Last Friday (7/2) my wife and I returned from dinner to find our cat, Jax, laying on our outdoor couch and noticed something was wrong. He is an indoor/outdoor cat, but spends the majority of his time inside. We typically let him out when we get home from work and get him back in before dark as we live on the outskirts of Lexington, KY on an acre and a half and worry about coyotes, etc. We picked him up and seemed that his front legs were mostly immobile. His back legs seemed to be working fine as he was using them to push himself around a little bit. We immediately took him to the emergency vet where they were able to run his vitals and everything looked fine. We were sent home with hope that he would regain function by the morning and we would be able to take him to our primary vet in the morning to do more testing. Our primary vet was unfortunately not open last saturday due to the holiday weekend so we took him back to the emergency vet as he was still in no better shape than the night before.
We got him to the emergency vet Saturday (7/3) morning where they began more tests: bloodwork, ultrasound, and CT scan. Bloodwork was completely normal and ultrasound was mostly normal aside from a small (7mm) mass in his abdomen that a boarded internal medicine vet said was just a calcified fat mass and most likely was not the result of what they were seeing. Saturday night into Sunday he started to get worse and was not moving at all according to the overnight emergency vet. When we came to see him Sunday afternoon he had not eaten for them but was peeing normally. He was peeing on himself as he was not able to stand to use the litter box. However, while we were there he ate quite a bit when me and my wife tried feeding him. We had asked if it would be possible to take him home and treat him with medication and fluids since he seemed more reactant to us, his owners. We were told he needed to stay and that would not be possible. The next day (Monday 7/5) we went to see him in the early morning before work and he again ate very well for us and were told it was okay for him to go home but would need to keep him comfortable with fluids and medicine. Due to the holiday weekend the CT scan did not come back until Monday (7/5) which again showed nothing out of the ordinary and gave us no answers. When we left they told us the next step would be to get him to a neurologist. So we have a consultation with a neurologist next Tuesday (7/13) where we will hopefully get more answers.
We were able to take him home Monday and I have been working from home taking care of him all week. He has showed slight improvement over the week. He is able to sit up on his own and turn over without help. He is still eating just fine. He is getting subq fluids under the skin every morning (150 ml) antibiotic every 12 hours, 1/4 tablet of blood thinner (in case of a clot) every 24 hours, and a steroid every 24 hours. I have been doing passive range of motion exercises with his front legs and he doesn't seem bothered by it as long as I am gentle. He does sleep a lot throughout the day, but has moments where he will sit up and clean himself or just sit up to see what is going on. Whenever he needs to pee he starts to move around quite a bit and meow so I take him to the litter box and he pees voluntarily. I was concerned he had not pooped since Friday (7/2) and our primary gave us an enema that I administered yesterday (7/8) and he finally pooped.
We do have one theory as of now that I will try to walk through as best as I can. When we first took him Friday night they had asked if it was possible if he could have gotten into anything. Friday night we looked around outside to see if there was anything out of the ordinary. The one thing we did find was what looked to be a decomposed mouse or mole. After finding this I did a little research and came across botulism. The more I dug into it, it seemed like it could be a possibility. From what I found botulism does cause paralysis, typically starting in the back legs and working its way up to the front legs and face. The only symptom he didn't or wasn't showing was paralysis of the back legs as his back legs have seemed to be working for the most part. We mentioned this to both the emergency vet and our primary vet. The emergency vet was quick to brush it off. Our primary vet said it was unlikely but was going to look into it more and consult with some of her colleagues. I hate to be the guy the "google doctor" but after getting no answers from any tests I was desperate to find an answer myself. The main symptoms that he was exhibiting that matched up with botulism were leg paralysis, decreased respiratory rate when he was at his worst Saturday night into sunday, constipation, and depression. I know it is rare and a bit of a stretch but trying my best to figure out what is wrong.
We also have wild berries that grow on the back tree line of our property (mulberry, wild blackberries, and wild raspberries) I'm not sure if that could have anything to do with it either.
I know that is a lot, but after getting blood work, ultrasound, and ct scan with no answer to what is wrong with him we are desperate for any advice/answers on what could possibly be wrong or if this sounds familiar to anyone. It has been an emotionally and mentally draining week with many restless nights. Any help would be so greatly appreciated!
We got him to the emergency vet Saturday (7/3) morning where they began more tests: bloodwork, ultrasound, and CT scan. Bloodwork was completely normal and ultrasound was mostly normal aside from a small (7mm) mass in his abdomen that a boarded internal medicine vet said was just a calcified fat mass and most likely was not the result of what they were seeing. Saturday night into Sunday he started to get worse and was not moving at all according to the overnight emergency vet. When we came to see him Sunday afternoon he had not eaten for them but was peeing normally. He was peeing on himself as he was not able to stand to use the litter box. However, while we were there he ate quite a bit when me and my wife tried feeding him. We had asked if it would be possible to take him home and treat him with medication and fluids since he seemed more reactant to us, his owners. We were told he needed to stay and that would not be possible. The next day (Monday 7/5) we went to see him in the early morning before work and he again ate very well for us and were told it was okay for him to go home but would need to keep him comfortable with fluids and medicine. Due to the holiday weekend the CT scan did not come back until Monday (7/5) which again showed nothing out of the ordinary and gave us no answers. When we left they told us the next step would be to get him to a neurologist. So we have a consultation with a neurologist next Tuesday (7/13) where we will hopefully get more answers.
We were able to take him home Monday and I have been working from home taking care of him all week. He has showed slight improvement over the week. He is able to sit up on his own and turn over without help. He is still eating just fine. He is getting subq fluids under the skin every morning (150 ml) antibiotic every 12 hours, 1/4 tablet of blood thinner (in case of a clot) every 24 hours, and a steroid every 24 hours. I have been doing passive range of motion exercises with his front legs and he doesn't seem bothered by it as long as I am gentle. He does sleep a lot throughout the day, but has moments where he will sit up and clean himself or just sit up to see what is going on. Whenever he needs to pee he starts to move around quite a bit and meow so I take him to the litter box and he pees voluntarily. I was concerned he had not pooped since Friday (7/2) and our primary gave us an enema that I administered yesterday (7/8) and he finally pooped.
We do have one theory as of now that I will try to walk through as best as I can. When we first took him Friday night they had asked if it was possible if he could have gotten into anything. Friday night we looked around outside to see if there was anything out of the ordinary. The one thing we did find was what looked to be a decomposed mouse or mole. After finding this I did a little research and came across botulism. The more I dug into it, it seemed like it could be a possibility. From what I found botulism does cause paralysis, typically starting in the back legs and working its way up to the front legs and face. The only symptom he didn't or wasn't showing was paralysis of the back legs as his back legs have seemed to be working for the most part. We mentioned this to both the emergency vet and our primary vet. The emergency vet was quick to brush it off. Our primary vet said it was unlikely but was going to look into it more and consult with some of her colleagues. I hate to be the guy the "google doctor" but after getting no answers from any tests I was desperate to find an answer myself. The main symptoms that he was exhibiting that matched up with botulism were leg paralysis, decreased respiratory rate when he was at his worst Saturday night into sunday, constipation, and depression. I know it is rare and a bit of a stretch but trying my best to figure out what is wrong.
We also have wild berries that grow on the back tree line of our property (mulberry, wild blackberries, and wild raspberries) I'm not sure if that could have anything to do with it either.
I know that is a lot, but after getting blood work, ultrasound, and ct scan with no answer to what is wrong with him we are desperate for any advice/answers on what could possibly be wrong or if this sounds familiar to anyone. It has been an emotionally and mentally draining week with many restless nights. Any help would be so greatly appreciated!