Does this sound like neuropathy?

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Heather & Angel (GA)

Heather & Angel (GA)

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Angel has been doing poorly lately, and her CRF has progressed to the point that she's showing signs of non-regenerative anemia, as of her checkup last Friday. Her appetite is down, so I've been assist-feeding her, and her weight has been hovering around 5 lbs.

I've been noticing for a few weeks that she's a bit clumsy with her hind feet, sort of thumping her feet as she goes down stairs and sometimes when she walks. I've also noticed her stumbling a little when she walks, but within the past week, she's also trotted from room to room a couple of times. Her heart sounded okay last week and her BP was okay, so I don't think it's heart-related. (I sure hope it's not!) Tonight, she's been significantly more wobbly than she has been lately, with her ear end swaying or rotating as she walks. It seems to be more on one side than the other, too.

I did a board search for neuropathy, and I found one thread describing similar symptoms that wound up being acute renal failure. Has anyone seen these types of symptoms just from neuropathy? I'm really worried.
 
Heather, I am so sorry you are going through these things with Angel. I do not have experience with neuropathy, but I have had senior kitties with both arthritis and CRF and they can have those symptoms.

This was years ago, so the arthritis was not confirmed, but having my kitty under the covers with me to warm her seemed to make her feel better and she was not as stiff afterwards. I think now you can see evidence of arthritis on an xray.

Are her back legs cool or cold to the touch? That could be a sign of having thrown a clot or having reduced blood flow to her legs.

What are you doing for the CRF? Are you giving subQ fluids? If so, be sure to warm them to body temp before giving by placing the bag in a bowl of warm water.

Here is a link to a post of mine about supplements with so suggestions for arthritis, but have the vet confirm that is what she has: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=9469
 
did you mention this to you vet at the appointment last week?

any bloodwork done at that time?
wondering about her potassium level -- has that been checked?
potassium levels can often go low in CRF cats as they flush it out of their system with the PU
Does she droop her head at all -- that is also a sign of low Potassium.

is her diabetes regulated?
here is a link about diabetic neuropathy in cats : http://www.laurieulrich.com/jasper/meth ... ticle.html

as for the inappetence , have you tried any stimulants? we have had great luck with mirtazapine.

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=2552

cyproheptadine, an antihistamine is also commonly used .

there are pluses and minuses to both -- I think something to talk to your vet about.

Since there are so many possibilities, I would talk to your vet .


Healing wishes for your Angel.
 
Prior to my cat's diagnosis of DM, and shortly before the meds kicked in, she was walking down on the hocks in back and lying down all the time, everywhere. Does this seem like Angle's stance/situation? What are her BG levels? If they're really high, maybe her stance is a result. Otherwise, there are other things that could be effecting her stance/balance. Only a vet could tell for sure.

All my best,
MDS
 
it certainly sounds like it could be neuropathy. the treatment for it is methly b12 - and here's the one I used and recommend:

http://www.vitacost.com/NSI-Vitamin-B-1 ... lcobalamin

Why? several reasons

1) it doesn't contain any sugars and has very few non-essential ingredients
2) coming in capsule form, easy to open and mix into wet food
3) the 5 mg is high enough dose that given once a day, over time, with insulin regulation you will see improvement.
 
it all depends on the severity of the neuropathy, how well the cat is regulated with insulin.

With Maui, she walked on her hocks and would have to stop and rest while walking. After using the MB12 and getting regulated with insulin, it was a very slow and gradual improvement. It was honestly almost not noticeable it happened that slowly.

After several weeks on it, I watched her one day and noticed that she was back on her toes and realized she hadn't stopped to rest in days.
 
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