Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Pets > Cats
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 02-02-2018, 09:54 PM
 
Location: Missouri
409 posts, read 289,223 times
Reputation: 1187

Advertisements

This is very long, and I apologize, but I really need some help and feel like I need to present the full picture.

I have now taken Catrina, my ~12-year old spayed female, to the vet multiple times, trying to find an answer to the following problem, with no success.

Here's the behavior:

1) She has arthritis in her hips that's only become really apparent in the last couple of months. Her back legs are becoming atrophied. As of this week, she's having trouble getting up on the bed and mostly sleeps on a rug (rest of house is hardwood and tile flooring; there are multiple cat beds around the house, but she won't sleep in them). There is a step-up box by the bed, but she's never used it to get on the bed. She appears to be in pain, despite pain meds 2x day.

2) A couple of months ago, I moved a litter box with lower sides up from the basement so she wouldn't have to go up and down stairs. My husband recently discovered a corner of the basement where she had been eliminating, so the litter box behavior has been going on for longer than a month or so.

3) Catrina ignored the litter box with the lower sides and eliminated on newspaper around it instead, so I substituted a large tray with a 1/4" lip and lined it with litter. She still preferred urinating and defecating on the newspaper.

4) I removed the litter and substituted layers of newspaper in the tray. This worked for a couple of weeks, then she started going on the newspaper around the tray and then on the floor in front of the newspaper. It's a large volume of urine--at least it looks like it to me, but I'm only used to seeing urine patties within clumpable litter.

5) For a couple of days after I starting giving her the 2x/day pain meds (over a week ago), she went back to going in the tray lined with the newspaper for a few days. Then she began going outside the tray again.

6) Appetite and water consumption are normal. She is current on her shots.

Here are my experiences from the veterinarians:

1) Blood work was fine.

2) Aspirated urine was fine (2 different vets).

3) Stool sample was fine.

3) She is otherwise healthy.

4) She was given one steroid shot, but I know these can't be given repeatedly.

5) She was prescribed pain meds and chondroitin.

6) I was told if these didn't stop the elimination outside the box, then it's behavioral.

Nothing in the environment is different since she started the elimination behavior. The only difference is her arthritis.

I gather it's a cry for help, but if meds (.14 cc for pain, I think--I'm used to just looking at the line on the syringe) aren't helping then what to do for her?

Increase pain meds? Couldn't this be dangerous--could she require more and more?

Demand that they X-ray her to make sure nothing else is going on? COULD something else even be going on?

I feel like nothing I do is helping. Thank you for any help you can provide.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 02-02-2018, 10:20 PM
 
11,184 posts, read 19,346,707 times
Reputation: 23911
What is the pain medication?

What is her diet?

Cats can get cystitis, and there is no way to diagnose this through any tests, as it is inflammation of the bladder and urinary tract. This can cause pain and irritation that she will blame the litter box for. D-mannose can help with this.

When my then 12 year old cat started to stiffen up and become painful for arthritis, after lots of research I put her on green lipped mussel. The results have been phenomenal. She was in so much pain she couldn't even sit. She had to stand in a crouch or lie down.

My recommendations for your precious girl would be to ensure she is getting plenty of fluids by feeding a wet diet, start her on green lipped mussel and d-mannose.

I use this GLM
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Or if you prefer capsules you can use a made for humans brand.

I use this d-mannose (for both myself and my cat)
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Marshmallow root can also provide urinary tract benefit.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1


You might also see if she would prefer puppy pads instead of newspaper.

Other pain relief options to consider would be adequan injections, or cold laser therapy.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-02-2018, 11:05 PM
 
Location: Missouri
409 posts, read 289,223 times
Reputation: 1187
Quote:
Originally Posted by catsmom21 View Post
What is the pain medication? What is her diet?
She is taking .14 ml Buprenex. The prescription says 1 or 2x per day, as needed, but not even 2x/day is now enough, it appears. I had to go find the prescription bottle, which was in a different room from the liquid and syringe. I just searched Buprenex online and am alarmed to see that there is a narrow margin for error with overdosing.

I forgot to mention that two weeks or so ago, she was prescribed a round of antibiotics, just in case she had a bladder infection that the test didn't catch. It made no difference.

I feed canned food, mostly grain-free, from Petco. I avoid the cheap stuff with additives. I put out Blue Wilderness dry food at night, in case they get hungry.

I am using puppy pads, too, but she's also avoiding those. I think she's trying to communicate that my efforts aren't solving her problem.

Thank you for the info on D-mannose and green lipped mussel! I placed an order before replying. Like your cat, mine is also primarily crouching. Even lying down appears to be very uncomfortable for her. I am troubled by how quickly this has progressed. A year ago, she was still jumping and running. I have owned many cats, but this is the first time I've dealt with arthritis.

I will see if a vet will administer adequan. Since they didn't mention it and gave a steroid injection, I'm guessing they may only give it to dogs. The Buprenex came from a different vet, since I wanted to find one who'd offer an alternative to steroid injections.

Thank you for the advice. I will be doing more research based on your suggestions. Googling "arthritis in cats" previously did not provide much information.

<clipped>
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-05-2018, 10:39 AM
 
Location: Wisconsin
2,974 posts, read 3,871,204 times
Reputation: 4324
Quote:
Originally Posted by CatHerder View Post
I will see if a vet will administer adequan. Since they didn't mention it and gave a steroid injection, I'm guessing they may only give it to dogs. The Buprenex came from a different vet, since I wanted to find one who'd offer an alternative to steroid injections.

<clipped>
Do try the Adequan. We've had our Benny (17.5) on it for about a year and a half for arthritis, and it has helped. Vets don't often suggest it for cats and I'm not sure why. It's pretty benign, especially compared to daily pain medication, and far less expensive too.

You can administer this at home, subcutaneously. Drs. Foster & Smith have the best price (($70/vial, you need a prescription). You start with twice-weekly injections and then taper to once weekly. It will take a few weeks before you notice any changes.

If your cat is on other medications, please verify that the Adequan will not interact with them. Our Benny is on several meds and our vet had no problems giving it to us, but just to make sure, ask anyway.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-05-2018, 01:24 PM
 
Location: Minnesota
2,594 posts, read 2,144,912 times
Reputation: 4977
Maybe the pain medication is making her confused. It sounds like she knows what to do, was using the tray with the lip. I've seen, but never used, kitty litter for training, it is scented in some way to attract them to use it. Has your cats vision been checked? I think there is a spray on the also for "litter training. I've also heard or seen some kind of spray. Maybe arthritis is making it difficult to use, walk on, or dig in cat litter also. Maybe still use newspaper but sprinkle some cat litter on newspaper. I've also seen people recommend using a bit of the "used" kitty litter on the new litter (or used newspaper on fresh paper) so kitty will be attracted to her own scent.

Sorry, that's tough problem deal with. Wish I could get into their heads to figure out what they are thinking!

I had a cat that would pee in anything that looked like a box, clothes baskets storage boxes, shoe boxes, board game box lid. No open boxes were allowed in the house. I was afraid to reprimand him about it for fear that I meant litter box too.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-05-2018, 08:00 PM
 
5,479 posts, read 2,089,692 times
Reputation: 8108
This sounds like what my cat had, he eventually began dragging his hind legs or pushing his fronts...it would switch around, sometimes he would spazz and try to bite himself on his back...it turn out to be a neurologicl thing and he had to be put down. I let him go as long as he had an appetite and seemed happy, once he started acting like he was in pain I had him put down.
As for the missing the box...I just cleaned it up, he was my boy...I wasn't going to fault him for that because it wasn't intentional.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-13-2018, 08:27 PM
 
Location: Missouri
409 posts, read 289,223 times
Reputation: 1187
Thank you for the suggestions all, and sorry for the delay in responding. I was waiting until I had something new to add.

I talked to the vet and she suggested trying Gabapentin in addition to the Buprenex. She also said I could increase the dosage of the Buprenex. Catrina has now been on both for 4 days and mannose and green lipped mussel for 6--if I can get her to eat it. If hungry enough, she will eat some of the food that has it sprinkled on it, but she doesn't really like it.

Sadly, there has been no change in her activity level or behavior. I check up on her after she's had her meds and they don't seem to offer much relief.

Her routine now consists of sleeping on a furry mat on top of a heating vent all day and night. She no longer goes anywhere else in the house and is no longer is able to get up on the bed as of a week ago. A couple of times a day she will go to the utility room behind the kitchen for meals and elimination. The newspaper has been laid flat on the floor, not even on a tray, for the last several weeks, but she still won't use it and goes on the tile floor. I really think she is communicating her distress by going on the floor. When she first started having problems with the arthritis, she started (occasionally) defecating in front of her food bowl and in front of the back door to get my attention, so it's not like she was aiming for the litter boxes but couldn't find them. She is still eating and drinking normally. She will sometimes purr a little when petted around her head. I can't touch her any lower than that without causing pain.

We tried something different tonight. I brought out the pet crate (36" x 23" x 26") and lined it with newspaper and puppy pads, with a heated pet bed at one end. I hate to confine her, but she isn't moving around the house, anyway, except to get to the food bowl, and I can't let her continue to urinate on the tile floor. The room has started to smell because of a month's worth of urine soaking into the grout. I also hate to have her eliminate close to where she sleeps, but I do clean up the urine before and after work and any other time I see it. If it continues to be warmish this week, I will take her out on the back deck, which she loves, so she can stretch her legs. I just went to check on her and she is sleeping on the cat bed.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-13-2018, 09:20 PM
 
148 posts, read 113,020 times
Reputation: 350
Catherder, I hope your cat is better by now. My cat also has arthritis. She’s been sleeping in an electric heated cat bed for about 7 years, and that’s helped a lot. I bought it from Amazon. She’s been on Ichon (Adequan) since 2016. One vet wanted to charge $50 per shot and refused to give me a prescription, so I found a new vet. This vet charges me $5.00 for the bi-weekly maintenance shot. It was $10 when the dose was higher.

My cat also gets a B12 shot mixed with the Adequan. I don’t know if it helps, but the vet is a great believer in it to keep her appetite up. She looks a lot better than she did before I started this regime.

The only time my cat doesn’t use her (very low entrance) litter box is when she has a kidney or bladder infection. I use Clavamox to treat it, plus I mix D-Mannose with her food. I will be using catsmom21’s advice from another thread to start a regime to try to prevent infections, since my cat is more prone to them due to kidney disease. She is 20 - I have had my other cats pass as young as 7 and as old as 17, all due to cancer. She is still doing well, thanks to the above, as well as her blood pressure meds and the stuff I mix in her food to help her kidneys.

Good luck with your situation, and please post an update if you get a chance.

Updated to add: Catherder, I saw your latest post as soon as I posted mine. I’m sorry things haven’t improved for you yet. I hope that they will soon.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-13-2018, 09:52 PM
 
Location: Missouri
409 posts, read 289,223 times
Reputation: 1187
Katy, thanks for your kind thoughts. Originally, I wondered if the eliminating-outside-the-box behavior was a sign of a kidney or bladder issue, but I had her urine checked in December and the vet also put her on antibiotics, just in case, but she still voids large amounts. Her blood work was also normal. Coincidentally, her littermate started urinating outside the box this time last year when he was dying of cancer.

I will check again with the first vet I went to (pre-current medication) to see if they will administer Adequan. They didn't offer it, only a steroid shot, when I took her there before. If they won't, I'll look for yet another clinic.

Catrina is only 13. It's surprising and alarming to me how quickly this came on and how quickly it's progressed. A year ago she seemed normal, though maybe I simply missed some signs since her littermate was so ill. Not long before that, she was jumping up onto high perches. I noticed this fall that she was going up and down stairs more slowly and now, only a few months later, she's barely mobile.

I've never had a cat become arthritic this young and never had one become arthritic to this extent. Maybe I was just lucky. Her mother (they were both strays, and Catrina and her littermate were mostly grown kittens when they showed up in our yard) is about a year older and in much better shape. In fact, when I took her to the vet last week, the technician thought she was only a few years old.

The last few years have been stressful ones with the cats. Two years ago, we lost our oldest cat to cancer, then Catrina's littermate to cancer last year. I just brought Catrina's mother home from surgery (a bladder anomaly) last week.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Katyroadpink View Post
My cat also has arthritis. She’s been sleeping in an electric heated cat bed for about 7 years, and that’s helped a lot. I bought it from Amazon. She’s been on Ichon (Adequan) since 2016. ....My cat also gets a B12 shot mixed with the Adequan. ....The only time my cat doesn’t use her (very low entrance) litter box is when she has a kidney or bladder infection.

Updated to add: Catherder, I saw your latest post as soon as I posted mine. I’m sorry things haven’t improved for you yet. I hope that they will soon.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-13-2018, 11:59 PM
 
148 posts, read 113,020 times
Reputation: 350
CatHerder, I can relate to what you’re going through. I lost my 7 year old cat to a brain tumor right before Thanksgiving.

It all started with a stroke. Her bloodwork was perfect, so the vet thought she had a good chance at a full recovery. Although she was improving, she didn’t use the litter box at all or even eat by herself. I was syringe feeding her, but she really loved it and loved to be cuddled, just like a little kitten. Luckily, I was on vacation much of this time. I, too, used puppy pads and a 36 inch dog crate, as needed. One Saturday, she suddenly went downhill and started having seizures, so the vet said it must be a brain tumor and we decided that it was time to let her go.

It can really be worrying and stressful and tiring, especially with other responsibilities and pets to take care of. Plus, I’m always questioning if I’m doing the best thing and the right thing for my pet, and trying to figure out what could be causing the sudden medical problems. I did so much reading online, and many people did have cats that fully recovered from strokes, but sadly, my little Gigi did not.

OTOH, my 20 year old has surpassed all my expectations, thanks to Miralax, HBP meds, her shots and a few things I add to her food, on the advice of the Tanya’s Guide to Feline Kidney Disease website.

I hope Catrina starts feeling better soon. She is obviously well loved. I’m sorry for your loss of your other two to cancer. It’s so difficult to go through.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Pets > Cats

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top