Front legs can't sustain weight of kitty.

[LC999]

I hope someone knows what this could be.
My cat 4 year old female tabby has lost almost all stability and strength in her front legs. She can't take 3-5 steps then has to rest otherwise she'll literally fall over and hurt herself at times. The issue has been going on for about a year but has gotten progressively worse the last 7 months. The neurologist performed a mri and originally thought there was small amount of fluid in her cerebellum. She has been tested for all of the common cat cancers, meningitis, has had a spinal tap to look for other infections. The neurologist seems like she pretty much gave up . I recently bought my girl kitty a quad wheelchair but I'm afraid it's too far gone.
Other than the leg walking issue she's a happy kitty and doesn't have any other issue. It's really odd because only her front legs have no strength.

If anyone has even a hunch on something that could help or be please message me. I love my cat so much and it breaks my heart to not be able to walk or live a regular life. My fear is it will get worse and since I don't have a clue what it is or what to test for idk what to expect.

 

[Krienze]

Oh my, that sounds scary =( I'm sorry. I know it has to be rough on you not to know what's going on.

Are you able to get a second or third opinion at all? The fact that you feel like his neurologist has given up makes me think you absolutely need a new one

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi and welcome to TCS, despite what brought you here. I agree with the above. I am not inclined to think much of any vet, specialist or otherwise, who just 'gives up'.

You have to try to find another, maybe this time an internal med vet that is part of a specialty group that contains neurology, among other specialists, that they can consult with as needed. All of the records/testing that was done can be shared with an internal med vet as a starting point. Although, given it has progressed more testing will likely be needed.

Most of these groups usually require a referral from a vet. Do you have a regular vet that has been involved in the overall care of your cat?

 

[LC999]

Her usual vet referred me to the neurologist that was 6 hours away. $6500 and 2 months later I'm nowhere closer to finding really anything out about my poor girl.





This is what she last sent me..



DIAGNOSTIC RESULTS MRI conclusions: (previously reported) 1. Suspected intracalvarial, intra-axial lesion of the brainstem and possible meningeal enhancement of the olfactory lobes, concerning for meningoencephalitis, however this is seen on 1 of 2 planes and could be artifactual. No other cause of the clinical signs is seen. 2. Mild right olfactory recess enlargement, without ependymal signal change, this is likely congenital. Previously pending results: Infectious disease PCR testing on CSF: Negative for Feline corona virus, bartonella, cryptococcus, toxoplasma, Felv and FIV. CSF cytology: No inflammatory cells or red blood cells noted on the sample, normal protein, normal glucose. Cytologist review: The sample is essentially acellular with a clear background. No overtly neoplastic cells or infectious agents are detected. MICROSCOPIC FINDINGS: No significant cytologic abnormalities COMMENTS: The total nucleated cell count and protein concentration are within reference limits. PATHOLOGIST: Connie Wu Siegfried, DVM, Diplomate ACVP NOTES initially while awaiting CSF tap and infectious testing results Gaia was started on a course of prednisolone and clindamycin while awaiting test results. While the radiologist who reviewed her MRI felt there were signs indicative of inflammation (meningoencephalitis), this was not detected on the spinal fluid analysis nor were there any active infectious agents noted in her CSF on PCR testing. There can be cases where there is inflammation in the brain tissue that just does not shed into the CSF, so we may still need to continue or make adjustments to her prednisolone dose, but I would first like to hear how she has done on the initial tapering doses before recommending those changes."



Her prednisolone dosage was adjusted to a higher amount but it's made no difference. I'm lost at what to do or where to look.

 

[FeebysOwner]

What are your vet's thoughts on all of this? I am not a vet, so I would have to look up a whole lot of those words to better understand everything that was written.

Where in the heck are located that the closest neurologist is 6 hours away? Maybe the next step is to look for an internal med vet either one closer or one that would be willing to start out with a telephone consultation - after not only giving the report above, but copies of the actual test results that were done. The report above is only their assessment of the tests, not the tests themselves.

The other thing to consider is a vet university consult. There is likely one just a close as this neurologist is, and maybe they would be willing to review the actual test and reports first too. Maybe even do a phone consult too.

Your cat needs to see someone else to get to the bottom of the problem.

 

[silent meowlook]

Yikes. That’s allot to unpack. I’m so sorry. Well that was certainly an anti climatic result that doesn’t honestly help at all. But at least you know what it is not. And that is not viral or infectious. If I read that right.
I am sure all the basic electrolyte and CBC, CHEM tests have been done.
Do you have a feline only practice near you?
Is there an integrated or holistic practice near you? I wonder if acupuncture could help? I am not suggesting this, but if the standard testing and in depth testing hasn’t helped, it might be worth while to see a licensed holistic DVM.
I have only seen this type of front end weakness, not caused by injury or cryptococcus, in a young cat one time and that was a 9 month old cat with lymphoma where the tumors were pressing against the spinal cord. It was horrible and even with aggressive chemotherapy the cat became fully paralyzed within 2 weeks. This is not what is happening in your cat.

So, I don’t know, some people swear by acupuncture, I don’t have any experience with it though.

Sorry, not much help.

 

[fionasmom]

I had acupuncture on a GSD with degenerative myelopathy (basically MS in dogs). The condition is painless, as nerves die, so the acupuncture was not for pain and it did not restore any movement to his legs. I have known humans who swear by acupuncture for pain however. I don't know that in the case of your cat it would do much.

Getting a quad cart was very proactive of you. Your kitty is lucky that you are taking such care of her.

Veterinary Support Services
Contact Information
I believe that Cornell offers remote support to vets. It might be worth calling some of the major veterinary schools to see if they can help with an online consultation.

It is also very possible, as was suggested, that another vet might have some insight into all of this.

Do you have to help Gaia to the litterbox, etc?

 

[LC999]

I had acupuncture on a GSD with degenerative myelopathy (basically MS in dogs). The condition is painless, as nerves die, so the acupuncture was not for pain and it did not restore any movement to his legs. I have known humans who swear by acupuncture for pain however. I don't know that in the case of your cat it would do much.

Getting a quad cart was very proactive of you. Your kitty is lucky that you are taking such care of her.

Veterinary Support Services
Contact Information
I believe that Cornell offers remote support to vets. It might be worth calling some of the major veterinary schools to see if they can help with an online consultation.

It is also very possible, as was suggested, that another vet might have some insight into all of this.

Do you have to help Gaia to the litterbox, etc?

Yikes. That’s allot to unpack. I’m so sorry. Well that was certainly an anti climatic result that doesn’t honestly help at all. But at least you know what it is not. And that is not viral or infectious. If I read that right.
I am sure all the basic electrolyte and CBC, CHEM tests have been done.
Do you have a feline only practice near you?
Is there an integrated or holistic practice near you? I wonder if acupuncture could help? I am not suggesting this, but if the standard testing and in depth testing hasn’t helped, it might be worth while to see a licensed holistic DVM.
I have only seen this type of front end weakness, not caused by injury or cryptococcus, in a young cat one time and that was a 9 month old cat with lymphoma where the tumors were pressing against the spinal cord. It was horrible and even with aggressive chemotherapy the cat became fully paralyzed within 2 weeks. This is not what is happening in your cat.

So, I don’t know, some people swear by acupuncture, I don’t have any experience with it though.

Sorry, not much help.

Thank you so much for the response it means a lot. To answer your questions, yes had comprehensive blood work done and no red flags whatsoever. The only thing that was brought up by the neuro was possible inflammation of cerebellum but she seemed unsure and described it as possible "relics" in the mri images. Meaning it could be or not which doesn't help at all.

She has all of her vaccines and I feed her Hills Science Perfect Weight cat food, she is on prednisolone 5mg; 2 times a day. I don't understand what could have caused this in her but it's heart breaking seeing her try to get around. I usually have to carry her in and out of the litter although she still tries to get to it.

I was advised by the neurologist to get her a base paws genetic health test to see if their's any biomarkers that could indicate a genetic disease. I'm currently waiting on the kit.

 

[LC999]

I had acupuncture on a GSD with degenerative myelopathy (basically MS in dogs). The condition is painless, as nerves die, so the acupuncture was not for pain and it did not restore any movement to his legs. I have known humans who swear by acupuncture for pain however. I don't know that in the case of your cat it would do much.

Getting a quad cart was very proactive of you. Your kitty is lucky that you are taking such care of her.

Veterinary Support Services
Contact Information
I believe that Cornell offers remote support to vets. It might be worth calling some of the major veterinary schools to see if they can help with an online consultation.

It is also very possible, as was suggested, that another vet might have some insight into all of this.

Do you have to help Gaia to the litterbox, etc?

Thank you so much for taking the time to gather information for my baby. I'm going to give that a try. Someone somewhere has to have an answer on what's going on with her. She's such a sweet girl it kills me not be able to ease her issues.

 

[silent meowlook]

What breed of cat is she?

 

[silent meowlook]

I’m sorry, I see now that she is a 4 year old tabby. So I am going to assume Domestic shorthair.

 

[LC999]

I’m sorry, I see now that she is a 4 year old tabby. So I am going to assume Domestic shorthair.

Yea she's the sweetest little girl tabby cat. Her quad chair came in today and I'm hoping it make her mobility issues less difficult for her.

 

[fionasmom]

Which quad chair did you purchase?

 

[LC999]

Which quad chair did you purchase?

Its a quad full support chair from K9carts.

 

[F+V]

Some possibilities that might be worth considering:

Degenerative neurological conditions like feline spinal muscular atrophy (FSMA but usually in Maine Coon kittens) or degenerative myelopathy could cause progressive muscle weakness and instability in the front limbs. These are often slowly progressive and can be difficult to diagnose early.

Myasthenia gravis is a neuromuscular disorder where communication between nerevs and muscles is impaired, leading to muscle weakness and fatigue. But regurgitation is a common symptom..

Polyneuropathy or motor neuron disease. This is a broad category that includes many disorders that affect the peripheral nerves or motor neurons, leading to weakness and difficulty with coordination. Often challenging to diagnose

I'm sorry I feel your pain... I've recently noticed brief jerky movements in the front limb(s) of my boy a few times and am a little worried.. Is there a holistic vet near you that practices homeopathy?

 

[fionasmom]

K9 Carts is a very well recognized and old animal mobility company. If you have any concerns about the use of the cart, or anything else related to it, they will help you.