Neuropathy gone!!! But missing teeth???

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Charlies_Mom

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Hi everyone! I haven't posted in a few weeks, but Charlie was recently switched from Humulin to Lantus with the help of DCIN assistance. He is doing fantastic!! His numbers at the next dosing are still anywhere from 250-350, but they used to be 500-600! Added bonus, his neuropathy in his back legs is completely gone!! :RAHCAT He's running around on his little paw pads and playing once again! I never thought he'd walk normally again!

The only thing that concerns me is that, last night, I noticed that his 2 little tiny front teeth are missing?! :o I think it's been this way for a while, because my husband said he always thought his teeth "looked strange". His gums look pink and healthy and there's no bleeding, and he doesn't appear to be in any pain. There is no remainder of the teeth in his gums or anything. Again, I'm pretty sure it's been this way for a while and I'm just now noticing...but is this normal?? What would cause him to lose those tiny teeth right in front? My brother (who I adopted Charlie from) used to feed him dry food for years, so I was thinking maybe they broke or fell out back then? It just concerns me! Anything I can do??

Thanks!!
 
Not sure about the teeth, except I know dry food can cause gingivitis which in turn can cause more dental problems. We've had that issue, but paid $$$$ for dental extractions. If the gums look healthy, perhaps everything is okay.

However, you have given me some hope that my cat may recover somewhat from his back legs weakness once we start on insulin and get him regulated. So, thank you!
 
Yes, Twinkie, it's amazing to see him walking normally again! He's had neuropathy for at least a year and it was BAD...Back legs were down completely flat on the "hocks" 100% of the time. He even had to lie down and rest on very short trips just to his food bowl. There is hope!! Hope you're able to regulate your kitty very soon!
 
Oh my gosh, that's amazing!!! Oh I so hope that can happen for my Winny. He has fallen down the stairs, even on good days he just slips and slides all the way down, his little back paws slide all over our hardwood floors, he gets about 5-10 steps in before he has to lie down. We've rigged shallow sturdy rubbermaid totes as steps so he can get up onto my bed, but he's completely stopped trying to get across to his window seats (also rubbermaid totes). One night he slept on the bottom step because he couldn't get up any further. I felt awful when I found him. Unfortunately I had major back surgery 3 months ago and have got complications so I can't really bend or squat to pick him up and carry him, and he's still over my 10lb lifting limit anyway.

We start insulin tomorrow.

Thanks so very much for giving me hope!

How long was your guy on insulin before his legs began to improve? I hope you find an answer about his teeth too.
 
If you have neuropathy and hardwood floors, please put down some throw rugs. My house looked like hell for a couple of months, pulled every rug available from where it belonged to create paths for the cat. A cheap option that will get you a lot of distance is to buy a pack of foam backed carpet strips they make for hardwood stairs, run them lengthwise along a wall and leave a few inches between. My cat went out of her way to stick to them, and it really helped because otherwise she would slide around and have to rest every few steps.

Neuropathy generally will start improving once a cat gets regulated, sometimes it goes away completely and sometimes it doesn't. We were back to normal about 3 weeks after her numbers stayed below 200.
 
Thanks, guys!! I hope his neuropathy is gone FOR GOOD! :-D It's so funny to see him running around like a crazy man with his newfound freedom, lol. :dizcat

Twinkie, I'm so sorry to hear about your kitty's neuropathy but hope that the insulin will help. I know how painful it is for you to see him like that. I know it was hard for me to see my kitty sliding around! Charlie was on insulin for at least a year before his legs improved, but it wasn't until we got him on the *correct* insulin and a good schedule that it started getting better. Once we did that, it only took about 3 months! I got laid off from my job around the holidays, and the only positive that came from that was that I was here to give him his insulin religiously every 10-12 hours, which I am sure helped a ton.

Just FYI, Methylcobalamin (Methyl B-12) is a supplement that's been shown to help neuropathy in cats. It's not toxic, meaning they just "pee out" any excess amount, so giving your kitty a few tablets crushed in his food per day may help. We gave it to Charlie for a while but it didn't seem to help him that much, BUT I've heard plenty of others say that it worked wonders for their kitty! You can buy it online or at any vitamin shop and it's pretty cheap. I've also been told that exercising their legs helps, like just stretching them and massaging them (if he lets you!). Keep us updated!
 
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