Kitten unable to Walk

[momps61]

I volunteer at an animal shelter and on July 6th a lady brought a very young kitten to surrender but the shelter was unable to accept the kitten.  I brought the kitten home and was feeding her with a bottle and she seemed to be doing fine.  A couple weeks later the kitten became unable to walk and it's head was flopping from side to side.  We took her to the vet and they ran some tests but everything came back ok and they gave her two prescriptions and she seemed to perk up and started walking again.  Then we noticed her front paw was flopping and appeared to be deformed-not a really big deal.  Then last week she became unable to walk again and we have again taken her back to the vet who basically said they don't know what to do, gave us more medicine (the same thing as before) and more or less said she should be put down.  She eats fine is able to use her litter pan with assistance, purrs and plays with a special toy. I do not want to put her down to make our life easier but I don't want to be selfish either.  She does not appear to be in pain as far as we can tell.

[CML2014]

Momps!

Good News!  Sounds like you are making progress and little Lily is in good hands. Just make sure they do not give her any vaccination shots while she is in this immune compromised condition.

Hopefully it is nothing more than nasty mites.

Keep us posted!
CML

[momps61]

I appreciate all the help I have been receiving regarding this situation.  We took Lilly back to the vet on Sat for additional blood work to try to determine what is wrong and what isn't wrong.  She is also old enough now for a flea and ear mite treatment-they say that it could be an ear infection caused by the ear mites that is causing her balance to be off so I guess we'll see how that goes.  I also discussed with the vet about taking her to a vet school-the closest one to me is VA Tech and she totally agreed and said she would call there for me and give an update on her findings thus far.  She continues to do everything normally except be able to walk.  Thanks again for all the support out there-I never knew.

[FurballsMom]

I couldn't agree more with the other posters.  And, I love the research that was involved.  Ever wish we had a "like button" for such good posts?  I wouldn't have even known what to suggest, but I read these posts and they all make such good sense.  I have a chiropractor who I have seen adjust a large dog years ago.  It's pretty much the same as adjusting us people, believe it or not.  The same basic skeletal and muscle structure is actually involved.  I believe the dog that my vet adjusted had hip dysplasia, if I remember correctly.  In any case, I remember her telling me that the adjustments made it possible for the dog to continue to be able to walk.  Since the chiropractor deals with spinal manipulations, there are SOME neurological issues that can be treated, though not necessarily cured.  I was told by my chiropractor that because of the mild Scoliosis in my back that this is why adjustments for me just don't hold very well.  This makes sense, since the muscles have to fight so hard to try to keep the alignment.  The chiropractic treatments do help with my migraine issues.  Yet, at the same time it can't cure the migraine issues.  But, the adjustments do help with the neck and upper back issues, which do help relieve issues stressing the nerves and muscles.  This does help ease the migraine disorder.  I also have a hip issue that isn't ever going to go away but is greatly helped by the chiropractic treatments.  This isn't about me, but since I mentioned the similarity of the muscle/skeletal structure on our cats and dogs to ourselves, I thought I might give some realistic examples that help explain what SassyLassie is referring to.  And, I agree with her, too.  Chiropractic may even be the most helpful while the cat is still a growing kitten if spinal manipulations have any success, even limited success, with the neurological system.  This has been proven with children, too, so there's a basis for me saying this.  And, of course, a lot depends on what kind of issues the poor little kitten was obviously born with.  Still, limited success is better than no success.

[SassyLassie]

Vets and doctors like this really tick me off.

I agree with the other posters, do everything possible to help the poor kitty, my heart aches for her, poor baby.

If the vets will not do anything, maybe giving it baby "B" vitamins would help. Also, liquid trace minerals, I gave my dog this when she was older and had some of the same symptoms, it helped.

This may sound weird, but, also, if there is a chiropractor near that does animals, ask him, the one where I lived was able to help my dog some, animals, like people, can have misplaced vertebrae and they can cause similar symptoms.

[CML2014]

It is hard to say if Metabolic Disorders can be helped. The key is to FIRST know what is missing in the metabolism that is causing the problem.
The way I understand it is;


Metabolism is made up of enzymes and other proteins that make chemical reaction happen . Some chemical reactions are needed by the body and some are dangerous. So identification is the first line of defense.

This is why I suggested a Veterenry School, they are always  a good bet at having experience with these conditions. If that particular enzyme or protein can be controlled with meds than it is not a death sentence, rather something for which meds will be needed to balance it for the rest of the cats life....but at least it can be controlled.

In fact momps might want to call or write the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary School of Medicine. They have a program that is studying just this condition.

Look--maybe there is nothing that can be done and love and care is all you can give until the end comes....but I believe it is only fair to know what you are dealing with and get these answers from a qualified physician. Who knows it could just be vestibular ear problems, or a Thiamine deficiency , which can be controlled with meds or diet respectively.

What can I say--We pay for answers and answers are what we should get, right??

[opus88]

Excellent post CML........
I couldn't agree more, some Vets like our own drs. Just take the easy route all too quickly
Did your book say there's any treatment avail to give some hope if it should be IMD?