Paw and Leg Weakness - Needing assurance

[Misterbeesmom]

hello again everyone

I'll try to keep this short. Over the 6 months since mr B,s diabetic diagnosis, and those 6 months with very poor control, His paws and legs have increasingly shown weakness. I'm terrified that the strength in his legs wont return. We switched vets over a week ago and i,m hoping we are on the right path now to proper diabetic control. He is NOT walking on his hocks.

Has anyone personally experienced this with their cat? Is there hope or is my furbaby going to be permanently lame? I'm scared. Is there anything else i can do?

Thanks

 

[Sarah Smith]

It could very well be nueropathy from the diabetes. This can be treated from what others have told me here. Hope this video can help your fears, do the symptoms look similar at all?

 

[BJM]

The other thing it could be is low potassium. When was the last time the vet checked blood work?
Too little AND too much potassium can be harmful to the cat, so you must check the blood levels first, don't just give a supplement.

 

[Misterbeesmom]

The other thing it could be is low potassium. When was the last time the vet checked blood work?
Too little AND too much potassium can be harmful to the cat, so you must check the blood levels first, don't just give a supplement.

Is that sometehing diabetics get low on?
I will be speaking with my vet on tuesday. I dont know if she checked those levels at last blood work. I'll be asking her about it. Thanks

 

[Misterbeesmom]

It could very well be nueropathy from the diabetes. This can be treated from what others have told me here. Hope this video can help your fears, do the symptoms look similar at all?

Oh wait a sec. My cat was low in B12 at his visit a week ago. They gave him a shot, and i'll be giving him shots at home in future. I didnt know this could be a B12 problem. He isnt as bad as the kitty in the video. Ok this is encouraging. Thank you very much!

 

[Critter Mom]

Hi Misterbeesmom, and welcome to you both.

I see that you've already been given good information about neuropathy and getting potassium levels checked.

Over the 6 months since mr B,s diabetic diagnosis, and those 6 months with very poor control,

This is the key issue: improve regulation and it will help Mr B's nervous system (assuming that neuropathy is the issue here). The Zobaline is very much an adjunct to the insulin treatment.

Are you home testing Mr B's blood glucose levels? We can teach you if you're not yet testing and you would like to learn. If you're already testing it would help us a lot to give better help to you if you could put Mr B's BG information into one of our spreadsheets. (We have people who can get the spreadsheet going for you if you'd like help with the initial setup then all you'd have to do is to fill in dates and test results on a daily basis.)

Once you have a spreadsheet up and running members will be able to review the spreadsheet data, to help you understand how Mr B is responding to his insulin, and to also make practical suggestions about how to improve his regulation which will help him to feel much better. Hopefully that will then also make you feel better. I can feel from your post just how worried you are about your boy. We'll do all we can to help you both.


Mogs
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[Critter Mom]

Oh wait a sec. My cat was low in B12 at his visit a week ago. They gave him a shot, and i'll be giving him shots at home in future. I didnt know this could be a B12 problem. He isnt as bad as the kitty in the video. Ok this is encouraging. Thank you very much!

The methylcobalamin version of B12 is better for treating neuropathy. (Injections are typically B12 cyanocobalamin.)

Here's a link to the Zobaline website for you:

http://www.ilifelink.com/zobaline-for_diabetic_cats-3_mg_x_60_tablets.html

It's good to hear you sounding a little bit more hopeful!


Mogs
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[Elle & Squeak (GA)]

Squeak had moderate to serious neuropathy when she was diagnosed back in January. She wasn't walking on her hocks, but she could only walk a short distance before she had to sit down and rest. As she walked, you could see her hocks dropping lower and lower, until she was out of energy - she was fairly close to what Tootsie was at the beginning of the video, maybe slightly better. She was unsteady enough that I barred her from going up and down the stairs as I was sure that she was going to slip and fall.

We were able to get her blood glucose under control and get her into remission fairly quickly (by the beginning of February). I'm not sure how long it was before I started to see improvement in her neuropathy, but she's now able to run and jump, is back to exploring the house without tiring easily, and can navigate the stairs without the fear that she's going to wipe out. She's not 100% by any means - you can still see that she has weakness in her wrists and she has a bit of an odd walk, but as my husband just said - if she never improves beyond where she is now, that's okay. When she was first diagnosed with diabetes, we were more concerned about her mobility than anything, so we're very happy with the progress Squeak has made.

The improvements we've seen have come just from getting her blood glucose under control - we haven't done any supplementation with methylcobalamin.

I know this is just our experience, but hopefully it makes you feel a bit better.

 

[Misterbeesmom]

Thanks, all!

Squeak had moderate to serious neuropathy when she was diagnosed back in January. She wasn't walking on her hocks, but she could only walk a short distance before she had to sit down and rest. As she walked, you could see her hocks dropping lower and lower, until she was out of energy - she was fairly close to what Tootsie was at the beginning of the video, maybe slightly better. She was unsteady enough that I barred her from going up and down the stairs as I was sure that she was going to slip and fall.

We were able to get her blood glucose under control and get her into remission fairly quickly (by the beginning of February). I'm not sure how long it was before I started to see improvement in her neuropathy, but she's now able to run and jump, is back to exploring the house without tiring easily, and can navigate the stairs without the fear that she's going to wipe out. She's not 100% by any means - you can still see that she has weakness in her wrists and she has a bit of an odd walk, but as my husband just said - if she never improves beyond where she is now, that's okay. When she was first diagnosed with diabetes, we were more concerned about her mobility than anything, so we're very happy with the progress Squeak has made.

The improvements we've seen have come just from getting her blood glucose under control - we haven't done any supplementation with methylcobalamin.

I know this is just our experience, but hopefully it makes you feel a bit better.

Thank you. Yes that helps.

 

[Misterbeesmom]

The methylcobalamin version of B12 is better for treating neuropathy. (Injections are typically B12 cyanocobalamin.)

Here's a link to the Zobaline website for you:

http://www.ilifelink.com/zobaline-for_diabetic_cats-3_mg_x_60_tablets.html

It's good to hear you sounding a little bit more hopeful!


Mogs
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I think we're going to end up with the cyan injections because of possible IBD absorption issues, which the vet thinks caused the deficiency to begin with.

He was, in fact, B12 deficient earlier this year as well, and we went to vet weekly for 6 wks of B12 shots. Why they wouldn tlet me administer at home, i'll never know. anyhoo, that brought his level up to normal, but then they didnt follow through with longer term (i'm overall very upset with them), and i didnt either, out of ignorance. Thankfully my new vet checked into it.

Thank you

 

[Misterbeesmom]

Actually now i am wondering if along with the b12 shots i should do the oral methyl as well-? What do you all think? Its highly unlikely he would get TOO much b12, right?

Thanks

 

[Critter Mom]

Actually now i am wondering if along with the b12 shots i should do the oral methyl as well-? What do you all think? Its highly unlikely he would get TOO much b12, right?

Thanks

Too much B12 can be an issue for CKD kitties. That said, to the best of my knowledge any excess is excreted.

For info, my girl has chronic pancreatitis and suspected mild IBD. She had a very bad pancreatitis flare not long after she was diagnosed and she received a course of B12 cyanocobalamin injections for that (and they helped enormously!). She does get the occasional dose of cyano B12 nowadays but I give her a daily supplement of Zobaline (1.5mg/½ tablet since she has early stage renal insufficiency). I think it helps her appetite as well as protecting her from nerve damage and pernicious anaemia.


Mogs
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[Misterbeesmom]

Too much B12 can be an issue for CKD kitties. That said, to the best of my knowledge any excess is excreted.

For info, my girl has chronic pancreatitis and suspected mild IBD. She had a very bad pancreatitis flare not long after she was diagnosed and she received a course of B12 cyanocobalamin injections for that (and they helped enormously!). She does get the occasional dose of cyano B12 nowadays but I give her a daily supplement of Zobaline (1.5mg/½ tablet since she has early stage renal insufficiency). I think it helps her appetite as well as protecting her from nerve damage and pernicious anaemia.


Mogs
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Fortunately, knock on wood, no signs of renal trouble. Believe me i have been waiting for there to be, what with all the peeing plus trace ketones earlier this month (which thankfully have not shown up since). So i'm thinking of buying that zobaline stuff as support to the shots. I'll ask my vet what she thinks. Thanks for the link.

 

[Misterbeesmom]

I just ordered a bottle of the zobaline. I'm going to give it a try. So many good reviews really sold me.

 

[Critter Mom]

Be sure to let us know how Mr B gets on! He's such a cutie. Is he wearing a bow tie?



Mogs
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[Misterbeesmom]

I will!

that pic is probably a couple years old back when he was feeling well. I couldnt resist putting the mini bowtie on him for a few minutes. He's such a sweetie he posed for me.

Mr biddles was a stray who showed up at my door 11+ years ago. Its been hard seeing him go downhill. I hope we are heading in thr right direction finally. Cross paws!

 

[Critter Mom]

I couldnt resist putting the mini bowtie on him for a few minutes. He's such a sweetie he posed for me.

He looks very dapper!

I know exactly what you mean about how hard it is to see our beloved little ones poorly. My vet was gobsmacked at the difference between how desperately ill Saoirse looked when she had the really bad pancreatitis flare and was being treated with Caninsulin to how positively youthful and radiant she became after some weeks on wet, low carb food and Lantus insulin. It truly was amazing to see. Fingers and paws crossed that things will get better and better for Mr B, too. I'm really glad he seems to like his new grub so much (anti-jinx!). As the mama of a pancreatitis kitty I know how truly huge that is!




Mogs
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