Lame Cat..

cocoanlace

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I am now considering weight loss. My boy is 16 lbs -- if I could get him down..
I think his condition certainly would be helped if he was lighter on his feet. Even two pounds loss over a few months could give him some relief. Regarding confinement, if I put one of mine in a bathroom for surgery recovery or in a separate bedroom because they are acting out with another cat, there is lots of complaining, crying, and paws under the door. How I solved that was to obtain a 48" cage, one that two of me could get inside and sit. I deck it out with a fluffy towel, a hammock that I created with a large towel and PVC pipes, water and food bowls, litter box, and a favorite toy or two. It's so nice that other cats try to get inside of it. I sit this cage out so the cat can watch the goings-on in the house. The cat won't feel segregated. And when the recovery is over, I fold it up and put it in the back of a closet. It has been a lifesaver. Just a suggestion. Hugs to you. I know this isn't easy.
 
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  • #42

mommytobuck

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If your vet is incapable of examining your cat, perhaps you should look for another vet. Some vets even note that they aren't afriad to take care of ferals. You just need to find a vet with the guts to actually deserve his license.
I have been to about 25 vets... they are all incapable. Sooo tired of explaining this. Perhaps instead of flighting the hypo you should find real solutions.
 
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  • #43

mommytobuck

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I think his condition certainly would be helped if he was lighter on his feet. Even two pounds loss over a few months could give him some relief.
That is what I am thinking. At one point my vet said she didn't see anything wrong with him being over weight (and she was unsure if he really was overweight as he is pretty big) as long as there weren't any health issues but now there are... so he absolutely needs to reduce his weight. Also I was thinking it might be easier for me to get him to the vet and easier for them if he lost some weight.

I have gone from 3 - 3oz cans of food daily to 2.5. I went from a full calorie kibble to a "reduced calorie" kibble -- and I used to give a full handful to tide him overnight - but I have reduced that back to 10 pieces. Sometimes he demands more food and I try to give him some but less.

I will look into the 48 inch cage -- thank you... perhaps I could get him used to it as a regular lifestyle thing.

PS I happened to run into my vets remarks about the high glucose when he is seen at the vet. She said that usually diabetic cats have much high(er) glucose values. My cat's is just slightly elevated. Also, for the last 7 years the glucose was elevated but never went over a certain point suggesting that it wasn't a progressing disease but a stress reaction. Finally, she said that diabetes will show up with glucose in the urine and so far.. my cat hasn't had that.

I am actually able to get urine tests (my cat weirdly has no problem piddling on a plastic bag -- over his litter) and I just scoop up the urine. So I have been able to get urine tests frequently.

These are the strips that I am using CHECKUP Diabetes Detection Glucose Urine Dog & Cat Testing Strips, 50 count - Chewy.com
 

JulietteTruong

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Taking him in is quite a risk because he makes such a fuss he could hurt himself more and then, what if there is nothing significantly wrong? From a young age my cat has had issues with this leg that usually went away.
My cat does not do well with confinement. That is a no go. I can't make him do anything he doesn't want to do and if he was in pain, I would have to assume he would stop jumping down when he has stairs right there.

I am committed to giving him the anti inflammatory medication but, if it does not resolve.. I am will make the appointment to put him down.

This stress cannot be good on me. I just wish I could find more support on the boards for this.. and not constantly hear -- take him to the vet. That is a no go.
maybe sedate him and take him to the vet? He really needs it.
 

cocoanlace

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I have gone from 3 - 3oz cans of food daily to 2.5. I went from a full calorie kibble to a "reduced calorie" kibble -- and I used to give a full handful to tide him overnight - but I have reduced that back to 10 pieces. Sometimes he demands more food and I try to give him some [/URL]
Thanks for the pee strip info. Not sure I will need those at some point for my newly diagnosed diabetes Kitty but maybe. The diabetes forum is all about glucose kits and pee strips and testing a few times a day. They are really into it. I'm going to start slow. Let my vet do the checking the first month.
It sure sounds like you are not overfeeding your cat and have the intake under control. You should be seeing some results from that but maybe your cat is not that active because of the lameness.
Glad your kitty does not have diabetes. Between Sister's diabetes, Monkeydo's ongoing common bile duct situation after his surgery last year, and my recent vertigo diagnosis, it's like a gosh-darn infirmary around here.
 
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  • #46

mommytobuck

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maybe sedate him and take him to the vet? He really needs it.
Unable to be sedated. I gave him the max dose of gabapentin. No effect once the vets showed up. Last time I took him into the vet (and several times before) when they gave him the heavy dose... he was damaged in the fight to get him down.. pulling out several nails (and who knows the other damage) given that he is 15.. the vet says, and I agree, that it isn't worth the potential damage to him.
 
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  • #47

mommytobuck

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So after using the medication for a week, I am pretty sure that whatever is going on is NOT related to a chronic overall condition.
I had tried the Cosiquin previously and it didn't seem to work and now this drug is not seeming to work.

The basic problem seems to be that it isn't an "all over" condition. It is a one leg / hip condition.
It does seem to only create a problem when he jumps down from something and not all the time, just maybe 1x per day. It is as if he dislocates his hip joint. And, if he sits down... it goes back into alignment.

I would like to get him to stop jumping down from things but it apparently doesn't hurt him enough for him to stop doing it. I purchased him some stairs but though he has learned to climb up them... he doesn't seem to understand climbing down and always jumps.

This seems to have been going on since February so, if he damaged his leg, I would assume it would heal by now?

When it occurs it seems to only happen for about 5 minutes. Typically he is able to get it back to normal by sitting but sometimes he doesn't understand why his leg isn't working right and continues to walk on it. I am trying to train him to sit when it happens.
 
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