sick kitty needs help

I have an awsome cat that is very sick. I may have to put him to sleep within the week becuase my vet can't find the problem. Thought I would see if any vets in the forum may be able to help.

I have an 11 year old cat named Hunter.  Last two weeks he has been eating less(rare for him) and lost 3 of his 16 pounds. He became very lethargic and was favoring one front paw. I took him to my vet. They did blood work but everything came out normal except an elevated wbc(didn't say how elevated). They did an x-ray(digital imaging). They x-ray his abdominal area(seemed tender upon palpatation early on, but not so much now) and neck area. The vets consulted with other vets working there and found nothing. They don't know what is wrong with him.

He is eating better(without appetite stimulant, hard to get him to take pills) but is showing signs of what appears to be ataxia in front legs. He has lost coordination and strength in front paws, so he has trouble walking. It started out favoring one paw, but now affects both paws with having trouble even moving one leg. Originally they gave him metacam one dose a day for three days. Currently he is on reduced dose of metacam once every 3 days, and buprenex 2x daily. He is also on clavamox 2x daily to try to address whatever is elevating his wbc. He is on crate rest to reduce movement and further aggrevation of whatever may be causing the problem.

Currently think it could be Intervertebral disc protusion in the neck, but that is rare and he hasn't suffered any trauma that I am aware of(indoor cat). I already spent $400 that I couldn't afford to find problem and don't have money to hospitalize him. May be able to borrow money from parents, but need to have an idea what to test for.

If anyone has any ideas or thought on a dianosis. Thanks in advance.

[zodiacqueen]

Please, cut and paste this post on the "Ask a Vet" forum.  We are not vets on this forum, and we would want you to get the best advice possible from a doctor.  We would only be guessing about what's wrong with your cat.  You don't need guesses right now, you need some real professional advice and direction.

Personally, I've never seen those symptoms in a cat before.  But, I will say that if his WBC's are elevated, then I hope that your cat's been given antibiotics.  If your cat is that much of a pain in the butt to take pills, there is an antibiotic shot that's available that is worth about 2 wks worth of pills!!  That might be a good option!!

Wishing you and your baby well wishes and hugs.

PS-In the subject line-direct the post to Dr. Aleda Cheng.  She is the best and most caring vet on that forum and the most informative.

[zodiacqueen]

OOPS....Just me again.  I'm sorry, I reread your post and just saw that your cat is on Clavamox.  Watch out, that med can really screw a cats stomach up.  I had one that wouldn't eat and barfed from it.  I would look into either getting him the shot that I mentioned or you could try baytril (another antibiotic that vets give)

[sickkitty]

thanks, but I tried to post in ask a vet forum and it said they only recieve a certain amount of questions and it has reached its daily limit. My cat has had clavomox before and was ok.  

do you know what the name of the anitbiotic shot you mentioned?

[zodiacqueen]

I wish I could remember it!!!   GGRRR!!  I think it's a new thing, though.  I'll ask my mom, one of her cats got 2 shots of it!  Can you add any details of your cats symptoms?  EVERYTHING, including the little signs that you think might not matter.  How long has your cat been on clavamox?  It'll take at least 2 days to see improvement.  I also did a little research, since I don't know much about leg weakness in cats and saw something about diabetes.  It mentioned the hind legs and NOT the front legs.  May be worth looking into?  Notice your cat drinking a lot of water, or urinating a lot?

PLEASE keep trying to post on that forum!

[sickkitty]

I don't think it is diabetes, cause chem analysis of blood test came out ok, plus it usually effects hind legs(sit on haunches) I think. but thank you. He usually does drink and pee a lot all the time. He loves to play in his water bowl( and shower). I think he has bengal mixed in by markings and personality.

He has been on the clavamox for several day. He seemed to be in pain, but buprenex seems to be helping.  He was lethargic, but attributed that to pain, since he has been more active with pain killers. He was still able to climb onto couch and down. He favored one front paw.  Now he is showing signs of ataxia. He has trouble controlling his front paws and walking.  He has been eating, except for today.  I gave him an appetite stimulant today.  He has been urinating, but has not had a bowel movement yet in past few days. Temperature was fine, but wbc was a little elevated(reason for clavamox).  He as been on crate rest since friday. He was walking around then, but not well. I tried to get him out of the crate for supervised time, but he wasn't interested.

I am going to ask tomorrow for a steroid in case it is ivdd.  I don't know why they didn't give him one before if they suspect that ivdd was a possibility.  If he doesn't show improvement within the next few days, I will most likely have to put him to sleep. I am trying to stay positive and hoping it doesn't come down to worst case scenario.

[zodiacqueen]

Are you absolutely positive that the chem test was specific for blood sugar???  I DID see that diabetes causes neurological probs in the back legs, but I saw front legs, too.  Hey, it's worth a shot!!  Maybe this is a weird case!

An ultrasound might tell you something, but I think that's between $250-$350.  I am concerned about the belly tenderness.  The ultrasound might show the cause of that. How's your cat's heart-murmurs, enlarged?  What about the breathing?  Did you give him any new medications at home or could he have gotten into something?  What about the kidney function-BUN and creatinine levels?  Kidney problems can cause weakness as well.  You can also ask for a copy of the chem test to see if somethng might be off-maybe the vet overlooked something.  You could do your own research on the internet.  

I can understand the frustration-GOD knows I've been through this with my cats, too!
Please, keep trying to post this on the Ask A Vet forums and I can't stress to you enough to put Dr. Aleda's name in the subject line.  She is awesome!

Wishing ya well!  Give your kitty a chin rub for me!

[Thomas Dock, CVJ, Vet. Technician]

I am so sorry to hear about your poor guy!

If your veterinarians are stumped, the next best option is to see if there is a veterinary neurologist close by.   Your description does sound like some sort of lesion in the cervical region of the neck, but other possibilities could include any sort of infectious process, inflammatory process or even neoplasia.

Has there been any improvement at all since he has been on the antibiotics?

Let us know what your veterinarian says today...

Tomcat

[Thomas Dock, CVJ, Vet. Technician]

Two more things:   Do you know if the xrays were taken while  your cat was awake or was he anesthetized?

Second:  Were the xrays evaluated by a veterinary radiologist?   Sometimes small details might escape a busy veterinarian...

Just another couple of thoughts...

T