? Concern About Neuropathy/Constipation & Other Questions

[H.M. Victor (GA)]

So Victor's neuropathy is starting to get pretty bad lately. He can't really jump much anymore and we've taken to placing boxes, etc. next to places he likes to get up onto to lay down, and he sometimes even has trouble just stepping up onto the boxes. His back legs slip out from under him pretty regularly and he walks pretty slowly and almost entirely on his hocks sometimes. It is absolutely heartbreaking to us to see him like this, as I'm sure it is for anybody else whose furbaby has had neuropathy.

And his constipation makes it even worse, since he has to strain to make a bowel movement it seems to leave his legs pretty weak immediately afterwards, to the point where he can barely even walk.

We might try this morning to add a smaller amount of pumpkin into his morning meal again and see whether or not he has another bad experience like the first time. I would appreciate any other insight about these things. I really want to get him started on the switch to wet food but we've not been able to buy it yet due to not having the money right now as well as the fact that my mom is at the same time having a pretty bad dental issue that she's been having a lot of difficulty in getting taken care of. Just not been a good time for us lately

Other than that stuff, I do have a couple of other questions. We had to give Victor some gravy from high carb canned food the other night, and I was just wondering if it's okay to keep the rest in the fridge and how long it would stay good for. And my other question is regarding tuna fish, which we've been having to put on top of Victor's PM meals, because that seems to be the only way we can get him to consistently eat enough/all of his food at that time, and I just wanted to know if it's okay to use it on top of his PM meal every night or if we should only use it a few nights a week or what. We do not give him the tuna by itself, just add it to his regular food.

Thanks for any responses

 

[Kris & Teasel]

Victor's neuropathy is starting to get pretty bad lately.

The main approaches to help with neuropathy are to get BG down to a good range (whatever food you're able to feed) and add a B12 supplement to his diet. I know there was discussion of that a while ago.

And his constipation makes it even worse

Hydration can help with constipation and that's another reason to work toward getting him on wet food. Also, I'd experiment with tiny amounts of pumpkin to see what he can tolerate. Many people use Miralax with success too.

We had to give Victor some gravy from high carb canned food the other night, and I was just wondering if it's okay to keep the rest in the fridge and how long it would stay good for

I wouldn't keep it beyond 2-3 days.

regarding tuna fish, which we've been having to put on top of Victor's PM meals, because that seems to be the only way we can get him to consistently eat enough/all of his food at that time, and I just wanted to know if it's okay to use it on top of his PM meal every night or if we should only use it a few nights a week or what. We do not give him the tuna by itself, just add it to his regular food.

Plain water-packed tuna is fine as a topper. Check the label to see if the liquid in the can has any onions, garlic or other seasonings in it. You want to avoid those things. If the tuna water is just plain water you could add it to his water bowl to see if he'll drink more - helps with hydration.

 

[Bama Kitty Mom (GA)]

Spoke to my vet about Bama's constipation and frequent hairballs and she suggested I give about a teaspoon of Vaseline [plain, no fragrance or other additives] in the middle of the day, not near meal time, over the course of 4 or 5 days. I started yesterday. He had a nice sized easy BM about 4 hours later. This morning, his BM was rather soft. I may cut the Vaseline to a half teaspoon for the next three days, depending on how his BMs look. He seems to be feeling better and no hairballs since Wednesday night.

 

[JanetNJ]

For the neuropathy

Zobaline™ (for Diabetic Cats) 3 mg x 60 tabs https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008G3LI2M/?tag=felinediabetesfdmb-20