My cat Midnight has developed either an injury or sickness the vet cannot figure out and it has left our family without answers. It leaves me to believe veterinary practice is not an exact science and is a lot of guess work.
Midnight is an outdoor cat that we had taken in, still letting him outdoors about once or twice a day. We have had him for about two and a half years.
Early March of this year (2020), I had noticed that his tail had gone limp to where he could not move it; it just hung there. We noticed it becoming a problem when he started to smell of urine as he could not raise his tail to go to the bathroom. We brought him to Derby City Animal Clinic for a course of two visits. It was noted that his white blood cell count was elevated after running lab tests, and his physical examination concluded that his tail was broken (no x-rays were taken). The veterinarian told us that nothing could be done about a broken tail.
When Midnight started to have trouble walking, we suspected his tail was getting in the way of his natural gait. Soon, one of his legs started to drag behind him, with the other leg growing weak. At this stage he was basically dragging himself, and his upper body gradually started doing most of the work.
As his condition declined, we decided to pursue a different vet, Shively Animal Clinic. Symptoms worsened as his bottom jaw would tremble when he meowed, and his breath developed an odor. Over the course of four different visits, Midnight had an X-ray, was prescribed Prednisolone and Val/Torbugesic (for pain and inflammation,) and had an overnight hospital visit including IV administration and supervision. After looking at his xray, they had concluded his tail is not broken. The doctors guess that it is a neurological issue regarding his spine and that he is not painful, but weak. However, we are still left with no confirmable answers.
From two different veterinarians, it has been estimated that Midnight falls somewhere between 5-8 years old. It has also been noted that he is missing some teeth.
Somewhere between March-April, his appetite decreased along with his willingness to drink water. He slowly and gradually became paralyzed, only left with movement from his arms up. Inclusive with symptoms of paralysis he experiences incontinence with his bladder and his bowels. However, he is still able to hold urine to an extent as we need to express his bladder from time to time. I give Midnight around the clock care, bathing him regularly, using waterproof pads and sanitary wipes. I offer him food and water probably 8-10 times daily.
His urine started to smell strongly of ammonia, prompting another visit to Shively. Beneficial feedback was not given regarding the concern; however, I was relieved subcutaneous fluids were given upon request.
Midnight has grown keen to Hartz Delectables Bisques/Stews. He eats about five pouches per day. He gets his hydration from those pouches (claimed at 90% moisture) and a couple 3 ml water syringes a day. His appetite has further increased, and he has started to eat dry food again (along with his regular supplementals.) His upper body strength is starting to show optimism as he is stretching and trying to sit up again. When I offer a string to hunt and catch, he still has the courage to deliver. I bring him outside for fresh air and sunlight and give him passive range of motion exercises about twice a day.
We are not ready to give up on this cat. He has proven that he isn’t ready to throw in the towel quite yet.
(I am not bashing veterinarians as I value their practice and believe they are severely underpaid, I am just frustrated with no cause or frankly any diagnoses.)
Any advice or relatable experiences are much appreciated!
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/ggbzxd/please_help_no_answers/
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