Cat Struggling To Walk For 10 Months

[Leomc123]

LuluM its great news your kitty progess is on the way and she is geting better and she is eating and getting up to move around even if its a small distance its better than nothing at this point, i wish your kitty all the best and dont hesitate to post everyone here is willing to help you and your kitty throug this with some advice and their experiences. Again all the best !!

 

[LuluM]

Update: Lily is doing good so far, my vet told me to have Lily take the steroid for another 2 weeks on a lower dosage. I’m not sure if he can be off the steroids by then, I hope that his walking fully improves by the next few weeks. Right now he can walk a short distance like he used to which is a major improvement compared to last week when he could barely get up. His hind legs aren’t sticking outwards as much only slightly. I also notice that he’s gaining weight although he isn’t eating extreme amounts so I’m not sure if he’s just regaining his muscles. His stool is also becoming bigger which is a good sign since before it used to look like pebbles. When I open the door to my balcony he seems interested and sits right by the door but doesn’t step outside. Yesterday I carried him to the living room and he managed to walk all the way to my room in slow steps. He did give up once he stepped into my room so I had to carry him to his bed. I’m hoping to find ways to rehabilitate his legs.

 

[daftcat75]

Would the Assisi Loop be helpful here? It works on pain and inflammation. You could call them up and ask them about Lily’s specific condition and whether the Loop would be helpful for it.

Assisi Animal Health

 

[LuluM]

Would the Assisi Loop be helpful here? It works on pain and inflammation. You could call them up and ask them about Lily’s specific condition and whether the Loop would be helpful for it.

Assisi Animal Health

I’ll ask my vet about it, I have looked into buying one since it has fairly good reviews. Have you used it as well? If so, I wanna know more about it from an actual user. I’m confident that Lily’s case is a nerve issue so I’m searching for a more permanent remedy rather than temporary. I was thinking of visiting the specialist if Lily were to have a relapse after using the steroid.

 

[daftcat75]

I’ll ask my vet about it, I have looked into buying one since it has fairly good reviews. Have you used it as well? If so, I wanna know more about it from an actual user. I’m confident that Lily’s case is a nerve issue so I’m searching for a more permanent remedy rather than temporary. I was thinking of visiting the specialist if Lily were to have a relapse after using the steroid.

I have started using the Loop with Krista. It’s been about 1 week so far. I believe it’s making a difference. But it’s tough to tell with her sometimes. She hesitates less with her jumps and she doesn’t have messy back leg landings like she used to. She is getting up easier and walking lighter.

Will it help a nerve issue? I don’t know. But their customer service is very knowledgeable. Your vet may not be familiar with the technology. If you have an idea what the condition is, the “Assisi Animal Health Clinical Use Guide” can be found on Google.

 

[LuluM]

Update: so I’ve been giving Lily the steroid and my vet told me to give it to him for 14 days, I’m not sure if I can stop the steroid after 14 days or if I need to gradually reduce the amount? I did read that steroid shouldn’t be stopped suddenly so I’m not sure. So far Lily is doing good however his walking isn’t exactly improving from what I’ve seen. He can walk a short distance without tripping and he can almost speed walk but that’s about as good as his condition gets. I don’t know if I should go see a specialist since he still can’t run or jump. I was hoping he would slowly regain most of his strength in his legs by the time he’s off the steroid but maybe it was wishful thinking.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

Please check with your vet, but my experience is that steroids should be tapered as they go off of it, not just stopped abruptly. What day are you on so far? You could contact your vet, and maybe it's that by day 9-10 or so, you could start the tapering process.

I have a cat that is on steroids more long-term and she would need quite a long tapering phase (several months, not just a week or a few days) to ensure she comes off of her Pred as safely as possible.

 

[Kflowers]

Depending on what your vet says about getting off the steroids and if there is no tapering off, I'd be uneasy, consider the specialist. The steroids have helped but they haven't done all you hoped. There may be more than one thing going on with Lily and the specialist is a next logical step.

 

[LuluM]

So I called my vet and after the 14 days I don’t have to give the steroid anymore. She said since I have a lower dosage for 14 days it’s okay to stop afterwards. I want to ask if anyone has done this with steroids? I’m not sure how the tapering process goes but my vet did say it was okay to stop...

 

[LuluM]

I have also considered buying the Assisi Loop as it helps with inflammation and it often does help with cats that struggle to walk. I do plan to see a specialist once he’s off the steroids. I just hope that I can trust my vet about the tapering process. Does anybody know if 5mg per day for 2 weeks is low enough to stop steroids abruptly?

 

[FeebysOwner]

I believe I have read that even with a two week treatment, there should be a tapering off. Tell your vet you would prefer NOT to just stop the meds, and ask them to 'humor you' and give you their assistance in putting together a tapering dosage plan.

 

[Kflowers]

If they argue, just go all doting owner and I insist because I've read how hard it is for people and it must be the same for cats...
then get another vet.

 

[daftcat75]

I have also considered buying the Assisi Loop as it helps with inflammation and it often does help with cats that struggle to walk. I do plan to see a specialist once he’s off the steroids. I just hope that I can trust my vet about the tapering process. Does anybody know if 5mg per day for 2 weeks is low enough to stop steroids abruptly?

Krista has been taking Loop treatments for about two weeks now. It seems to be helping her. She's moving easier. She's sticking her back leg landings when before they'd be a little sloppy (her arthtritis is in her hips.) She's more affectionate because she's more mobile again. It even worked on inflammation in her ear last night. She gets an allergic reaction that fills her ear with fluid. It clears up in a few days but she's got a miserable ear ache until it does. I will drop ear tea in there (chamomile tea with a few drops of apple cider vinegar.) It gives her relief but she understandably doesn't like it. It usually takes a couple of tea treatments to clear up. Last night, I put the Loop around her neck so the effective field covered her ear. She was her right perky self again in a few hours. I was able to touch her ear again without setting off a head shake. This morning, I don't see any signs of it. I love what the Loop does for her.

 

[LuluM]

Update: So I was able to contact my vet directly because apparently the email that I received about the tapering process was from the front desk and not from my vet. My vet was busy with surgery so she wasn’t the one that emailed me about Lily. I got her direct contact info so from now on I can speak directly to her.

My vet said to give Lily 1 tablet every other day for 5 doses then I can stop the steroid. She did say that if Lily’s symptoms return after he’s off the steroid he may need to be on steroids long term which is something I don’t really want because of the side effects/risks. I’m currently tapering him off the steroids. I also was able to get a prescription from my vet for the Assisi Loop and I purchased one already. Hopefully the Loop will help Lily’s legs or at the very least prevent symptoms from getting worse.

 

[FeebysOwner]

All good news, so far! Please keep updating us!

 

[Jem]

One exercise that I did with one of my cats who had muscle wasting due to CKD was.

Get a ball about the size of a basket ball (depending on the size of your cat). I wouldn't use a basket ball because they are quite hard, but something about that size.
You place you cat over the ball (chest/shoulders) so that your cat is up on his hind legs but supported by the ball.
Your cats hind legs should still be touching the ground and not too outstretched.
(Keep in mind you need to hold your cat on the ball, hopefully your cat is cooperative!)
Then you roll the ball forward slowly, this gets the cat to instinctively stretch out his legs. Then roll the ball backwards, your cat will continue to reach out with his legs, feeling for the ground. When his feet are touching the ground keep rolling the ball back and your cat will (hopefully) push back.
Then roll the ball back to it's original position.
Then you roll the ball from one side to the other, this encourages your cat to shift his weight from one leg to the other.
All of these movements with your cat supported on the ball gently helps to engage and strengthen the muscles of the hind legs/hips.
Repeat the movements 3-5 times maybe 2 times a day to start. See how your kitty responds and adjust accordingly.
When doing this, you are rolling the ball VERY SLOWLY. You want your cat and the muscles to have plenty of time to engage and adjust to the movements.
Some range of motion movements of the legs would also help.
And you can get your kitty to fight against you to get the muscles engaged. Gently tug on his paw, and he will probably pull away. Gently push on the pad of his paw, and he will probably push back against you. Again, GENTLY tug and push, just enough for him to fight back, without any distress. If you can "hold" the engaged leg for a few seconds, before going back and forth between them, that would be great.
IF any of these exercises cause any distress don't do them, but I was lucky because my cat was very docile and cooperative. He was a cat that didn't care what you did with him, because if you were paying any attention to him he was happy.
Now, because you are not quite sure what is causing this problem, I would ask your vet if doing gentle rehab exercises would be a good thing or if it may irritate, but if your kitty is still on the pain meds and the steroids, it might be good to do them while you can still help with any side effects that exercising does.

 

[Kflowers]

I really really hope the vet speaks to the front desk about that advise they gave you. That's fippin' dangerous.

 

[LuluM]

One exercise that I did with one of my cats who had muscle wasting due to CKD was.

Get a ball about the size of a basket ball (depending on the size of your cat). I wouldn't use a basket ball because they are quite hard, but something about that size.
You place you cat over the ball (chest/shoulders) so that your cat is up on his hind legs but supported by the ball.
Your cats hind legs should still be touching the ground and not too outstretched.
(Keep in mind you need to hold your cat on the ball, hopefully your cat is cooperative!)
Then you roll the ball forward slowly, this gets the cat to instinctively stretch out his legs. Then roll the ball backwards, your cat will continue to reach out with his legs, feeling for the ground. When his feet are touching the ground keep rolling the ball back and your cat will (hopefully) push back.
Then roll the ball back to it's original position.
Then you roll the ball from one side to the other, this encourages your cat to shift his weight from one leg to the other.
All of these movements with your cat supported on the ball gently helps to engage and strengthen the muscles of the hind legs/hips.
Repeat the movements 3-5 times maybe 2 times a day to start. See how your kitty responds and adjust accordingly.
When doing this, you are rolling the ball VERY SLOWLY. You want your cat and the muscles to have plenty of time to engage and adjust to the movements.
Some range of motion movements of the legs would also help.
And you can get your kitty to fight against you to get the muscles engaged. Gently tug on his paw, and he will probably pull away. Gently push on the pad of his paw, and he will probably push back against you. Again, GENTLY tug and push, just enough for him to fight back, without any distress. If you can "hold" the engaged leg for a few seconds, before going back and forth between them, that would be great.
IF any of these exercises cause any distress don't do them, but I was lucky because my cat was very docile and cooperative. He was a cat that didn't care what you did with him, because if you were paying any attention to him he was happy.
Now, because you are not quite sure what is causing this problem, I would ask your vet if doing gentle rehab exercises would be a good thing or if it may irritate, but if your kitty is still on the pain meds and the steroids, it might be good to do them while you can still help with any side effects that exercising does.

My vet did suggest acupuncture and massage therapy for my cat however they don’t perform these techniques at their place so I would have to find another vet to do that. I have been massaging his hind legs as well as pushing his paw pad and gently tugging so he can gain his reflex again. He does walk around the house on his own which I feel is also a good sign for him to rehabilitate. I might try the exercise, do you by chance have a video of it so I can see how you do it? I don’t want to accidentally pull a muscle or hurt him.

 

[LuluM]

I really really hope the vet speaks to the front desk about that advise they gave you. That's fippin' dangerous.

I did mention that to my vet, it was a dangerous thing. I assume the front desk just read the directions on the bottle and thought that was it. Note taken that you should definitely contact directly to your vet for these things.

 

[daftcat75]

I also was able to get a prescription from my vet for the Assisi Loop and I purchased one already.

I think it’s helping Krista. I see her laying like this or a Classic Sphinx a lot more than the crouch she used to take. It would take her so long to lower that it looked like she didn’t want to go all the way down unless she was going to stay down and sleep. She is also hesitating less with her jumps. Still not moving like she used to. But then she’s never been this old before.