Cat Struggling To Walk For 10 Months

Kflowers

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Didn't you ask your vet for a referral last week? Has s/he explained the delay? Is there a reason, or did you just get 'forgotten'?

Specialists usually need a couple of days notice. I'm not impressed with your vet.

Maybe it's time to consider another vet.
 
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LuluM

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I asked for a referral yesterday afternoon although they were closed yesterday so I left an email. This vet is my second vet that I have gone to since the first one wasn’t very helpful. The area I live in doesn’t have the best vets from what I searched.
 
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LuluM

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Update: I have gotten the referral from the vet however since I’m going through with the steroid I decided to hold off on going to the specialist especially since the vet told me that the steroid would have to wear off if Lily was going to be examined by a specialist. I also got pain meds just in case Lily starts feeling major pain again and both meds are okay to use together.

For the steroid, I was suggested to use 1 tablet every 12 hours for 3 days as a high dose and then lower down to 1 tablet every 24 hours. I figured I’d test the steroid and see how Lily will be for the next 3 days and decide if I want to go see a specialist. I was told it would be fine to give the steroid even though he hasn’t eaten much so that’s good. I have already given Lily the first tablet and I will see how he will be.

I do plan on using a syringe to try and get him to eat baby food since dry food seems to be a bit difficult for him to finish chewing. I’m going to try my best and keep my hopes up for Lily.

Thank you guys for the suggestions and keeping up with me through this tough time. I will keep updating for the next few days :)
 
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LuluM

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How long did it take for the steroid to work for your cat?
 

profcat

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How long did it take for the steroid to work for your cat?
Sorry-- I was teaching this evening!

We gave her 2.5mg (so half a 5mg pill) 2x daily. When she first got it, she got the injection at the vet, so I don't know how much it was. It worked in 3 days. She was back to normal in 3 days.

Your plan sounds like a good one. Keep us posted on how he's doing!
 
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LuluM

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Sorry-- I was teaching this evening!

We gave her 2.5mg (so half a 5mg pill) 2x daily. When she first got it, she got the injection at the vet, so I don't know how much it was. It worked in 3 days. She was back to normal in 3 days.

Your plan sounds like a good one. Keep us posted on how he's doing!
Oh so she had only 5mg a day? I wonder if it’s okay to give a high dosage for the first 3 days for Lily (5mg every 12hrs) Since it is short-term hopefully it wouldn’t bring up negative effects.
 
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LuluM

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Quick update: Lily suddenly started gaining his appetite again :touched:I fed him baby food and he ate it all on his own. Not sure if the steroid has already kicked in or what but I’m glad to see a positive change
 

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Good news either way! I don't know how long ago you gave it to him, but it does seem awfully quick. Did you also give him pain meds? If so, it's more likely connected to that.
 
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LuluM

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Good news either way! I don't know how long ago you gave it to him, but it does seem awfully quick. Did you also give him pain meds? If so, it's more likely connected to that.
I gave it to him 4 hours ago and the pain med about 2 hours ago. I’m not sure either since it’s so quick but at the same time he didn’t bother eating the baby food until after I gave him the steroid.:dunno:
 
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LuluM

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Update: Great news! As of today Lily has started gaining his appetite again and is eating/drinking on his own. He’s become a lot more active and vocal compared to a couple days ago when he was lethargic. His legs haven’t completely healed yet but I can see progress especially with the way he moves his legs and the fact he was able to walk all the way to the litter box on his own when he couldn’t even get up to go before is amazing. Hopefully with the steroids he’ll be able to fully walk. I’ve also noticed that Lily has lost a lot of muscle (obviously from not being able to exercise) so I’m searching ways for him to regain muscle.

Thanks to everyone that helped me out these past few days! Also thanks to profcat profcat for suggesting steroid because I really should have gotten it sooner with the way Lily has been improving. :hearthrob:
 

daftcat75

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When Krista was at her lowest battling pancreatitis (and there is a blood test for that called Spec fPLI), I was worried about getting muscle mass back on her after she lost so much weight. She was 10 or 11 lbs before everything started and got as low as 6 lbs. To start her exercising once I got her eating again, we started slow. For the first week or two, before I set down her food in front of her, I would walk her around the apartment for a couple of laps with the plate in my hand. Sometimes she would follow me because I had the plate. Sometimes she just wanted to skip the punchline with the plate on the ground. When she got to the plate, I'd pick it up and set it down somewhere else. She was going to get some walking in if she wanted to eat. As she got stronger, I'd put her plate in locations she had to jump to. Nothing crazy, but enough to make her work just a little harder than having a plate set in front of her. Now she likes to meet me on the kitchen counter for meal prep. She's a little too arthritic to do it one jump (though she can) so I built her a path across cat trees and a storage bench.

A couple more things you might want to consider for Lily:

Katris, modular cat tree playground: Think of this as customizable cat stairs but also cat trees. You could build him paths to window sills or just something to get him off the floor if he is able to climb steps.
https://www.chewy.com/s?query=katris

Assisi Loop: Targeted Electromagnetic Field healing. It is a medical device that acts on inflammation anywhere in the target field (within the loop.) It stimulates the body's own healing processes. You can use this in conjunction with the steroids. You will have to get a vet to sign off on the prescription for you but I found mine to be very willing to do so. The manufacturers even have handouts you can give to your vet to brief them if they aren't familiar with it.
Assisi Animal Health

I wouldn't recommend CBD oil because it is contraindicated by (shouldn't be mixed with) the steroids. The steroids are working. Don't trade a known for an unknown.
 

profcat

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Update: Great news! As of today Lily has started gaining his appetite again and is eating/drinking on his own. He’s become a lot more active and vocal compared to a couple days ago when he was lethargic. His legs haven’t completely healed yet but I can see progress especially with the way he moves his legs and the fact he was able to walk all the way to the litter box on his own when he couldn’t even get up to go before is amazing. Hopefully with the steroids he’ll be able to fully walk. I’ve also noticed that Lily has lost a lot of muscle (obviously from not being able to exercise) so I’m searching ways for him to regain muscle.

Thanks to everyone that helped me out these past few days! Also thanks to profcat profcat for suggesting steroid because I really should have gotten it sooner with the way Lily has been improving. :hearthrob:
YAY!!! I am so happy to hear he is improving!! I hope it continues so he can fully heal!
 
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