Hyper-extension on front paws

Krista & Copernicus

Krista & Copernicus

Member Since 2026
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Walking on hocks is one thing but he has significant hyper extension on front paws now? Anything I can do? Vet said rehab but their first consult is a month out.
 
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Wow that is terrible. I am so sorry. Are you giving methylcobalamin daily? It’s not in your signature so I was wondering.

Can you try a daily dose of Cabergoline instead of every other day? It looks like he’s had a response but could do better.

Is he in pain? Can you try a little Buprenorphine? Does he have arthritis?

@Wendy&Neko
 
Nothing to add to what Suzanne has suggested so far. Other that he needs to get into better blood sugars as soon as safely possible to do so.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Wow that is terrible. I am so sorry. Are you giving methylcobalamin daily? It’s not in your signature so I was wondering.

Can you try a daily dose of Cabergoline instead of every other day? It looks like he’s had a response but could do better.

Is he in pain? Can you try a little Buprenorphine? Does he have arthritis?

@Wendy&Neko
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I started b12 again daily. But he is often in the ER and the vets never support supplements or never continue to move them in the hospital. They also blamed his supplements having magnesium stearate as a reason for having high magnesium levels. He has arthritis in hips. That is the referral I'm waiting on. He is in pain. Once again, we are considering euthanasia as he only is awake a few minutes a day and can only walk a few feet now that all 4 paws are effected.
 
Many acrocats end up on buprenorphine full time for pain, Neko had to. It was a game changer for her. She starting interacting a lot more with us and playing. For some cats full time gabapentin works. Even your local GP vet should be able to prescribe something for arthritis pain until he sees the specialist.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Many acrocats end up on buprenorphine full time for pain, Neko had to. It was a game changer for her. She starting interacting a lot more with us and playing. For some cats full time gabapentin works. Even your local GP vet should be able to prescribe something for arthritis pain until he sees the specialist.
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I just spent time and money at a new internist. She is who referred me back to rehab. So now I am back to emailing vet school about arthritis. once again we are being just passed around and drug seeking. The primary vet took the hip X-rays but wouldn't prescribe anything for arthritis. So many vets have failed him. And I failed him by not doing the radiation sooner. He's really progresses from that 700 event and I will die on that hill.
 
I'm sorry. :bighug:I have been following you a long time since we both have acro cats. for
I agree with what Suzanne said. To me, that looks like neurophathy and the B12 type you need is methylcobalamin, but it can take a while to start showing improvement.
I just recently changed my cat to every day dosing of Cabergoline because it seemed to quit working as well as it did previously.
I would tell them to prescribe some Buprenorphine for pain, as opposed to Gabapentin which causes more sleepiness.
I have also read your posts on Facebook, and I have seen cats on 100 units as I have been here a long time. Also, if you decide to use a bolus insulin like R please post here and have someone guide you for help and don't just buy it and do it on your own.

Wishing and praying all the time for Copernicus to get better.
 
Since he is in pain, I would insist that he receive Buprenorphine. The doses are small. It is very easy to slip an oral dosing syringe into the cheek pouch to give the dose, and cats don’t even seem to mind the taste. I don’t think it has much taste. As Dyana mentioned, it’s a lot less sedating than Gabapentin. Copernicus already has trouble walking, so you really don’t need a pain med that can cause a wobbly gait or instability in walking!
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Since he is in pain, I would insist that he receive Buprenorphine. The doses are small. It is very easy to slip an oral dosing syringe into the cheek pouch to give the dose, and cats don’t even seem to mind the taste. I don’t think it has much taste. As Dyana mentioned, it’s a lot less sedating than Gabapentin. Copernicus already has trouble walking, so you really don’t need a pain med that can cause a wobbly gait or instability in walking!
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They have him what they called an intermediate dose of that in the hospital and he was falling all over the place and drooling and nauseous.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
They obviously have no experience or knowledge about cats with acromegaly.
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I'm at the vet school. One of the known centers for acro. But his first IM was a criticalist on a rotation who increased his dose by 5 units with no days for a depot. His second was good but conservative and she left for a rotation. His third was a first year and she made a mistake with him that I can't forgive.
 
Krista & Copernicus said:
Doesn't gaba go through the kidneys more?. And Copernicus hates anything squirted in his mouth. He is really tired of it all. :(
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buprenorphine is such a tiny amount that generally they don’t notice it. It’s supposed to be squirted into the cheek pouch (buccal pocket) and it’s usually like a drop of liquid (depends upon your cat’s weight.) Of he was asleep he would not even notice it I dare say. I currently have a cat getting 0.1 mL. I mean really small amount!
 
I’m so sorry for everything that you’ve been going through with Copernicus. It sounds really really hard. I completely understand the caregiver fatigue also. I really do.
 
Neko got .22ml, chicken flavoured bupe. I had no problem giving it. I have seen some people use buprenorphine compounded into an ear cream.

Krista - you should look at Darcy's spreadsheet in Suzanne's signature. He was living in mostly pink a long time.
 
Baxter has this too, thankfully it's been relatively slow to progress. I think solensia shots provide him some relief.. but it made him nauseated the first time so I give him zofran beforehand and that seemed to work.
 
I really feel you with the vet stuff and care fatigue. There was a period of last year that really felt like an actual waking nightmare.
Baxter spent a LONG time, like months on end, well over 400's. You can see some of that from 2025 ss, but it was worse before I got him on lantus and started testing him at home. He lost over a quarter of his weight at one point.
I think his kidneys were already hit pretty hard but his values did improve some as he started getting more stable and getting his weight and energy back.
I'm not sure if any of this helps.. but know you're on the right track. I'm so glad you've made it here especially seeing just some of the similarities our kitties have had.
 
JL and Chip said:
Neuropathy can definitely affect front feet too. Worth a watch:

I would NOT try Solensia given Copernicus’ other medical issues. Adequan injections might be an option for arthritis.

How is his swallowing?
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I agree with you 100% @JL and Chip on the Solensia. I was going to say the same thing. I would not risk it with all of the very complex conditions that Copernicus has. In fact, I wrote that same thing a few days ago but forgot to click “post reply.”

I use Adequan in my cats due to the long established safety profile.
 
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