Mia is limping :o(

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FurBabiesMama

FurBabiesMama

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Yesterday morning, I thought I saw a slight limp, like she was slightly favoring a front paw. I picked her up and looked at them as well as I could with her being squirmy, and I rubbed them with no response from her that indicated pain. I did not notice it again yesterday, so I thought maybe I was crazy.

Then, when she was walking to lunch today, the slight limp was definitely there and has been since. Also, her BG numbers have been abnormally high today. I am SO worried. (I immediately thought of poor Oreo.) We already had a vet appointment scheduled for next Friday just for planned blood work. I called to see if we could come in this week, but her vet is booked. They reserve an appointment each day or two for emergency requests for visits that come in the same day. There is one of those tomorrow afternoon, so they told me to call at 7am when they open if I want to try and get it before anyone else.

I was planning to up her dose tonight based on her numbers the past couple of days, but now I think maybe I should just hold where we are until I find out if we are seeing the vet tomorrow, and if so, how the visit goes.

Please let this be nothing. :(:nailbiting:
 
Sending vines for sweet Mia and you.:bighug: Try not to worry (ha! easy to say) as Dusty Bones said it may simply be a sprain. Any swelling? Also check shoulder and spine for tenderness(if she stops squirming long enough)
 
Sharon14 said:
vines for sweet Mia and you.:bighug: Try not to worry (ha! easy to say) as Dusty Bones said it may simply be a sprain. Any swelling? Also check shoulder and spine for tenderness(if she stops squirming long enough)
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Thank you. I do not think there is any swelling. I had my husband watch her walk, and he thinks maybe it is her back right paw she is favoring rather than a front paw. It is so hard to tell! She will probably be relaxed and laying spread out on the bed with me this evening, so I will take advantage of that to try and examine things more closely. I will check shoulder and spine, as you suggest, too.
 
FurBabiesMama said:
Thank you. I do not think there is any swelling. I had my husband watch her walk, and he thinks maybe it is her back right paw she is favoring rather than a front paw. It is so hard to tell! She will probably be relaxed and laying spread out on the bed with me this evening, so I will take advantage of that to try and examine things more closely. I will check shoulder and spine, as you suggest, too.
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You should try video taping it because she may not limp with the stress adrenaline at the vet
 
Other things to look for might be something caught between the pads, a broken or injured claw that could be causing discomfort or a sliver or bug bite. Check the feet, legs, shoulders, etc. Could also be a sprain, strain or even a touch of arthritis.
 
Sending positive vines. She is isn’t a very old lady so hopefully she just got a little wild when you weren’t looking and stubbed her toe. :p
 
I was able to get the one same-day appointment for this afternoon. The limp continues, and her BG remains higher than normal. I have not found anything that looks abnormal about her paws, legs, anything. I will try to get a video of her walking before the appointment.

Thank you all for your support and well wishes.
 
FurBabiesMama said:
I was able to get the one same-day appointment for this afternoon. The limp continues, and her BG remains higher than normal. I have not found anything that looks abnormal about her paws, legs, anything. I will try to get a video of her walking before the appointment.

Thank you all for your support and well wishes.
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I hope you find out what it is and that it'll resolve. Here's how strange it can be: Teasel's sister went through an episode of limping from a sore front paw quite a while ago. Vet visit, nothing conclusive, given Onsior for a couple of days, helped a bit but it went on. I watched her eating and had a lightbulb moment - her dish was on a plastic tray in my kitchen and the tray had a low curved lip all around it. She'd rest her front paws on that curved edge as she ate and it set up some sort of pressure point inflammation in her front paw(s). I took the tray away, put her dish on a flat placemat instead and- problem solved!!
 
FurBabiesMama said:
Did they do an xray to know it was a sprain?
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No, in a few days he was fine again. His leg was sore when I would touch it, no swelling but I saw him walking fine one minute then he ran around the house chasing Dusty and next thing I know he was limping. It just lasted like 3 days and then he was fine. Hope it's the same for you.
 
The vet felt all over her feet, legs, back, hips, under carriage, everywhere and could feel nothing wrong, and Mia never reacted as though she had been hurt. It looked like she was making Mia do pilates or yoga part of the time. The vet checked each claw to see if it looked like one had snagged on something and hurt her, but saw no obvious evidence of that either. They took blood for the blood work that was already planned. I should get the results tomorrow. If there is some kind of infection or something, that should show up in the CBC. (We had planned to do a urinalysis as well, but Mia's bladder was empty.. figures.)

So, I still do not know the reason for the limping. I will have to keep a close watch on her and see if it continues. The vet said to especially watch her this evening since, if there is something there to be aggravated, all the rubbing and maneuvering and such that she did should have aggravated it. I do not think Mia will be doing much walking tonight though. She is too traumatized from having to go to the vet. She will probably mostly stay hunkered down. My poor sweet baby.
 
Mia started limping really bad last night. The vet said she might get worse from the exam aggravating it. Her BG has also remained high. She has spent the majority of the time under the bed. I picked up some bupe for her from the vet's office today. It took two hours, but finally I got her to come out from under the bed to take it. About an hour and a half or so later, she came out for some love then curled up in the window. I have no idea what happened to her, but she is clearly injured (or something). I hope it is able to heal up over a couple of days time. I have a few doses of bupe to help her through it. :(
 
Aw, poor little girl!!! I hope whatever it is clears up soon... :(

If I were you, I'd be testing for ketones at least daily (I see a test on 5/17, but not one since). This thread reminded me of a kitty that came through here with a ketones episode in which the trigger turned out to be a spider bite on her leg. No one could figure out what was wrong because the bite wasn't visible until a few days after when the swelling peaked, but by then the poor cat was in DKA.

Mind you, it sounds more like a sprain or a bruise (temporarily aggravated by the exam), but I'd still be keeping a closer-than-usual eye on ketones, better safe than sorry. Glad the bupe helped, hope she's all better soon!
 
Hope she feels betters soon. But, it might be a good sign she is feeling worse after the vet stretched her in every direction. Kinda points to an injury instead of something worse; I dare not mention any of the worse stuff.
 
any chance the dr checked her shoulder/neck?
Sometimes when they strain a muscle in the shoulder area the nerve will radiate down. I had a cat wouldn't walk on front foot-had him adjusted by chiropractor and he walked on all 4 out. He has never had a problem again.

I also recommend MSM and adequan for any cat over 10--jus my opinion. I like Dasaquan but raises bg on my diabetic.
They are like a miracle or drugs when beginning the aging process before they have "signs". slows the progression.
My 20 year old thinks he is super fly!
 
jayla-n-Drevon said:
any chance the dr checked her shoulder/neck?
Sometimes when they strain a muscle in the shoulder area the nerve will radiate down. I had a cat wouldn't walk on front foot-had him adjusted by chiropractor and he walked on all 4 out. He has never had a problem again.

I also recommend MSM and adequan for any cat over 10--jus my opinion. I like Dasaquan but raises bg on my diabetic.
They are like a miracle or drugs when beginning the aging process before they have "signs". slows the progression.
My 20 year old thinks he is super fly!
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The vet said (and it looked like) she was doing a very thorough exam. She said she was checking paw, legs, shoulders, hips and back. Thanks for the recommendations.

Mia is still limping. She has been on bupe since Saturday afternoon (4 doses). I am wondering if I should continue the bupe for another dose or two or if I should let it wear off and see how she does. It concerns me that she is limping even with the drugs, but it also concerns me to leave her drugged and not be able to gauge how she is feeling. I have never had a cat with this type of issue, so this is all new to me. Any thoughts on this? Any idea how long I should expect the limp to continue if it is just a sprain or something like that?
 
I wish I had more to offer. Maybe try letting the bupe wear off to see what happens. I don't know about cats but certainly a sprain cause cause problems for weeks in humans (I know this only too well!).
 
i sure hope Mia gets better soon, saying prayers for you both! It takes a while for a pulled muscle or sprain. You would think the vet could feel a break unless it’s hairline, but I’d think there would be some swelling too. It may take an x-ray to see what’s what...poor babes :bighug:
 
MSM is for inflammation and blood flow.... My dad has been taking it and told me he can tell a difference after a week. He is taking a very low dose because of other health concerns and it is still helping.

I found it when looking for help for my Swampy who was in severe kidney failure and other things. Within 12 hours she was noticeably brighter. I think it reduced the kidney inflammation and helping the blood flow and push the toxins thru.

I give to the boys for preventive aging care.
 
Thanks. It says almost tasteless. Do you think a picky eater would eat it? I use Now brand for myself and it tastes nasty...
 
FurBabiesMama said:
The vet said (and it looked like) she was doing a very thorough exam. She said she was checking paw, legs, shoulders, hips and back. Thanks for the recommendations.

Mia is still limping. She has been on bupe since Saturday afternoon (4 doses). I am wondering if I should continue the bupe for another dose or two or if I should let it wear off and see how she does. It concerns me that she is limping even with the drugs, but it also concerns me to leave her drugged and not be able to gauge how she is feeling. I have never had a cat with this type of issue, so this is all new to me. Any thoughts on this? Any idea how long I should expect the limp to continue if it is just a sprain or something like that?
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Did they do a x ray by chance??
I certainly don't want to cause you more concern but a limp that doesn't go away can be symptomatic of a more serious thing. If they did and there is any shadowing I would consider a specialist.
 
Sharon14 said:
Thanks. It says almost tasteless. Do you think a picky eater would eat it? I use Now brand for myself and it tastes nasty...
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It doesn't have a specific taste but it does have a taste..... Mine would never eat it in food (or anything in food for that matter). Luckily I can pill them. If you feed something with a strong smell you might get away with it. I put it in a protein shake and I can't detect it but you know these fussy cats! With Rico I add it to the dasaquan pill and I put it in hi PM ondnsetron capsule . They dont need much to be effective.
PM me if you want to try some I will send to you-
 
jayla-n-Drevon said:
Did they do a x ray by chance??
I certainly don't want to cause you more concern but a limp that doesn't go away can be symptomatic of a more serious thing. If they did and there is any shadowing I would consider a specialist.
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There was no x-ray done. It is difficult to even tell which leg she is favoring, so they would have had to x-ray everything. I have studied her walk so much at this point that I THINK it is the right front leg. So, if I continues, at least that is a starting point on what to x-ray.

I know that a limp can be a symptom of something bad which is why I have been so concerned and wanted to get her in so quickly. The fact that the exam seemed to aggravate it so much actually made me feel very slightly better. It seems like that might not be the case if it was something like cancer.. maybe that is not true... I do not know what I am talking about.

I will consider the MSM. I take Triple Flex which is glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM. The only supplement Mia gets at this point is 1-TDC which came very highly recommended by a wonderful dental specialist. It is supposed to be good for gums, joints and muscles. I may start giving it to her every day for a while. (You start with once a day then go to every other day, so she only gets it every other day now.)
 
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Mia's limp is very subtle this morning. Yay! I really, really hope that means that, whatever it is, it is healing. She also got up on my bed and settled down for the morning after she had breakfast... that is often her normal routine, but she has not been doing it the last few days. I went ahead and continued her bupe through yesterday so that she would rest and give it a chance to heal. I gave her a reduced dose at midnight last night, and I do not plan to give her any more. I hope her improvement continues without it.

I heard back from the dental specialist (I love him.. I wish he could be the vet for my girls for everything). He said it is fine to give MSM in addition to the 1-TDC. So, as soon as it arrives, I will start it. I did some reading on it yesterday, and learned some things I did not know. I did not realize it could help with allergies, too. I am always open to ways to help Willow with that.
 
FurBabiesMama said:
There was no x-ray done. It is difficult to even tell which leg she is favoring, so they would have had to x-ray everything. I have studied her walk so much at this point that I THINK it is the right front leg. So, if I continues, at least that is a starting point on what to x-ray.

I know that a limp can be a symptom of something bad which is why I have been so concerned and wanted to get her in so quickly. The fact that the exam seemed to aggravate it so much actually made me feel very slightly better. It seems like that might not be the case if it was something like cancer.. maybe that is not true... I do not know what I am talking about.

I will consider the MSM. I take Triple Flex which is glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM. The only supplement Mia gets at this point is 1-TDC which came very highly recommended by a wonderful dental specialist. It is supposed to be good for gums, joints and muscles. I may start giving it to her every day for a while. (You start with once a day then go to every other day, so she only gets it every other day now.)
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Sometimes it is easier to see which leg is bothering her if you watch her walk away from you ..... from behind
Maybe someone could call her to them while you watch her walk from the back. Sending prayers...
 
The MSM arrived. I tasted it. I think that whoever said it was nearly tasteless had broken taste buds. I just had very few particles of it on my finger, and when I touched it to my tongue, it was instantly bitter. :eek: I was hoping to dissolve it in the bone broth I add to the girl's food, but now, I think that might not be a good idea. They might not eat. So, I think I will have a bit of trial and error figuring out how to disguise it enough to get then to eat it....especially Willow, one of her super powers is knowing if anything at all has been put in her food (she can even tell if something has been added to stinky tuna). Another of her super powers is knowing how to make you think she has swallowed a pill then later discarding it. :)

By the way, sometimes, I do not see the limp at all now when Mia walks, and other times, it is so subtle that, if I was not looking for it, I might not even notice it. I hope it goes away completely and never comes back!
 
Glad Mia is doing better!!!

I wondered about the MSM taste. I use Now brand for myself and it’s nasty. Let us know if you’re able to get your cats to eat it. I’m going to try it on a couple of mine and one is a vey picky eater
 
FurBabiesMama said:
The MSM arrived. I tasted it. I think that whoever said it was nearly tasteless had broken taste buds. I just had very few particles of it on my finger, and when I touched it to my tongue, it was instantly bitter. :eek: I was hoping to dissolve it in the bone broth I add to the girl's food, but now, I think that might not be a good idea. They might not eat. So, I think I will have a bit of trial and error figuring out how to disguise it enough to get then to eat it....especially Willow, one of her super powers is knowing if anything at all has been put in her food (she can even tell if something has been added to stinky tuna). Another of her super powers is knowing how to make you think she has swallowed a pill then later discarding it. :)

By the way, sometimes, I do not see the limp at all now when Mia walks, and other times, it is so subtle that, if I was not looking for it, I might not even notice it. I hope it goes away completely and never comes back!
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I sprinkle FortiFlora on top. She doesn't mind it at all.
 
Good news and bad news.

The good news is that, when I got the MSM, I started sprinkling just a little in their food once each day. They did not seem to notice, so I increased to 1/16 tsp. They still ate their food, so I increased to the suggested dose of 1/8 tsp, and I have been adding it to one meal a day since. The bag says to give twice that a day for a couple of weeks then to drop to 1/8 tsp. I was afraid that if I started with such a large amount, they would not eat the food. They also eat from each other's bowls, so I am concerned about one getting too much. Today, I think I am going to start adding extra for a couple of weeks, especially since....

The bad news is that Mia was limping this morning. NO, NO, NO!!! If I ignore it, will it just go away? :( I absolutely hate this. This means another vet visit. The last one was especially traumatic for her. I wish they had just gone ahead with x-rays. Who cares if we were not sure which leg.. do them all! At least that might have saved a visit. I think I would be more comfortable if x-rays were done and read at the specialist clinic, but I am not sure how the vet will feel about that since her office has 'state of the art' x-ray equipment. I guess I should let them do it and just ask them to consult with the specialist for reading the results if they are not 100% sure of what they see.

Poor Mia. It is just wrong on so many levels that sweet, innocent, precious animals have to have problems like this.
 
Aw, poor Mia!!!!

I agree-- x-ray 'em all at this point. Better to just get it over with.

I'm sure they would have noticed this on a previous exam, but there's no chance she's got a little fur mat somewhere hidden in her fluffiness, is there? My understanding is that those can be pretty irritating/painful when they pull on the skin, so I could see one having an on-again, off-again kind of effect on how she walks to favor it. But, like I said, you'd think that would have been detected in the previous exam.

Poor little girl. Hope it turns out to be an easy fix, whatever it is.
 
My clinic has U/S equipment and two of the vets are trained to do them but the scans are sent away to an expert to be read. Would your vet consider doing that with X-rays? I hope you can get to the bottom of this.
 
Nan & Amber said:
I'm sure they would have noticed this on a previous exam, but there's no chance she's got a little fur mat somewhere hidden in her fluffiness, is there? My understanding is that those can be pretty irritating/painful when they pull on the skin, so I could see one having an on-again, off-again kind of effect on how she walks to favor it. But, like I said, you'd think that would have been detected in the previous exam.
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She does have a lot of fluffiness, but there do not appear to be any mats. She often spreads out with her belly exposed for me to rub it, so I get a pretty good look at everything. I checked her after your post to make sure. She lets me rub all along both front legs without reacting at all as though it hurts.

Nan & Amber said:
Poor little girl. Hope it turns out to be an easy fix, whatever it is.
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Thank you. Me, too!
 
Kris & Teasel said:
My clinic has U/S equipment and two of the vets are trained to do them but the scans are sent away to an expert to be read. Would your vet consider doing that with X-rays? I hope you can get to the bottom of this.
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I am sure she would be willing to consult with the diagnostic imaging specialist if there was any doubt about what the x-rays showed. I know she consults with the specialists. I just felt more comfortable when we were going to the specialist clinic for everything. Too bad the internal medicine specialist that replaced the one I liked turned out to be an arrogant jerk. (In all fairness, I never even met him. My opinion was formed due to him having someone in his office call me to let me know that he handles diabetes differently. He would want us to come in more often and have regular fructosamine tests. Basically, they were letting me know it was going to be his way or the highway, so I took the highway! That is when I decided to go back to the vet I had gone to with my animals for many years. When I mentioned this to her, she shared with me that she had already dealt with him and found him to be very insistent on being in control. Yep, that is exactly the impression I got from the phone call!)
 
A specialist clinic with vets you like is ideal. If that's not possible a GP vet who will work with you and with whom you can communicate is also a good resource. I have no patience with arrogance in professionals.
 
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