Sorry, this might be a long one!
Neko slipped over on easter monday, quiet badly, and when he got up he limped under the dining table, he wasn’t limping when he came back out and still running about for the rest of the day so I just kept an eye on him.
Tuesday I came back from work and he limped quiet heavily- tail curled under and back leg lifted up and held close to the body but again he stopped straight away and went hairing off round the house like a loony again
Wednesday morning he jumped down from the bed and immediately lifted one back leg up and limped a few paces but again then raced off but I started worrying about his hips as hed seemd to limp on different legs so off to the vets
Nekos history is that he is likely the result of inbreeding and came to me as a foster with a curved spine, severe diahorea and suspected brain damage. The diahorea was eventually found to be caused by a tritrichonomas infestation and treated but the treatment carries the risk of some neurological damage. His suspected brain damage is now thought to be due to his inbreeding and he is basically the mind of a kitten in the body of a 2 ½ yr old.
The vet has said that his knees were swollen (both) that the kneecaps were more mobile than shed like so he may have dislocated on his fall and that his hips were too mobile but again some stiffness. His hips have always clicked when hes clambering onto my shoulders but as hes never shown any sign of discomfort ive not panicked- its been mentioned before to the vet. My hips also click and mine in not normally painful.
Treatment is metacam and hopefully will clear up within a few weeks, but it may be that he now needs to go on metacam permanently but this is likely to affect kidney function after 6-7 years. In her opinion that may not be a problem for neko as he may not last that long.
Its not a shock so much as this was always a possibility, the curved spine indicates to me that further skeletal abnormalities was on the cards. Ive always been more concerned about organ abnormalities and the spine itself. Plenty of tears however , this beautiful soul that suffered so much so early deserves better and im kicking myself for not taking him in earlier, he just didn’t seem to be in pain
I asked the vet about confining him and in her opinion it could be worse. Part of the issue with Neko is that he just doesn’t have the awareness that some activities cause him pain and he is to be frank, hyperactive. hes likely to pace constantly and refuse to sleep and spend half the day stood up on his back legs wailing
hes very bonded to sparecat and theyre both distressed if separated for long but i think shed be driven nuts by bored neko if confined together. I also wonder if this is because she sees this being a normal state and that we cant, obviously confine him forever.
From looking on the internet abit, it sounds like hip dysplasia and luxating patella may be what were looking at, and they are more common in main coon which is certainly in nekos heritage somewhere. Ive dislocated kneecaps too (spontaneous lateral) so im very aware of how much that hurts. It breaks my heart that Neko has been feeling that and ive not protected him
So, id really love to hear from someone with experience of these sorts of problems.
The house is largely set up so that neko can get about by stepping instead of jumping anyway as hes never had much strength in his back legs. Glucosamine and chronditin make a big difference to my mobility and joint pain so I will be hoping to try these- want to ok it with the vet first though. Any recommendations on more palatable supplements etc would be very welcome. is cod liver oil helpful?
Any other ideas I can talk to the vet about would also be very welcome, I want to do everything i can to give Neko the life he deserves, he is such a treasure.
