My experience with weak rear legs was myonecrosis. Coco also had trouble eating. Her tongue would come out of her mouth. We saw a neurologist and a biopsy of her rear leg muscles was done. Her muscles were dying. Possible causes were toxic, nutritional and something else (parasite?). We immediately took her off the dry food and put her on canned Wellness. The nutritional deficiency was caused by a lack of selenium and vitamin D (might have been E). Anyway, the food change addressed the issues and she is a happy health 12 year old 4 years later. Nutritional deficiencies such as hers are caused by moisture or air getting to the food during processing or storage. We were feeding dry Wellness and I would dump the entire bag into tupperware containers and scoop from there. I offer food twice a day and throw out food and put out fresh bowls before the next meal.
The vet teaching hospital where we went had 2 cats come in that day. The other cat was more advanced and did not survive. The 3 day dose med was probably metacam, a pain killer. This is very potent. I don't use it. I urge your friend to get her kitty to a specialist immediately. Laurie ----- Original Message ----- From: MacKenzie, Kerry N. To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Sent: Wednesday, April 16, 2008 8:38 AM Subject: o/t anyone know what weak/wobbly rear legs might mean Dear all A co-worker asked me if I had any idea what might be wrong with her cat as the treatment hasn't fixed the problem. She clearly loves her cat and is very upset. I said I didn't have an answer and would ask you wonderful guys. (Altho' my Caramel's rear legs also stopped working, Caramel was FeLV pos, tho, and it happened right before the end. My co-worker's cat is negative.) Here's her description of the problem. Thanks very much for any info or ideas you may have for her, Kerry M. The first inkling I had that something was wrong with Goomba was several weeks ago when I observed him attempting to jump up on my bathroom sink (which he usually did while I was getting ready in the morning) and he didn't make it. He never has tried again. Subsequently, he stopped jumping up on my bed at night to sleep and his demeanor became increasingly irritable. And so it was for a couple of weeks. Meanwhile, his appetite remained good and he still showed interest in going outside. My concern increased when I noticed his gait becoming wobbly and he groaned loudly when ascending steps, and hissed at any attempt by me to help him. At this point, I took him to the vet, Monday, March 31. Goomba was not a happy patient, but I left him there for some tests. They sedated him, of course, did a blood test and took an x-ray. All measurements of the blood test were within normal range. The x-ray showed his spine to be in perfect condition (I had thought the problem might have been an injury). It also showed that he has a small kidney stone, which the doctor indicated should not be causing any problems. The problem the x-ray did reveal was inflammation around his heart, so a test for heartworm was also done that test ultimately came back negative. To alleviate his symptoms, they also gave him a shot (I do not know for sure, but I believe the shot he was given was a corticosteroid. I can call and ask if such information will help.) Unfortunately, it's making him think he's mightier than he really is! I was also given three syringes of medication to be administered every other day (I believe that was for pain). He came home, was rather peppy for the following week, and even got up on a love seat one day for his nap. His last dose of this medicine was given on Saturday, April 5. He was feeling pretty good, but his condition deteriorated over the course of the week until when I came home on Friday, April 11, I thought he might be dying. His rear legs were weak, he was collapsing on them and literally dragging them along at times. This continued through the weekend, seeming to get a little worse each day. But he persists. His appetite remains strong as does his desire to go outside. On Tuesday, April 15, I got more medicine from the vet and gave it to him that morning before I left for work. When I came home, I could tell that he felt better, but his legs were still not working as they should. And that brings us to today. This morning he wanted to go outside and he ate a full meal. Following breakfast he went downstairs to use the litter box, flopping down one step at a time. It's heartbreaking to watch him work so hard; his will is so strong yet. To eliminate the possibility that this is a neurological problem, the vet suggested I perform a couple of screening tests. Based on Goomba's response, I don't think the problem is neurological. Goomba was diagnosed with fatty liver disease a couple of years ago, from which he seemingly recovered rather quickly. That was his only life-threatening illness. He is about seven or eight years old; I got him when he was an adult so I'm not exactly sure. _____________________________________________________________________________ IRS CIRCULAR 230 NOTICE. Any tax advice expressed above by Mayer Brown LLP was not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by any taxpayer to avoid U.S. federal tax penalties. If such advice was written or used to support the promotion or marketing of the matter addressed above, then each offeree should seek advice from an independent tax advisor. This email and any files transmitted with it are intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager. If you are not the named addressee you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail.
