown but the vet said he sees quite a few wobbly cats to have uti's
User avatar
critters
Founding Member
Posts: 14360
Joined: Sat Apr 28, 2001 7:00 pm

Re: Cat suddenly can't walk

Post by critters »

Indoor cats can get SCI from tail pulls, falls, and all kinds of things, although, in my experience (2 tail pulls, 4 SCI) tail pulls tend to be a lesser degree of SCI. UTI is terribly common with SCI but seldom with wobblers due to brain damage (I have/have had 4 with brain damage, too).
Pinkslipper32
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Jun 22, 2021 3:26 pm

Re: Cat suddenly can't walk

Post by Pinkslipper32 »

Sorry what is SCI?

I'd love to know the cause of her sudden loss of mobility but atm helping her walking again is my main concern
User avatar
critters
Founding Member
Posts: 14360
Joined: Sat Apr 28, 2001 7:00 pm

Re: Cat suddenly can't walk

Post by critters »

SCI=spinal cord injury
Pinkslipper32
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Jun 22, 2021 3:26 pm

Re: Cat suddenly can't walk

Post by Pinkslipper32 »

Ahhhhh so obvious when you know lol
User avatar
critters
Founding Member
Posts: 14360
Joined: Sat Apr 28, 2001 7:00 pm

Re: Cat suddenly can't walk

Post by critters »

:lol:
Post Reply