Paralyzed hind legs with no DPS (cat)

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Geralt
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Paralyzed hind legs with no DPS (cat)

Post by Geralt »

Hello, everyone,
I would really appreciate your opinions and advices regarding the case of my kitty Geralt. He is a stray cat I rescued and is roughly 4 months old. He is a complete nutcase around the house, and sadly that cost him dearly in the end. Geralt suffered a spinal trauma, resulting in a herniated disc due to a very bad fall on his back. He is currently paralyzed in his hind legs, cannot walk, and has no deep pain sensation. It has been exactly one week since the incident and according to the vet, all hope is lost for a partial or complete recovery. Surgery has been ruled out as impossible, since there is nothing to operate on.

However, we decided to give him a chance and see what happens.

He's been home and resting for the past 4 days and is back to his old crazy self. He is extremely energetic, hungry, and ready for mischief. His hind legs react extremely vividly to pinching, but it's only a withdrawal reflex, since his head does not register the pain at all. When waking up, he also stretches his hind legs and shakes water off of them after a bath.

Expressing him is mostly effortless and is no concern at all. I am giving him daily massages and homemade PT.

Do you think he really does not stand any chances of recovery ? I would be really happy if he could regain his motor skills again...
Also from what I've read, spinal cord injuries are most often treated with steroids. However, our vet hasn't prescribed any for Geralt - should we start such a treatment on our own ?

Thank you for your support. :)
Mermaidkitty
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Re: Paralyzed hind legs with no DPS (cat)

Post by Mermaidkitty »

I also have a paralized kitty. It was thrown from a car. Broke its jaw and has teeth missing. It has gotten one that but has no use of its hind legs. It drags them. X-rays did not confirm a break. I am wondering if it was born this way? or just traumatized ? It has been five days. The cat we named Cali effortlessly drags her legs around quite quickly and is not in pain, which leads me to believe ti was born this way or injured early. Its only7-8 weeks old.
Cali will straighten her legs while laying down and if I pinch her thigh she pulls them back up. So she does respond to deep pain sensation.
It ma only be a withdrawal reflex, since her head does not react the pain.
She eats on her own, has no trouble going potty and has found her way into a cat box...
The Vet felt if there was no improvement in the next to weeks the most humane thing would be to euthanize.
I am holding out hope that the PT I am doing at home will help.
Any advice and/or opinions on keeping a Special Needs traumatized kitten alive?
We are growing more attached every day.
She doesn't seem to be bothered by her ailment???
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critters
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Re: Paralyzed hind legs with no DPS (cat)

Post by critters »

Geralt wrote:Hello, everyone,
I would really appreciate your opinions and advices regarding the case of my kitty Geralt. He is a stray cat I rescued and is roughly 4 months old. He is a complete nutcase around the house, and sadly that cost him dearly in the end. Geralt suffered a spinal trauma, resulting in a herniated disc due to a very bad fall on his back. He is currently paralyzed in his hind legs, cannot walk, and has no deep pain sensation. It has been exactly one week since the incident and according to the vet, all hope is lost for a partial or complete recovery. In my experience, this is highly likely to be wrong. Recovery takes time, usually months.Surgery has been ruled out as impossible, since there is nothing to operate on.Probably true.

However, we decided to give him a chance and see what happens.

He's been home and resting for the past 4 days and is back to his old crazy self. He is extremely energetic, hungry, and ready for mischief. His hind legs react extremely vividly to pinching, but it's only a withdrawal reflex, since his head does not register the pain at all. When waking up, he also stretches his hind legs and shakes water off of them after a bath.Movement of any sort is a good start!!

Expressing him is mostly effortless and is no concern at all. I am giving him daily massages and homemade PT.Sounds terrific.

Do you think he really does not stand any chances of recovery ? Yes, yes, and more yes! He may not necessarily be quite right, or he could have a complete recovery. No way to know. I would be really happy if he could regain his motor skills again...
Also from what I've read, spinal cord injuries are most often treated with steroids. However, our vet hasn't prescribed any for Geralt - should we start such a treatment on our own ? Personally, I'd insist on steroids. Also know that there are other meds that may become necessary, such as pee meds phenoxybenzamine (PBZ), which is my experience is terrific for spastic bladders, or bethanechol, which seems to be good for floppy bladders. Gabapentin may become necessary for "funny feelings" in the limbs, which can occur as the nerves heal. Some vets use Lyrica instead, just like with people. These may feel like bugs crawling on the skin, etc. and can stimulate licking or biting damage.

Thank you for your support. :)
:strobe:
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CarolC
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Re: Paralyzed hind legs with no DPS (cat)

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Geralt
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Re: Paralyzed hind legs with no DPS (cat)

Post by Geralt »

Hello again,

I would like to thank you for your feedback and answers, you guys helped me a lot.

Some new things regarding the situation - we passed our first check up exam yesterday and the vet was very surprised by the progress (very strong reflexes, but no DPS). Still, they continued to insist that it’s more than hopeless, which kinda gets to me every time I hear it.

We just got back from electro stimulation therapy and the guys there were impressed by the fact that Geralt’s legs reacted to the second level of voltage, while for the most damaged cats, the machine needs to be turned up to 10. However, they insisted I should keep my expectations low. So now we’ll be doing therapy every day for the next week, see where that gets us. I still hope he will be able to get his DPS back someday and that it is not indeed hopeless, as everyone seems to suggest.

The vets outright refused to prescribe him steroids, therefore I can’t get them myself :( I will try to see another vet about it next week.

Otherwise, have you guys heard of Nivalin ? It’s a drug that supposedly could help with spinal trauma and nerve healing.
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CarolC
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Re: Paralyzed hind legs with no DPS (cat)

Post by CarolC »

Sasha's Mom used Nivalin for Sasha, and spoke highly of it. Here are those posts.

search.php?keywords=nivalin&terms=all&a ... mit=Search

I have not had a paralyzed cat, but I have had 2 paralyzed small dogs and a paralyzed bunny. DPS can return slowly, even months after an injury. No one can predict with certainty what you are going to have 6 months from now, by what you are seeing right now. (I am not a vet but just going on experience, I don't think the vet has a crystal ball, either.) Each case is different.

That is interesting about the level 2 he responded to. :D

Healing from nerve injury is slow, for example much slower than a broken bone. It happens in the background where you don't see it. PT helps make the most of the recovery. If it was my cat, I would be thinking in terms of weeks or months of PT, and it is great if the professional physical therapist can give you advice on the program to do at home along the way. Intensive therapy in the short term is not necessarily more helpful, but steady PT over time will give the best results. The nerves can't do more than they are ready for. PT seems to help maximize the recovery. Recovery from spinal injury is by baby steps. Tiny little incremental improvements that can almost go unnoticed, but you celebrate every little gain, and one day you look back and see how far you have come.

If you can't afford frequent professional PT long term, I think it will still be helpful to continue doing what you can at home. If you can afford some PT but not a whole lot, then perhaps continue the home program, and get him in for a professional appt once a week or once every 2 weeks or whatever schedule you are comfortable with. Professional physical therapy is great, but even occasional appts for therapy and advice and support from the therapist is helpful along the way.
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critters
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Re: Paralyzed hind legs with no DPS (cat)

Post by critters »

Weird that the vet refused to RX pred! Vets were the first to start using it for spinal cord injuries, and, the last I heard, they were starting to use it with humans.
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