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njlarry

Member Since 2016
Cheesie my precious 8 yr old brown tabby suddenly developed difficulty walking. His four legs splay out from under him. He was weak and just layed with head down on the side, blank stare in his eyes. He ate very little. Stayed up with him most of the night. He mostly just layed on the floor with his eyes part open. Monday morning cancelled all plans and called his vet who couldn't get there till 430. All that day I could not get him to eat or drink. He tried a little bit of tuna that I laced with q10. He promptly vomited up that little bit followed with some dry heaves. Vet spent a lot of time with him. Body temp was only 96.4. Vet was strongly suggesting euthanasia but also left an antibiotic for a possible urinary tract infection. He took it well. His appetite is back, he lays with his head up and use his litter box. Not fully him self but more alert. But he still cant keep his legs under him. Vet attributes this to low potassium.
What could cause this and how can it be treated?
He has been on insulin and zoboline vitamins since July 2016 sugars are usually in the high 300 range. His insulin resistance has been attributed to acromegaly. He is now up to 10 units twice a day and lowest reading has been 198.
Can cats have thyroid storm from infection like humans? What else could cause his sudden walking disorder.
Love him much but trying to keep him out of stressful hospital stay.
Thanks for any advice and prayers.
 
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Do you have a copy of the lab reports? That must be aweful to see him like that. I am glad there's some improvements.
 
njlarry said:
Cheesie my precious 8 yr old brown tabby suddenly developed difficulty walking. His four legs splay out from under him. He was weak and just layed with head down on the side, blank stare in his eyes. He ate very little. Stayed up with him most of the night. He mostly just layed on the floor with his eyes part open. Monday morning cancelled all plans and called his vet who couldn't get there till 430. All that day I could not get him to eat or drink. He tried a little bit of tuna that I laced with q10. He promptly vomited up that little bit followed with some dry heaves. Vet spent a lot of time with him. Body temp was only 96.4. Vet was strongly suggesting euthanasia but also left an antibiotic for a possible urinary tract infection. He took it well. His appetite is back, he lays with his head up and use his litter box. Not fully him self but more alert. But he still cant keep his legs under him. Vet attributes this to low potassium.
What could cause this and how can it be treated?
He has been on insulin and zoboline vitamins since July 2016 sugars are usually in the high 300 range. His insulin resistance has been attributed to acromegaly. He is now up to 10 units twice a day and lowest reading has been 198.
Can cats have thyroid strom from infection like humans? What else could cause his sudden walking disorder.
Love him much but trying to keep him out of stressful hospital stay.
Thanks for any advice and prayers.
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Could be diabetic neuropathy. My cat was so bad he couldn’t stand to eat and I had to prop up his bowl for him. Gave him ordinary B12 (methcobalamin not cyanocobalamin) and ten days later he was back to normal walking.
 
Juliet said:
Could be diabetic neuropathy. My cat was so bad he couldn’t stand to eat and I had to prop up his bowl for him. Gave him ordinary B12 (methcobalamin not cyanocobalamin) and ten days later he was back to normal walking.
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He said he's already on zobaline.


To me it sounds like potassium deficiency or a neurological thing like a stroke. Possibly even a pinched nerve? That's why I'm curious to see the labs.
 
I declined taking him to the hospital for 2K massage that would stress him for what purpose? They did not do blood work this Monday but in Sept his insulin growth hormone was over 300. I would have to search for the other blood work in sept but thyroid was normal. Yesterday a urine dip stick showed Leu 70+. Nit + good, Uro 12, Pro 2000 ++++, pH 6.0, Bil low, Glu over 2000, keto 160 +hi. (All summer long his ketos with urine dip sticks has been trace to zero. On the basis of yesterdays dip stick she felt he may have a urinary tract infection. Based on his re-found appetite I think she was right. I should note that up until Saturday he would gladly consume 4-6 3 oz cans a day, Sat was normal, Sun about half that, Monday nothing and very little water, today Tuesday about 4 cans very quickly. But he still can't keep his legs under him and flops from place to place.
 
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I would like to know what his potassium level is as well.
I do not like those ketones. I think he needs to be hospitalized for a few days to flush those ketones out. I'm glad he's eating for you.
Sending prayers for Cheesie to make a full recovery.
 
Sorry I still can't find labs later than 2015. Does he have to be hospitalized to receive potassium?
Will keep looking for last blood work.
 
Found them, from 4,6,2017
Total protein 9.0 high
Albumin 4.4 high
Globulin 4.6
Ag ratio 1.0
Alt sgpt 31
Alk phoshatase 21
Urea nitrogen 47 high
Creatinine 1.0
Bun/creatine 47 high
Glucose 436 high
Potassium 4.7 range 3.4 to 5.6
Hemolysis 4 no sig interference
T4 0.7 low ref 0.8 to 4.0
 
I think my fear is putting him through the stress and cost of hospitalization and not adding much, if any, time to his life.
 
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Generally, no, he wouldn't have to be hospitalized to receive potassium, but I don't know if that holds true if his levels are drastically low. Low potassium can indeed cause difficulty walking/standing. However, if he has ketones he definitely should be hospitalized. Raised ketones lead to ketoacidosis, which requires veterinary intervention ASAP. He also risks hepatic lipidosis if he is not eating properly, again needing vet care. Since Cheesie is only 8, and doesn't appear to have any other chronic illnesses, I think the possibility of hospitalization adding time to his life is very great!
 
Thank you all for your encouragement. I should point out that he has acromegaly also. I got some renakare renal k gel from the vet today to supplement his potassium. She is coming to se him again tomorrow. Thank God for home vet visits. He has always been an indoor at home cat and a Daddy's boy and the thought of him afraid and alone in a frightening hospital cage is very upsetting. Right now he is calm and relaxed in his home. His appetite is back but it is so upsetting to watch him stumple everywhere.
If he survives the hospital, how long before the acromegaly takes him. I wish there was a way to balance his electrolytes as an out patient.
Thank you for sharing your experiences.
 
njlarry said:
Thank you all for your encouragement. I should point out that he has acromegaly also. I got some renakare renal k gel from the vet today to supplement his potassium. She is coming to se him again tomorrow. Thank God for home vet visits. He has always been an indoor at home cat and a Daddy's boy and the thought of him afraid and alone in a frightening hospital cage is very upsetting. Right now he is calm and relaxed in his home. His appetite is back but it is so upsetting to watch him stumple everywhere.
If he survives the hospital, how long before the acromegaly takes him. I wish there was a way to balance his electrolytes as an out patient.
Thank you for sharing your experiences.
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If he doesn't like the Renal K gel, it's also available in a powder that you can mix into his food (my cat uses it).We have lots of Acro-cats here, maybe this will help you. You could also try making a thread asking for input from other acro cat people. :)
 
Hopefull news! First I want to thank everyone here for your advice and prayers.
After watching poor Cheesie drag himself across the kitchen to his litter box three times, I could not bear to watch it anymore and took him to the ER even though he has a visiting vet appointment tomorrow. Based on the early blood work the admitting vet thinks Chessie may not have acromegaly after all. ( I am still worried why he is insulin resistant ) Also he was not potassium low but rather sodium high. The tricky part is getting it back not too slow or too quick. Although his urine at home was reading high for ketones, his blood test for ketones was not elevated.
Will let you know what develops.
 
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njlarry said:
Hopefull news! First I want to thank everyone here for your advice and prayers.
After watching poor Cheesie drag himself across the kitchen to his litter box three times, I could not bear to watch it anymore and took him to the ER even though he has a visiting vet appointment tomorrow. Based on the early blood work the admitting vet thinks Chessie may not have acromegaly after all. ( I am still worried why he is insulin resistant ) Also he was not potassium low but rather sodium high. The tricky part is getting it back not too slow or too quick. Although his urine at home was reading high for ketones, his blood test for ketones was not elevated.
Will let you know what develops.
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Are they keeping him overnight? I take it they feel then his condition can be reversed?
 
Yes to both. They told me the sodium has to be restored slowly to prevent swelling of the brain. May be there as long as four days but I am hoping less.
 
njlarry said:
Yes to both. They told me the sodium has to be restored slowly to prevent swelling of the brain. May be there as long as four days but I am hoping less.
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My cat Buddy is insulin resistant, with no known reason for it. If your Kitty is an acro kitty, there is lots of info about acro kitty's on FDMB and sharing info about a med that some acro kitty's are taking.
 
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