18 yo tonk cant use back legs

nanniecat

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last i found placide in a puddle of urine. rushed her to vet. sugar was 381! brought her to hosp, same,gave her insulin shot and sent me home to give 2xdaily. yest w went back to pm,sugar was 123. but her back legs r very weak. she cant walk or stand. now off insulin. how do i help her?
 

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stephanietx

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You need to discuss the situation with your veterinarian. You may have to make a difficult decision.
 
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nanniecat

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last i found placide in a puddle of urine. rushed her to vet. sugar was 381! brought her to hosp, same,gave her insulin shot and sent me home to give 2xdaily. yest w went back to pm,sugar was 123. but her back legs r very weak. she cant walk or stand. now off insulin. how do i help her?
Call the vet and tell them what is going on. But I think you are in a position where you have no choice but to take your cat back to the vet - pronto!
Call the vet and tell them what is going on. But I think you are in a position where you have no choice but to take your cat back to the vet - pronto!
at firt he said could be weakness due to sugar. we went back yest and this morn-sugar is now normal. said maybe arthritis? he tested and hosp testd for any physical issues, they found none. he just called wll have consult with ortho? he does not believe it is a seizure or a brain anything.
 

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at firt he said could be weakness due to sugar. we went back yest and this morn-sugar is now normal. said maybe arthritis? he tested and hosp testd for any physical issues, they found none. he just called wll have consult with ortho? he does not believe it is a seizure or a brain anything.
There is no doubt there may be some arthritis going on, but diabetes can cause lethargy and weakness, particularly in the back leg area. if it is not controlled properly. Was additional blood work done to see if there is another possible underlying cause as opposed to diabetes? Spikes in blood sugar usually point to diabetes, but that is not always the issue. And arthritis doesn't usually 'pop up' out of nowhere, so I really think the weakness is more likely to be related to diabetes or perhaps some other medical cause, such as the one fionasmom fionasmom suggested.

You might ask the vet about glucose monitoring that you can do at home so you can keep an eye on it without having to take her to the vet for a check. No harm in checking it to see if that sheds any light on anything for you. The vet should be able to provide you with information/instructions on what times of day to check - it is usually tied to when she eats, for what little I know.
 

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I would question the vet more about the diabetes diagnosis. Was a fructosamine test done to determine diabetes? Or was regular blood work done. Regular blood work includes a blood glucose test but that only tells what the level is at the moment the blood was taken. Many cats are super stressed out at the vet's office so their blood glucose levels are always super high. At home, levels may be normal. The fructosamine test is similar to the AC1 test done for Human diabetes and gives an average blood glucose levels over the past few weeks.

Was anything off with your cat in the days / weeks before you rushed to her the vet? Any diabetic-like symptoms? Unusual behavior? Lack of appetite? Does your cat go outside?

From some of your other threads here on TCS, you mention that your cat is on prednisolone long-term and is also taking gabapetin and has bad liver panels and has been treated for FGESF in the past and the (same?) cat is being treated by an oncologist. Is this your only cat or do you have others?
 
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nanniecat

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I would question the vet more about the diabetes diagnosis. Was a fructosamine test done to determine diabetes? Or was regular blood work done. Regular blood work includes a blood glucose test but that only tells what the level is at the moment the blood was taken. Many cats are super stressed out at the vet's office so their blood glucose levels are always super high. At home, levels may be normal. The fructosamine test is similar to the AC1 test done for Human diabetes and gives an average blood glucose levels over the past few weeks.

Was anything off with your cat in the days / weeks before you rushed to her the vet? Any diabetic-like symptoms? Unusual behavior? Lack of appetite? Does your cat go outside?

From some of your other threads here on TCS, you mention that your cat is on prednisolone long-term and is also taking gabapetin and has bad liver panels and has been treated for FGESF in the past and the (same?) cat is being treated by an oncologist. Is this your only cat or do you have others?
yes she has FGESF still been on pred 5 yrs. takes gabapentin for arthritis 25 mf 2xdaily(up fr 12.5 2xdaily)liver tbl resolved a while back.
 
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nanniecat

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pc tested again tdy still normal. i suspected the pred(5 yrs 5 mcg 2xdaily)so i di not administer from the day of the episode. (wednesday) sat nite i got concerned abt cold turkey, called er and said start giving it to her. i have been giving her 2.5 daily. yest and tdy glucose was normal. her pc believes the cause was the pred. he said go to 2.5 ev other day starting 5/20. he is in touch w/her onco(fgesf) and said it would be a balancing act. i get that part and concur. but the lameness is still there. VERY concerning. he said could be arthritis. new drug solensia has still not been distributed in spite of fda approval.he said the tbl is in her hock(ankles?)i expressd my concern for a definitive answer.he said he would talk to orth he likes and have him call me. but i sense he thinks it is overkill on my part. she is an only child indoor only and ever. she did seem a little off the day i rushed her to vet. but at 18 she is not very active. i chkd the cal, saw it was 4 mo since last onco visit. i was thnkng i might make an appt. i was home all day and did not notice any lameness. i walked in the rm saw the urine ,grabbed her and rushed to vet. i did not know,at the time, she could not walk, the vet put her on the floor and her back legs could not support her. i was in shock. she has a history of arthritis. adequan off and on. wed they did ck her bp. normal.
 
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nanniecat

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yes she has FGESF still been on pred 5 yrs. takes gabapentin for arthritis 25 mf 2xdaily(up fr 12.5 2xdaily)liver tbl resolved a while back.
i think if it was just stress fr going to vet she would not have gotten so many normal test nmbrs. this is a cat that for 5 yrs goes tto hosp for ultrasound and complete work up. her glucose numbers have never been hi. she had just seen the pc(primary care) vet a mo ago and was normal. complete lab and urinalysis at that time. and a few mo b4 that she had her teeth clnd by same vet-he did complete work up every thing ws good. so i cant go for the white coat syndome with her. MAYBE? she got stressed out when she realized she could not walk. ?
 
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nanniecat

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To answer your question about what fionasmom fionasmom said about ATE. - it is Aortic Thromboembolism (ATE).
Aortic Thromboembolism (ATE) in Cats (petplace.com)
thnx for all the info/ i did lk it up. he ckd her blood pressure. wouldnt that have shown something if ATE? i lk at the lab results and did not c anything abt fru????? i was hoping the lameness was related to glucose but now that it has been normal for 2 days i wonder? he originally gave me a monitor kit but after the second day of good glucose nbrs he said i didnt need to do it. he really believes it was the pred. i agree. but the lameness really scares me.
 

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Personally, I would suspect kidneys.
Did you get a urinalysis?
Sorry if I missed it, as everything I saw seemed to be that you were focused on diabetes/blood sugar
 

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he ckd her blood pressure. wouldn't that have shown something if ATE?
I think it requires more extensive testing. Testing for a weak pulse in the back legs is one of the things a vet would do when trying to look for saddle thrombus/ATE, but there are a number of other tests. I think some of your cat's blood work numbers might have shown some signs that would make the vet suspicious about ATE. But other typical testing would be an echocardiogram, and maybe chest x-rays too.

furmonster mom furmonster mom brought up another possibility - chronic kidney disease (CKD), which can also cause back leg weakness. But, you said she has had fairly regular blood work done (correct?), and I presume they did both CBC and Chem Profile checks? The latter includes numbers specific to kidney - as well as liver - function. Which, if I understand correctly, the vet is saying all the numbers look good? Didn't you also say you look over the results yourself as well?

Most of the ailments, including arthritis, that can cause back leg lameness are usually progressive in nature and therefore it seems as if you would have noticed some gradual changes in her movements over time - perhaps leading up to where she is at now. The saddle thrombus/ ATE was brought up because that is certainly one that would be more sudden.

Long term prednisolone use is thought to attribute to the development of diabetes as well as heart disease and can affect liver function too. More and more I am feeling, strictly as a layperson, like it is related to the prednisolone - but the question is what can be done about it? And, it would be interesting to know why no previous blood work has signaled an issue brewing related to the pred.

It sounds like you have been to some sort of specialty group for your cat - perhaps if the group you have used has a wide array of specialists on staff (internal medicine, endocrine, cardiology, pulmonary - to name a few), they should be consulted? If not, see if your vet knows of one that they can consult with.
 
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nanniecat

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I think it requires more extensive testing. Testing for a weak pulse in the back legs is one of the things a vet would do when trying to look for saddle thrombus/ATE, but there are a number of other tests. I think some of your cat's blood work numbers might have shown some signs that would make the vet suspicious about ATE. But other typical testing would be an echocardiogram, and maybe chest x-rays too.

furmonster mom furmonster mom brought up another possibility - chronic kidney disease (CKD), which can also cause back leg weakness. But, you said she has had fairly regular blood work done (correct?), and I presume they did both CBC and Chem Profile checks? The latter includes numbers specific to kidney - as well as liver - function. Which, if I understand correctly, the vet is saying all the numbers look good? Didn't you also say you look over the results yourself as well?

Most of the ailments, including arthritis, that can cause back leg lameness are usually progressive in nature and therefore it seems as if you would have noticed some gradual changes in her movements over time - perhaps leading up to where she is at now. The saddle thrombus/ ATE was brought up because that is certainly one that would be more sudden.

Long term prednisolone use is thought to attribute to the development of diabetes as well as heart disease and can affect liver function too. More and more I am feeling, strictly as a layperson, like it is related to the prednisolone - but the question is what can be done about it? And, it would be interesting to know why no previous blood work has signaled an issue brewing related to the pred.

It sounds like you have been to some sort of specialty group for your cat - perhaps if the group you have used has a wide array of specialists on staff (internal medicine, endocrine, cardiology, pulmonary - to name a few), they should be consulted? If not, see if your vet knows of one that they can consult with.
ty r your input. her onco always does ultrasound and COMPLETE blood wk ev 4-6 months and urinalysis. cks for everything and anything. i keep a copy of the results and if any values r not in a normal range i research it and them i call her onco to discuss. but she has been-test wise-remarkable. it is how we knew liver values were off. she suggested denamarin. administerd for a while, reckd values normal and has not been a prob since. i posted on here cause i was afraid it was the adequan! it wasnt. she has for a couple of yrs had arthritis. verified by xray. did laser,accupuncture. but it stressed her a lot to keep going to vet. finally gabapentin thn adequan always researching,i found out abt solensia. waiting on that to get to vets offc! nobody seems to have it in usa? continuing adequan shots. just increased gaba to 25mg. it does help.i could tell the arthritis was an issue but she was walking(not fast or much) and was able to get around(no jumping except bed with transition stool) NOTHING like what happened. she had been moving around ok earlier that day. i have a consultation with an orthopedic in 2 wks. i just want to know if something is broken. her pc says the tbl is her hock(ankle)joints. i think he is prob correct but he said no way to use a sling or brace(i asked!) said her best bet is the solensia. when we get it! i had to confine her to a kennel last nite but she cried so much i couldnt do it to her. she was dragging herslf to get under my bed and that is bad! i knew i couldnt get her out. so at 1 am i stuffed everything i could find around the edges of my bed. i woke up this morn,she was on her pallet. i thought she had been there all nite but i found she had dragged herslf to her litter box,and used it! amen! i didnt c it but i have been w/her 24/7 since last wed and i am hoping to c her using her legs? it is her left rear that is bad.
 
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