Cat back legs failing- new member

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Bviemma

Member Since 2014
Emma has been diagnosed with diabetes and I have her on 2 units twice a day for over a month. Her blood level has evened out, but her back legs seem to be getting worse. I have read and the vet has said this is due to the Neuropathy in them. Does anyone have exercises or something I can do to help her? She walks outside, struggles too jump up to the couch, but the legs feel so fragile.
She doesn't really play- never has.
I'm new to this site so not sure how it will work, but appreciate all the information I have found on it.
 
Until and unless the diabetes is well regulated, it will be difficult for the methylcobalamin to help. If you tell us a bit more, we may be able to help you get better control, maybe even off the insulin.

What insulin are you using?
What dose and how often are you giving it?
Are you home testing to monitor glucose and/or ketones?
What are you feeding, how much, and how often?

Home testing will keep your cat safe and allow you to monitor the effectiveness of the insulin. All you need are an inexpensive human glucometer, such as the WalMart ReliOn Confirm or Prime, matching test strips (which is where the costs add up for pet-specific meters), and lancets to prick a tiny hole and obtain a blood droplet for testing. We advise new insulin testers not to give insulin (shoot) when the cat tests below 200 mg/dL until enough data is collected to determine it is safe.

Under the be prepared category, make sure you have the materials to intervene if your cat should go low: Karo syrup, an oral syringe, an extra box of test strips. More details on managing low numbers are here
 
I'm going to try B12 and see what happens. She is on insulin 2 units 2times a day and doing well. Thank you for your suggestions and help
 
Actually, if she is getting worse in the back legs, she is not doing well. If you home test you will see exactly how her regulation is.

Good control is between 50 to 130 mg/dL.
 
Hello to sugarkitty Emma and her caregiver. Would you share your name with us?

I'm Deb and the sugardude tuxedo pictured to the right is my diabetic kitty Wink Wink Nudge Nudge, affectionately known as Wink or Nudgie.

Wink had severe diabetic neuropathy when he first came to live me as a foster kitty from the shelter. He could hardly walk 3-4 steps and had to rest. Could not jump at all. He was walking entirely down on his hocks. It was very painful to watch.

Getting him regulated and some methyl B12 helped him immensely. Now, he jumps everywhere, even up on my kitchen island counter when the gas cooktop is on.! :o :shock: :o Scares me to death, because I'm so afraid his fur will catch fire one of these days. Good thing the fire extinguisher is right there at hand. ;-)

Wink walks mostly up on his tippy toes now. When he is tired, I can see him walking more down on the entire paw pad.

Just wanted to share Wink's story with you, to let you know the best way to help with the diabetic neuropathy is to get the BG (blood glucose) levels regulated. It worked miracles with Wink.
 
My name is Judy and Emma is about 10 yrs old. A sray from someone who moved away so not feral. What I must really do is settle in to testing her blood. She hates it so much that I wonder how much the stress hikes her numbers. But she and I need to agree its truly going to make her better. She almost shows up for her shot but not the blood from her ear. Any other suggestions for that? Thanks again. My vet said she knows nothing about B12 for this. I live on a small island and we only have the one vet so I do a lot of homework on my own.
She told me Emma has HIV and would not live but for a few months. She had been posioned by eating a gecko and her red blood went to 12. With a diet of fresh liver and fish in the tinest amounts her count returned to normal. So I believe in more then what a vet or any doctor tells you as 100%. That was also almost three years ago.
 
To encourage her to come to you for testing and shots, find something she really likes - plain cooked or raw meat, a toy, grooming, etc. - to use as a reward.
Each time you test or shoot, immediately follow with the reward.

I'm using Stella And Chewey's freeze dried food as a reward. Gracie loves it enough that she'll come to me even when I'm setting out the testing and shot supplies.
 
I've started Emma on B12. How long was it before Wink started walking better? It been almost 3 months and she's still on flat back legs. Thank you
 
Either she is NOT well controlled, so the methyl-B12 can't work effectively or it is another problem.

See my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools to help you asses your cat.
Drinking - how much per day?
Urination - how often and how much?
Dehydration? (See the tools)
Hunger/eating - how often and how much?
 
Wink went from walking entirely on his hocks and not being able to jump, to walking more up on his tippy toes and being able to jump everywhere in about 2-3 months. That improvement did coincide with him being not only regulated, but getting fantastic low numbers under 100 and going into remission.

It was probably 2 months to get him so he could jump a couple of feet up to the sofa or a chair. It took longer for him to jump up onto my desk and then the kitchen counters.

You do need a combination of the two, better regulation and the methyl B-12 to help the diabetic neuropathy.
 
Her blood is 114 so we are doing well. Just started the B12 for a week. Hope to see progress in BG and with the B12. Thank you
 
Hi Judy!

A BG reading of 114 is an excellent number for a diabetic kitty. Normal range for non-diabetic cats runs from 50-130 on a human glucometer.

You said you were giving 2U of insulin 2x a day. Which insulin is that?

If you tell us what foods you are feeding your kitty Emma, we may be able to suggest other low carb foods that could help bring the BG levels down. We need to know where you live, to give you the correct food list for the country you live in.
 
Hi. Thanks so much for the help. The insulin is pro-zinc. 2 units twice a day. I have her eating Hills MD diabetic dry food. About 1/3 C twice a day. Her weight is good. Just lost 1.5lb from her thin legs Unfortunately I'm limited to what I can get. We live on a small island in the Caribbean. Lovely place but only one vet 2days a week.
What food do you use? Also how much water does Wink drink? Emma drinks about 12 oz for the day.
I give her the B12 with a small amount of tuna fish and water. That works well
Thanks again for your advise. We're patient but hope to get her walking better ASAP.
Judy
 
What food do you use?
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Wink eats the Fancy Feast classic pate canned food and a bit of Friskies pate style food, the ones under 10% carbs. Basically, we are looking for grain free or grains being low on the ingredient list if there are grains, vegetable and fruit free cat foods. The Friskies for example has a little bit of rice in it, but not enough to push the carb content over 10% usually.

You might want to check out this post. It list's the various wet cat foods that are under 8% carbs. Mostly available in the US. I would think you could find some of these foods down in the Caribbean as I imagine most of the cat food is imported.

If you could find one of these foods, that might help Emma's BG levels go lower. The Hill's M/d dry is around 18% carbs, and we have found that under 10% carbs makes a positive difference in lowering the BG levels. You'll want to be home testing first for sure, since a food change might drop the BG levels 100 points mg/dL.

Also how much water does Wink drink?
Click to expand...
He doesn't drink water any more, except for the tiny bit, about 1 tablespoon per serving, I add to his canned food. Haven't seen him take a drink from a water dish more than once or twice in the last 10-11 months. He gets all the water he needs from the canned food. When he was still eating only the dry food, he would easily drink a cup (8oz) to a cup and a half of water (12 oz) a day. Once I started to switch him to the canned food, his water consumption went down dramatically.

You said earlier in this topic, that Emma isn't very cooperative for the ear testing. Have you tried using the paw pad for testing? The one higher up on the wrist is often used for BG testing when the kitty doesn't like the ear pokies. This article on Ear Testing Psychology may help you to make the home testing process easier for Emma. Treats and warming the ear are key.

By the way, would you be willing to put some information in your user control panel, Profile tab, Edit Signature? Something like this would help us to help you better:

Judy and Emma (age 10)
dx date xx/xx/xx
Prozinc 2U BID, meter brand used to home test
Hill's M/d dry (lives in the Caribbean with limited food choices)
 
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