Cat with Severe Spine Degeneration

[kittygirl123]

Our 18-20 year old rescue recently hurt herself jumping (not sure came home to cat dragging leg) and Xray revealed severe spine degeneration and slipped disc at base of tail. Vet thought she may not recover as she could barely stand or walk. Tried an NSAID that is "supposed" to be used away from steroids BUT the vet tech administered while on (scary) and she was vomiting and lost weight and did not improve. But this cat LIVES for food and lots of TLC so here we are a month later and she is running and playful again but the "severe" degeneration is risky. Vet (2 of them) decided no Solencia as we lost our other cat within 24 hours of using it and they have seen other concerns in very old kitties.
I have B12 tablets and other nutrients but we are worried the med combo caused her to go into renal failure - her labs were fine the month prior. So what are the best diets/supplemetns for a kitty this age? And anyone have experience with a spine in such bad shape? She clearly is not afraid to do anything she did as a kitten but we are so nervous. Thank you!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Have the vets mentioned Adequan? It is injectable like Solensia but consists of different drugs and works a bit differently than Solensia. It also contains a joint supplement and has been around a lot longer than Solensia.

 

[Furballsmom]

So what are the best diets/supplements for a kitty this age

we are worried the med combo caused her to go into renal failure - her labs were fine the month prior.

Hi, is she in fact having kidney issues that is showing on a more recent than a month blood test?

 

[kittygirl123]

Hi. Have the vets mentioned Adequan? It is injectable like Solensia but consists of different drugs and works a bit differently than Solensia. It also contains a joint supplement and has been around a lot longer than Solensia.

No actually and I consulted with a couple vets! So i just give her glucosamine now.

 

[kittygirl123]

Hi, is she in fact having kidney issues that is showing on a more recent than a month blood test?

They checked urine vs labs and she is concentrating well but had a bad infection - this is her 6th UTI this year so tried new antibiotic. She seems comfy and she is hydrated I am just assuming at her age she must be but my vet said not based on labs and urine.

 

[FeebysOwner]

What do her urine analyses show - crystals/sediment/blood/??? Do they do urine cultures to determine the type of bacteria involved? Some bacteria are resistant to some antibiotics, and while they can help, they cannot always eradicate the infection entirely. My cat frequently got UTIs and I now give her pure D-Mannose. Many forms of bacteria adhere to D-Mannose and are flushed out of the bladder, reducing the bacteria that can colonize in the bladder to cause infections. She has only had one UTI since I started giving it to her 3 years ago.

As far as the Adequan - it never hurts to ask the vets about it. It also is used not just for arthritic pain, but it can be beneficial to the bladder as well - and it contains a form of glucosamine.

UTI Pets Pure D-Mannose Powder | WellnessPartners.com™
Adequan (Polysulfated Glycosaminoglycan) For Cats - Cat-World

 

[kittygirl123]

What do her urine analyses show - crystals/sediment/blood/??? Do they do urine cultures to determine the type of bacteria involved? Some bacteria are resistant to some antibiotics, and while they can help, they cannot always eradicate the infection entirely. My cat frequently got UTIs and I now give her pure D-Mannose. Many forms of bacteria adhere to D-Mannose and are flushed out of the bladder, reducing the bacteria that can colonize in the bladder to cause infections. She has only had one UTI since I started giving it to her 3 years ago.

As far as the Adequan - it never hurts to ask the vets about it. It also is used not just for arthritic pain, but it can be beneficial to the bladder as well - and it contains a form of glucosamine.

UTI Pets Pure D-Mannose Powder | WellnessPartners.com™
Adequan (Polysulfated Glycosaminoglycan) For Cats - Cat-World

This is great! I have D mannose caps for myself. They do culture it but it clears then comes back How much do you give your kitty? Will def ask about the med, thank you!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Of the brand I shared with you, which contains nothing else - I give my cat 1/4 tsp mixed in with her food every day.

 

[neely]

Vet (2 of them) decided no Solencia as we lost our other cat within 24 hours of using it and they have seen other concerns in very old kitties.

We have a senior cat too, i.e. approx. 13-14 yrs. old and after two months of Solensia injections our vet agreed with us to stop it. We saw no improvement and he developed a skin irritation. His spine is very arthritic so the vet is researching what would work best to help make him comfortable.

 

[kittygirl123]

We have a senior cat too, i.e. approx. 13-14 yrs. old and after two months of Solensia injections our vet agreed with us to stop it. We saw no improvement and he developed a skin irritation. His spine is very arthritic so the vet is researching what would work best to help make him comfortable.

Oh no so sorry, I have read a lot about skin irritation but many seem very much helped by it. Please let me know what they may find helps. She is on glucosamine and CBD and also prednisolone but was on that before for GI issues and it doesnt help enough.

 

[neely]

Please let me know what they may find helps.

Will do! We go in for a senior check up in the next few weeks and the vet is going to discuss it with us. I don't know if this has anything to do with it but I'm convinced because he came from a terrible hoarding situation that he had a bad start in life which negatively affected his health. His condition was so bad the vet couldn't even predict his age and gave us a 3 year window. I told them it didn't really matter how young or old he was because we would take care of him the rest of his life.

Good luck to you. I hope the glucosamine, CBDand prednisolone help her spine.

 

[Mighty Orange]

You might want to look into Boswellia Serrata for cats. It's a fantastic anti inflammatory. (pain relief)
Cat boswellia

Vet info