# Young cat semi-paralysis of the hind legs?



## lilqhgal (Mar 29, 2007)

Hi all, I'm a lurker mostly but have enjoyed reading others posts and suggestions. I come to you all again in a dark time in my pet life. A couple months back my horse was diagnosed with a protozoan infection of the central nervous system, with a slim chance of recovery (although we've been fighting). And then last week my sweet 7mo old JRT puppy got hit and killed on the road 10 feet from me (we live in a rural area and I was walking my horse for his daily exercise). 

Now not that that isn't enough, but within a week or so, my wonderful cat Eros, who is not quite 2 (and of unknown origin but we're guessing Norwegian Forest Cat) has gone from not being able to jump up onto things (couch, shelves, etc) to barely being able to walk. He sort of gimps along about 3-5 steps and then has to stop. It's hard to describe. Both hind legs are affected, and he kind of waddles like a duck. When he lays down, he can stretch both legs fully (normal cat function, like stretching) and doesn't seem to be in pain. And he can sit up and spread his legs and stick one straight up in the air to clean himself "down there" without problem. And you can touch him and rub him and pull his legs around and it doesn't seem to be in great pain because he lets you do those things to him without a fuss. 

We went to the vet today, and it has baffled them there. The attending vet suggested a few things. One, it may be a clot, even though he's not quite the age for heart disease, those things can happen. Another thing could be something called Fibrocartilaginous Embolic Myelopathy, which has something to do with a piece of cartilage becoming inflamed in the central nervous system? I'm not quite sure I followed that one. But she said First off, it's rare in cats (usually found in large breed dogs), and Secondly, there's usually a mediocre amount of pain associated with it, which my cat doesn't seem to display. She took an Xray but that didn't look out of the ordinary. Heart was about the right size in the right area, nothing major popped out, spinal column ok (and discs spaced alright) (from a vet office xray image) but she suggested to take him to a special clinic in Cincinnati where they could run cardiology tests, neurological tests, and do a full extensive workup on him. Unfortunately, I just don't have that kind of money. I'm already almost bankrupt trying to save my horse and give my son somewhat of a Christmas, and then spending over $300 today at the Vet's office, I just can't spend much more that what I've spent already. I'm just heartbroken because there wasn't a definitive diagnosis. Even though I've had this guy since he was a kitten, he's the result of a pregnant cat that was dumped near my mom's house (they have so many cats dumped out by them, and my mom doesn't turn them down if they come to the door asking for help). 

I'm hoping some of you out there may have some experience with this, or suggestions for things to check into. Vet drew blood and the results should be back Monday (though we're still not sure what we're looking for), and she also took a urine sample. Keep in mind his symptoms really hit fast, within about a week, because last week he was running and jumping and playing with our JRT pup (they were best friends). And then she was killed and it was like all of a sudden, the next day, he couldn't jump on their food shelf (about 4' up, to keep the dogs out), and then the next day he couldn't jump up 3', and the day after, he couldn't jump onto a chair or the couch, and then within a few days, gimping around and then barely walking. He still somehow made it upstairs tonite *??*. He also recevied a shot for tapeworms and was frontlined today. Could either of those things (fleas/worms) cause semi-paralysis of the hind legs?

Hopefully awaiting responses,

Ramsey and Eros (my little cupid).


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## lilqhgal (Mar 29, 2007)

Eros and Tessa (or JRT that we just lost).


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## Nini (May 6, 2007)

Unfortunately I don't have any answers for you, but there are very knowledgeable people on this forum, and I hope they will be able to make suggestions.

I am so sorry for the loss of your pup, she looked like such a sweet dog, cuddling with your kitty like this... between that, your horse so sick and now your cat, you must be dying with worry  

I hope both the horse and Eros will get better... I hope you find out what is wrong with Eros very soon.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

I'm sorry to hear about your loss of Tessa and the problems you are dealing with with your horse. I'm assuming a QH from your user name, I have a Paso. I dog-sat a JRT Friday night, she was the sweetest thing, though she really preferred my husband over me. She is a man's dog.

I wonder if your kitty took a spill and has inflamed something, needing only time for irritation to go away and return to normal? It certainly does sound like a sudden injury, not really an illness to me, though I would look into the blood clot thing, perhaps google for more info, as I know nothing about them...only that it can be serious.

We recently lost Reilly this year (at age 9) to a degenerative condition that the vet finally thought was a spinal column cancer. I noticed in 2004, Reilly(age 6 at that time) progressed from normal, to a little clumsy, to very clumsy, to having trouble keeping his spine straight and his back end would 'fishtail' as he ran, to his back legs getting 'hooked' on each other as he walked. 
This increased to his back feet hesitating in their forward movement with each step, taking headers and somersaults off furniture when trying to get down. As he walked, his back end (hips) wouls sink lower and lower to the floor, as if he just couldn't hold himself up and he went to being able to take 10 steps before his back end tipped over into a sitting position to 1-3 steps before the sit-down. Progressing further to pulling himself along with his front feet because his back end would not work. He would also extend his back feet/toes as if stretching, but they would quiver and stay in that position for several minutes. If I massaged his muscles, they would relax. He never appeared to be aware of what his legs/toes were doing.
Also during this time, if you held the end of his tail and pulled up enough to keep his hips the same height as his shoulders, he could move more normally. He just didn't have the strength/coordination to be able to do it himself. He also degenerated with his bathroom habits, but it wasn't his fault. He couldn't stand in the litter so I gave him a tray with a towel, when couldn't get into the tray, I gave him a plastic mat with a towel on it. We kept him happy until the muscle loss affected his colon and he was becomeing painfully constipated and the meds no longer helped.

At first the vet was certain he had diabetes, because of the clinical signs he was exhibiting. She was confused when the blood test returned normal. We tried cortisone shots, which had no affect, though they kept him eating. 
We did not have a lot of money to spend on diagnostics and she felt if he had a problem with his spine, with the cost of surgery not an option, that treatment would remain what we were doing and the costs of further diagnostics would not benefit us, due to our budget. She helped us keep him happy and healthy for three years before we lost him. It was certainly more work, but it was what we were able to do for him.
Near the end, she presented his case/symptoms on a veterinary forum she belongs to and the consensus was a type of spinal cancer. With the forum vets in agreement, she said even if we knew that was what it was at the outset, the end would have remained the same.

I know how you feel when tragedy upon tragedy falls upon you. Just before Rei was brought in to the vet because of his 'clumsiness' I had lost a Peruvian Paso to DSLD when she ruptured a damaged ligament and had to be euth/buried. I was given a Paso Fino about a month after losing the first horse. I had the PF for about 4 months when I had to fly across the country to attend my step-dad's funeral. PF had an accident with the panel fencing and hung by her pastern at a panel junction. She developed kidney failure, endotoxemia and acute laminitis and had to be euth/buried while I was still across the county. I came home to an empty barn and the feeling that I was 'death' to horses. I have gotton over the losses and no longer feel that way. Time will cushion the hurt you are feeling.

Do not feel badly about not being able to afford to do everything. Do what you can, it is all you can do. If you can show the animal love, care and compassion...even if it means having to say goodbye rather than let it suffer, you have still done your best.
Hugs to you and Eros...


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

I'm sorry to hear you've had such a rough time of it lately. There are so many possibilities that it's difficult to suggest what may be going on with poor little Eros. I can share that when Callie had IBD and she wasn't absorbing her nutrients properly she ended up with a potassium deficiency that affected her back legs, sounds very similar to what you're describing. The blood work will tell you if it's anything like that, the question then would be, what triggered it.

Hope you find out something soon, it turns out to be an easy fix and Eros is back to being himself in no time.


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## queen of the nile (Aug 16, 2003)

I'm sorry that you and your kitty are going through this right now. This must be very hard for you.

I hope the vet has some more answers for you when the blood work comes back. Blood work should let you know whether or not there is an inflammatory process occurring. Has Eros been tested for FeLV and FIV? If he hasn't, I would recommend it. The test is not all that expensive, and it may help rule in or rule out some causes.

To me, this sounds like it is a rapidly acting, but progressive disease. Did your vet see Eros before or after he started having difficulty walking? If this is new, please let your vet know, because it may make them consider different diseases as the cause of his symptoms. Diseases like fibrocartilagenous embolism should not progress.

I just wanted to give you a bit more information about fibrocartilagenous embolism (FCE). Between each of the vertebrae, there is a disk that cushions the forces on the spinal column. These disks have a jelly-like center, with a fibrous capsule. Sometimes, a bit of this jelly-like material pushes through the capsule and enters a blood vessel. This causes part of the spinal cord to lose its blood supply and stop functioning. This causes a very rapid change.

The classic picture of FCE, is a dog that jumps in the air to catch a stick or ball, cries out and falls to the ground. When they get up, their neurologic signs are apparent, but they do not get any worse with time. The condition is only painful for the first 6 hours or so, and then you can no longer find a painful spot.

I hope that clarifies things for you a bit. I have my fingers crossed that the bloodwork will give a clue about what is going on.


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## lilqhgal (Mar 29, 2007)

Hello everyone, I just wanted to update you all on what's been happening.

The bloodwork came back basically unhelpful (all was well, nothing major out of line, no infection, etc etc) so it's really given us no further clues. I gave Eros another dose of aspirin about 4 days after his first one, but within about a week, he was starting to walk better, and by the 2nd week, I'd say he was back to about 95%. My hubby said he looked "back to normal" (but I could still see that he was slightly 'off'. I suppose years with horses has given me the ability to notice when things aren't 110% right/normal. Eros stayed that way for a while, was able to jump up onto the couch/bed, etc, but I never had him try to jump higher than that (remember his feed dish used to be up about 4' to prevent the dogs from eating it). However, within the last week, he's started to wobble around again, exact same symptoms. Albeit, he's not as bad as he was the first go-round, and can still jump up on the couch and stuff, but he's walking with a very strange hump in his back (almost like his rear end is pointed down some) and his hocks are sinking low to the ground. He looks kind of like a raccoon walking. Finances are still out for doing any further testing, so it's a guessing game at best. He doesn't appear in pain, and still plays with the dogs and stuff, and is eating ok, so hopefully that is good, and only if he goes way downhill will we consider anything else. Another strange thing to note is this cat LOVES dog food. I do NOT feed it to him but if the dog leaves a few bites in her bowl, he'll go over there and eat it when he can get away with it. Could this be causing problems? He still defecates normally (that I can tell) so it's very confusing.

Queen - He'd been tested for FIV in the past (when he was about 6mo old and was in to be neutered) and was negative but hasn't been tested since. However, he doesn't display the same symptoms as an FIV positive cat would - I've unfortunately had a couple in the past. He'd only been to the vet the one time before this, and that was for routine neutering about 1.5 years ago. Thanks for the clarification on FCE. He may have done something like that and I was unaware of the painful first few hours? But would that be representative of him displaying symptoms again a month later after he seemed to be getting better?

doodlebug - What's IBD? Eros's bloodwork was normal so does that rule this out for him?

Heidi - Sorry to hear about your Pasos, they're beautiful horses! Yes my Traveler is a QH - I have a blog for him about the battle with his disease at http://www.victoryrun.com/ (hope that's ok to post, if not, please remove!) It's very likely Eros hurt himself by being a maniac (he's known for that) and inflamed something, but what would make it come back again about a month later? I guess without more $$$ for tests, we're really playing the guessing game here.

Nini, thanks for the warm wishes. Yes it was a tragic loss, and we really didn't want another one, but hubby's bro-in-law was taking one of his to the pound the other day because the sisters were fighting, so we said just bring her here instead. She's turned out to be a very sweet little gal, and turns out, she's a full sister and littermate to our very first JRT that we lost last spring to coyotes.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Boy, this sounds like quite the puzzle, I'm sorry his symptoms have returned. May be re-injured himself?

IBD is inflammatory bowel disease and has nothing to do with what is going on with him. I just mentioned it because it triggered a potassium deficiency in Callie. I was thinking maybe he has a potassium deficiency (or other electolyte/vitamin/mineral) triggered by some other issue that would cause similar symptoms. Since the blood work came back normal, I think it's pretty safe to say that's not the issue. 

Hope you get this figured out soon.


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## Mom of 4 (Jul 29, 2006)

My guess would be a pinched nerve. The aspirin works an anti-inflammatory and would reduce swelling, letting the nerve function normally again.

Take a picture of the walking position - and video if you can - to show the vet if you do go in. 

Positive thoughts and prayers headed your way.


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## lilqhgal (Mar 29, 2007)

What is the treatment for a pinched nerve?


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## Kittys Mom (May 7, 2004)

I think that treatment depends on the location of the pinched nerve.


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## Mom of 4 (Jul 29, 2006)

This is geared toward people, but would still apply to cats and dogs. Many of the medical treatments for humans are now used on our furries.

The term pinched nerve describes one type of damage or injury to a nerve or set of nerves. The injury may result from compression, constriction, or stretching. Symptoms include numbness, "pins and needles" or burning sensations, and pain radiating outward from the injured area. One of the most common examples of a single compressed nerve is the feeling of having a foot or hand "fall asleep." Pinched nerves can sometimes lead to other conditions such as peripheral neuropathy, loss of function of the hand or arm. The extent of such injuries may vary from minor, temporary damage to a more permanent condition.
The most frequently recommended treatment for pinched nerve is rest for the affected area. Corticosteroids help alleviate pain. In some cases, surgery is recommended. Physical therapy may be recommended, and splints may be used. 

CAT scans or MRIs may be needed to identify the location and possible of the pinched nerve.


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## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

Also chiropractic and/or acupuncture can be very effective for a pinched nerve. And, yes, there are vets that do it.
I've injured my back several times. When my lower back goes wonky badly enough it always pinches my nerve down my left leg. It's virtually impossible to walk (drive, sit, stand, lay down...) and my chiropractor is my savior!
The only other thing I can think of is a neurological problem. Yikes! 
Did they ever do an MRI and ultrasound? If not, that's what I would do.
Poor kitty! I hope they can figure it out.


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## lilqhgal (Mar 29, 2007)

Thanks guys! Great info to swallow!

Unfortunately, finances didn't allow me to have any extra intensive tests done (MRIs, ultrasounds, etc.). When he visited the vet, he had a general Xray done that was pretty much inconclusive (nothing out of the norm) but not a very thorough test. It still ran me over $300 for that one visit (with all the other stuff they did) so even tho further testing was recommended, I just couldn't afford it at the time.

I do have to say though that he's been taking it easy this week and seems to be feeling better again. I remember a specific moment where someone new was in our house and the vacuum sweeper was running and he had a brief moment of panic where he took a backflip off the back of our couch, crashed into the table behind it and fell to the floor. It was the very next day he was going down hill. I'd say it took about 3 days to get to the worst point, and abut 3 days to come back out of it, and that was about a week ago. So perhaps he did injure something somewhere along the line and the re-injury has flared up the pain? Just wanted to update everyone! Thanks all!


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