Jack's neuropathy is gone, and a picture says a thousand words!

Jack was diagnosed with diabetes in February of this year. He had horrible neuropathy. Although he was able to walk, he did so completely on his hocks with his back hunched. He no longer jumped on furniture or chairs, and he was no longer able to lay in his favorite position -- completely on his back with his tummy exposed and his little front legs bent in front of him. It broke my heart that he could no longer lay like that. As his BG level decreased, he slowly walked more and more on his toes. He eventually was able to jump on the chairs and to get on our tables again. When he was first able to lay on his back with his legs open, I was thrilled! However, his back laying has been not totally on his spine, and it looked as though he was laying more on one side than on his back. He's been in remission since the beginning of June, and he's continuing to do wonderfully! But last night was the very best when he finally laid fully out on his back. He has been laying like that off and on since last night, and to me it means that he is truly back to himself.

 

Bet you never thought that cat pose would bring you so much joy!

 

Congrats, he looks great!

 

Oh that is so precious! He is beautiful and I want to rub his tummy. I’m so happy for you both!!

 

I had no idea! Sometimes it's the little things that mean the most.

 

He really is a cutie pie...

 

Thanks!

 

I love that you have two gingers in your photo. I’ve got two ginger boys at home also. Alice’s bio mom was a ginger too. And her brother. <3 Orange cats make me happy!

 

I think orange cats are so sweet. And I don't know if this is an orange cat thing or just my two, but they have the sweetest little meows. Jack is this big boy with a little tiny meow that sounds like a squeak toy! Do your gingers have a tiny meow also?
The other cat in that photo is Joey -- a little girl. She's our youngest at 6, and the apple of Jack's eye. She's an affectionate little girl, but stinky and she drools all the time! But she can always depend on Jack to give her a lot of snuggles, which is why we've nicknamed him "Daddy Jack."

 

The Ginger Boys: Jakey is my youngest cat, also at about 5-6 years. He is one of those wander the house meowing a song no one else understands, like the world is in crisis, types.
Tang is a couple of years older, and he barely mews at all, and yes, it’s a tiny sound when he does.

Oz was Alice’s brother, orange and white, and yes, he was also usually quiet and soft. He was a very gentle soul.

 

Jack and Joey are both gentle souls as well. I call Jack my gentle giant. I think orange cats are generally shy and timid. I like that Jakey enjoys singing the song of his people.

 

since orange cats are genetically different (yes only one gene but it's crucial, and on the X chromosome at that), I do notice a difference, in personality, at least

Catcat's meow is typical raspy Siamese, but most of my previous orange cats have been quiet meowers -- including orange Kurry barncat, who is suddenly meowing at me when I come out with food, very unusual behavior for a feral ... tabby-tortoisehell Greta remains silent ... her name is Greta for a Reason ...

congratulations to Jack -- Catcat just rolled over to salute --

 

I did not know this...

...and you weren't kidding when you said that Catcat speaks Siamese! That's adorable!

 

So happy for Jack, he's a handsome boy, I have 2 orange cats, they are brothers. Tyler and Perry. I named them after my all time favorite rock band Aerosmith.
Tyler for Steven Tyler and Perry for Joe Perry.

 

Very cute. I love ginger kitties too!
I remember how thrilled I was when Sheba jumped up on the bed again after months of not being able to.

 

I am so very happy (and hopeful) for your Jack and mine!

Since I got him under control, he is starting to walk on his toes in front, and slowing working up to his toes in back...your story makes me hopeful that he will get back on all four of his toes since he is in remission.

Thank you for sharing.

 

That’s wonderful and heart warming! I adopted a cat with diabetes and bad neuropathy. I was told he’d never recover, but he’s getting better. Did you do anything special to help him? I’ve heard good blood sugar is the cure, but physical therapy has been mentioned. Can he really jump?

 

My ginger tomcat does that too!! Well, if he does make a noise anyway, most of the time he opens his mouth but doesn't say anything LOL.
My other tomcat though is a lot smaller and looks similarly to Jack and has a big mouth though xD

 

Blood sugar regulation is a critical component, but read this: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...europathy-weak-back-legs.178252/#post-2172382
Zobaline (Methylcobalamin - aka - methyl B-12) is very helpful with neuropathy recovery.

 

Carolyn, what good news and congratulations to both of you. Love the "airing" pose, we see that a lot here in this house, big ole fuzzy belly on display and who can resist sneaking in a little rub? You did it gal! Got Jack into remission and resolved the neuropathy with help of Zobaline. I am so very happy for you.

 

Is Zobaline recommended in general for diabetic cats or only for more severe cases of neuropathy? My cat had leg weakness in the beginning and couldn't jump on the bed. She's much better now but still not comfortable jumping as high as a typical cat.

 

I am sorry, I can't answer that specifically. Personally, I don't believe Zobaline would be recommended in general for all/any diabetic cats, without any symptoms of neuropathy.

You might post this question separately on the Main Health forum for additional input, and maybe check with your vet.
I have read of others using Zobaline for mild symptoms of neuropathy, it's not just reserved for severe cases. But I have no first hand experience.

There could also be some arthritis with or without any neuropathy, but it's good that you are exploring ways to help Panic to better mobility and comfort. She's such a pretty, darling girl, we all want her to be feeling just as good as possible. (Love the new avatar!)

 

Great names!

 

Jack's neuropathy got better because his blood glucose stopped being high. The other thing that I did was to give him zobaline, which I purchased from Amazon. But to be honest, I didn't even finish the first bottle I bought because Jack didn't like how it tasted. He's the only cat that I've ever heard of who could even taste the stuff! However, I have great faith in zobaline because of all the good things I've heard about it, and it may have even contributed to his neuropathy getting better. And yes, he really can jump! The only thing he hasn't done since his diagnosis is to get onto the windowsill. I think he's lost some of his confidence, and he's also getting older. But I've even seen him running around the house again!
And it's simply not true that cats don't recover from neuropathy. I think the majority of them do. You've already seen improvements in Jackson, and he's going to keep on getting better as his blood glucose becomes more and more stable.

 

That's what I was wondering about. I see it mentioned so often I wasn't sure if it was kind of a standard or if just most diabetic cats ended up needing it!
(thank you! thought she needed an updated look haha)

@Daddy Jack's Mommy are Jack's BG levels staying down where they belong as well?

 

Ah ha! So there are some noisy gingers out there! But it appears as though they're far and few between. I had another ginger before Jack and Joey, and he was really soft and quiet too. And I've known others with a soft, little meow. As far as the Zobaline for issues other than neuropathy, I'm not familiar enough with the supplement (besides what I've heard here) to know whether it works for muscle weakness or arthritis. But as Lou suggested, I've only seen it used for cats with obvious symptoms of neuropathy.

And... Yes! Jack is still doing well, although his pre-meal BG levels are sometimes above 120. However, they go down quickly after he eats, so insulin wouldn't be an option (because his BG is going low without it). Oddly, it seems as though his PMBG is lower when he doesn't eat raw (when I run out), which has me wondering if his BG levels might be a little better with a small amount of carbs. I really need to experiment with this before I can know for sure. He LOVES eating raw now (EZ Complete), and it's done him so much good in so many ways, so I'm not about to stop it. I need to know for sure before I decide if something should change (maybe adding some form of carbs into his diet, via some canned food?) I'll say more about this later when I know for sure.

 

I was ecstatic when he was laying on his back like that! And he's so happy about it too.

 

I'm sending all good thoughts to your sweet little Jack! I can't believe how much better my Jack has gotten. I was so worried that he would always have problems walking. But he's doing great!

 

He's the only one who completely "airs" himself that way, and I love it! I especially love the little T-Rex arms bent in front of him, and the way he peeks over his belly to look around. He's so darn cute!

 

Here is my kitty Tyler

 

I only see the one adorable picture of Tyler above your post. Oh my goodness, he's such a cutie! I love his little back feet held up in the air. And he's a chunky little thing!

 

Tyler was 23 lbs , then I noticed he was walking funny, took him to the vet expecting him to weigh 23 lbs, he weighed in at 18 lbs. I'm was glad he lost weight even though it was due to diabetes. My vet still wanted him to get down to 16 lbs. Then he went back up to 23 lbs. He only is eating one can of Fancy feast classic chicken Pate which is only 99 calories, if anything he might eat a can and a half and a very small amount of Dr Elseys Clean Protein Dry. My vet has no idea why he went back up other than he's a lazy blob lol. His neuropathy has gotten better, but he's not that active like his brother. He eats, sleeps and goes to the bathroom. I try and play with him and make him move around a lot, but he's just a lazy cat. His thyroid is fine. Jack is adorable I also give him Zobaline.He can now jump onto the couch and kitchen chairs, but like you said it breaks my heart that he's not completely back to normal. @Daddy Jack's Mommy

 

Tyler is in the left and Perry on the right, I'm surprised the cat napper didn't break lol.

 

. This is Tyler's brother Perry. He has kidney disease, but hesh doing very well, it's stage 2. He also has seizures, but they are under control with meds. He hasn't had one in about 11 months thank God.

 

So happy for Jack. Wonderful news. thanks for sharing.

 

I have a cat in renal failure, also in stage 2. She was diagnosed in April, and was really sick at that time. She also has advanced arthritis, which seemed to come out of nowhere right after she was diagnosed. But since then, her kidney values went down to normal and she's looking and feeling fabulous. Since her diagnosis, I put her (and all 5 of them) on low phosphorus food, and started preparing raw food (EZ Complete), which now takes up the lion's share of what they eat. I'm assuming the change in diet is the cause of her doing so well. I also give her pepcid in the AM and PM, and Miralax at night. I just can't believe how good she's doing, and I'm not taking it for granted. I know it could change at any time. She'll be 15 in Sept, so she's an old girl. She definitely has my heart.

I'm so happy that Perry is doing so well! His face reminds me a little of Jack's - sort of the same expression.

Here are a couple of cute pictures. One is of Jack in the middle of a yawn. He looks like he's laughing! He was chunkier in this picture - back in the day, before he had diabetes. (Although his chunkiness probably helped to cause it).
The other one is Celie, my old girl with kidney disease. She's a calico with a pink nose. She's actually a little pink herself!

 

@Daddy Jack's Mommy , oh my God they are adorable, Jack yawning is hysterical, he's a handsome boy.Celie is beautiful and yes she does have a pink tint to her. Bless her she's 15 yrs old. I'm glad she is doing well. Why do our cats have to get all these diseases, right? Tyler and his brother just turned 11 yrs old the end of March.

 

Celie is such a pretty dilute calico, and I wonder if she has a blue dilution in her genes as well as the chocolate dilution, she's almost the color I see in lavender/frost Siamese ... if she were an ice cream, I'd pick her flavor ...

 

I was told once Alice is a dilute calico.... what does that really mean??

 

And I really believe that we grow more attached as they age. And we bond even more when we take care of a cat who needs our help.

 

It means that your girl is not a dark calico or one with intense markings. Dilutes are more diluted, so to speak.

 

That's great! I like that...
Now you have me really curious about dilute calico's, in general.

 

cat color genetics are rather complicated (what about cats, isn't ?? ) -- standard calicos have black patches and orange-red patches on what looks like a white cat, but genetically they are tortoiseshells with extensive white spotting

the red will always have tabby patterning, the black may be tabby or solid, and the two colors may be separate or mixed together

the dilute genes turn the black into brown or gray, turn the orange-red into sandy or buff

that's simplified, it is, as I said, complicated

 

Someone pointed out to me how a strand of Alice’s fur will grow and chunks will be different colors on the same strand and they said that was part of it?

 

@CandyH and Catcat but I knew you would know!

 

This is some fascinating stuff! I also have a calico who is not dilute. Her name is Dede, and she's very dark. Here are a couple pictures of her. She's a ham bone.
.

 

I really don't know. I think my other cats, who aren't calico, can have a strand of hair that's different colors too. Maybe @CandyH and Catcat could answer that?

 

Dede is so beautiful, I just love that little dark nose of hers I'm always kissing Tyler and Perry's nose. Tyler loves it , but Perry not so much, so I just take his head and say to bad you are getting kissed, lol he's now getting used to it. When he's in his cat napper now, the ones you attach to the window sills, He love's to be pet while lying there, and then he puts his head backwards so I could kiss his nosey. Lol He could stay in his napper for hours and be pet. Now it's non stop , every time I get up to do anything , he looks at me and leads me to the cat napper. I tell him I don't have all day to come and pet you , but of course then I give in.

 

So do I! It's her trade mark.