Possible neuropathy?

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soulboy

Member Since 2014
Hi,

Our cat George has developed a problem with his right hind leg over the last week, and my research has bought me to this website. He seems to have lost a lot of strength in it, is walking around on his hock and is also having issues going to the toilet. He seems to be urinating a lot more - sometimes only a tiny amount - and is also crapping either on the floor or around the edge of the litter tray rather than in it as he used to do.

Reading up about these symptoms led me to diabetic neuropathy. Does this sound like it could be the cause? He's a rescue cat and so we are unsure of his exact age, although we believe him to be around 10-11. He's also a little bit on the chubby side, which I assume could also contribute to having diabetes?

He's been to the vet already, who didn't test for diabetes and said he thought the leg was due to him being in a fight and gave us some antibiotics. These didn't work and his leg has actually gotten worse, so he went to the vet again this morning with the instruction to x-ray him and test for everything (this was before I found out about neuropathy just now). I've read that some vets aren't familiar with this condition and so it could go undiagnosed?

Thanks for your help.
 
Hello,

Sorry to hear about George but IMHO, you have come to the best place in the world if indeed George has diabetes.

It was those very symptoms, Wobbly walking on hocks and Drinking/Urinating frequently. I wish I had of noticed it quicker. The tiny amount of pee could possibly be a urinary tract infection that is common with Diabetes. Jack would almost lay in the litter box and pee and I had to endure watching that( Litter box is in my office) until he got better. I could almost measure how much better he was getting by watching him pee, going from laying, to crouching, to standing with his head up and squatting (normal position).

Jack was DX on 8/9 with a BG of 634.

The vet wanted to do a urinalysis with culture ($235) to determine if he had a UTI. I just wanted them to test for a UTI and then if it did not respond to what they would give as standard, well then I would go for the one with the culture. Since he was spilling so much glucose in the urine, it was like water and could not be done. I did opt to have the antibiotic injection as a precaution.

Doing the culture, based upon what the vet told me, was to see if the infection would be resistant to the standard antibiotic. Since Jack was not peeing outside the litter box, I did not feel it was necessary but like I said, did opt for the injection. Samantha once peed on my foot while I sat on the toilet trying to pee myself. I knew that was not normal, got her to the vet and they gave her the injection.

I would suggest complete blood test and regular urine test to see if it is diabetes.

If it is diabetes, do not despair.

You have found the best place in the world to help you through it all.

All the people here are great. They are very helpful and will answer any question that you have. So ask away and you will get some extremely sage advice. More advice than I could have ever gotten with the vet and that's a fact Jack!

BTW, It is Jack's 11th day OTJ (Off the Juice) :mrgreen: And while you will learn that Every Cat is Different (ECID), had it not been for this website, I would not be anywhere near where I am today.

As a note, I did buy Zobaline (B12) from LifeLink. It has been suggested to help with diabetic neuropathy. I have given it to Jack and while I cannot prove how much it helped him versus just getting his BG #'s under control, I do know that he is walking on his toes again. Slowly but surely he was walking better. It does take time for it to work (about 2 weeks to see marked improvement)as well as get the numbers under control. Like I said, I cannot prove it but the vet approved (nothing to hurt him) and I said well, if it helps him get better 10 minutes sooner, than it shall be so.

I hope all goes well with George.
 
Thanks very much for your reply. Everything I've read about it so far does match the symptoms he has, so we're hoping that's it and it's nothing more serious. We're picking him up tonight from the vets and so I'll let you know how he got on.

Thanks again.
 
If the diagnosis is diabetes, there are 3 major things which may be done to control it, and possibly get to a diet-controlled state (ie off insulin). It is possible for a cat to live a long, healthy life with controlled diabetes.

1) diet - a low carb canned diet with under 10% calories from carbohydrates. An inexpensive option is most Friskies pates (not Mixed Grill) or Fancy Feast Classic pates. See Cat Info for the background on why.

2) home blood glucose monitoring - an inexpensive human glucometer such as the WalMart ReliOn Confirm, Confirm Micro, or Prime. If you dislike WalMart, our shopping partner ADW carries the Arkray Glucocard 01 and 01 Mini which are generic versions of the Confirms.

3) long-duration insulin - ProZinc, Levemir, Lantus, or BCP PZI all cover roughly 12 hours and permit dosing every 12 hours. Caninsulin/Vetsulin, and Humulin/Novolin N (or NPH) last less time and may require dosing 3 times a day for effective glucose control.
 
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