Help! Jijo is very poorly. CRF, Lameness and Lump in Throat - RIP my brave boy

[carolynl]

Hi Both

Thank you for your replies.

I have just phoned the vet and the results of the test are back but the vet is out so he is going to ring me later to discuss the results.

Jijo is no better and I am worried that the lameness, although it doesn't appear to be giving him any pain at the moment, could cause problems later due to him holding his body in a different way to try to compensate.

The vet seemed pretty sure it is nerve damage but that seemed rather vague to me. Can nerve damage improve or is that it for Jijo now? Do you think he will get worse? I have so many questions I'm just confusing myself. I have written lots down to ask the vet when he calls so hopefully some of my fears will be put at rest.

Gill  -  I think the MRI scan would be at Langford and cost about £800.00. even if they cannot operate anyway, I'm thinking it might be worth having it done just to rule out anything else it could be. I don't know  He didn't give any indication of any other treatment for it. Only surgery.  I think I need a definate diagnosis first so I will ask about that this afternoon.

Tiggy's Mum - His blood tests showed a slight increase in the levels for his CRF so basically a slow but steady decline in kidney function. So I am thinking as Gill said that I might ask about metacam, but if he has to take thyroid meds then that could complicate things further. 

Do either of you know if hyperthyroid can cause lameness?

Sorry for all the questions, I'm just so worried about my boy. 

[Tiggy's Mum]

What an awful worry, it never rains but it pours eh  I think it helps if you break it down into categories in your head then deal with each chunk at a time as otherwise it may feel a bit overwhelming 

Firstly, have any of the blood tests shown how well he is doing CRF wise? If he's fairly stable still then you can push that to one side although as you said it means that certain treatments would be contraindicated.

If the lump does turn out to be his thyroid then hopefully this is something that can be easily dealt with either via medication or surgery if your vet feels he is a good candidate. My Tiggy was both hyperthyroid and CRF for many years with no great problems - she was diagnosed hyperthyroid roughly the same age as Jijo - approx 14 I think and she had five good years with me after that. My vet told me that being hyperthyroid can actually be slightly beneficial for the kidneys as it pumps the blood through faster (or something technical like that!) so he always aimed to have the thyroid result on the higher end of normal which we achieved well through medication. If he does turn out to be hyperthyroid then there's lots of others on here who have recent experience of the various meds and diet available so we can cross that bridge if and when you come to it 

The spinal issues/lameness I guess are the greatest worry at the moment, if certain medication routes are ruled out due to him having CRF then have you considered more 'alternative' methods eg supplements or even something like acupuncture? There was a recent thread on it and the cat involved seems to be doing very well on it - I'm sure if you ran a search for arthritis or something similar on here there'll be recommendations of supplements etc too but I don't have any experience of such things myself. Here's the thread on acupuncture http://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/index.php/topic,42463.msg753466.html#msg753466

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

So sorry to hear about all Jijos problems 

My thoughts are that you need the results for the lump before anything else.

Next, if you mean the Vet Hospital in Bristol, they did not have an MRI scanner in 2011 although there is a vet ummmm practice around that area that does. What I was told that just because they haave a scanner you need an expert to read the results or you money is wasted and it can be a very lot of money.

I live in SW Wales and was told I would need to go to the otherside of England to get a good MRI......Newmarket I think.

Has any indication been given to you concerning the disc problem of what could be done...........a referral to a consultant etc?

I am not up on CRF but there are many who arre on Purrs and hope someone else will give you this info.

Some times sadly we have to weigh up the cats comfort and quality of life versus how long that life should be and if giving small doses of metacam for pain reduces the length of life by a couple of years, in my humble opinion that is best.

My late Ducha was a case  like this and he had small doses of metacam to help his arthritus and he was like a new cat..........he only had 3 legs but was then up and down stairs all the time!

He finally went to the Bridge aged 19yrs with renal failure which was never treated cos he couldnt be pilled and I agreed with my vet that his quality of life was most important.

[carolynl]

Hi Everyone.

Jijo was diagnosed with CRF almost 2 years ago, but he has been doing fairly well on a renal diet. He has also had arthritis for a few years but again has been managing well. Still running about, still climbing etc.

Now though, he has developed sudden lameness in his right hind leg. literally we left for work in the morning and he was fine, we got home in the evening and he was lame.

I took him to the vet and he gave him some antibiotics and a short acting painkiller injection in case it was a fight injury as he couldn't see anything obvious. We went home.

2 days later Jijo was no better so I took him back to the vet. A different vet looked at him and examined his gait, the way he reacted to manipulation etc and thought it could be nerve damage as he didn't seem to be in any pain.

In the meantime he had been weighed and had lost 0.5 kilo since October, so he was booked in for blood tests. The vet suggested he was x-rayed at the same time.

So on Thursday he went in for blood tests and Xrays.

The x-rays showed what the vet thought could be a compounded? (not sure if this is correct word) disc half way down his spine  and boney growth on his hip joints associated with his arthritis. He said the only way to be sure about the disc would be to send him to Bristol for an MRI, and there was little point in this as if it was found to be the right diagnosis the only treatment would be to operate and the recovery is long. He said he would not advise this for a cat Jijo's age. Jijo is nearly 15.

The other problem is he cannot have anti-inflamatories because of the CRF.

I asked the vet if the sudden extra weight loss could be his Thyroid and he didn't think so as he was showing no other symptoms. However, when they put him under for the xrays and shaved his neck  they found a lump on his throat so they decided that maybe they should do a thyroid test. This lump is quite large and I have never noticed it before so I think this has grown recently too. I am still waiting for the results from this test.

I can't help feeling that if we do nothing about Jijo's possible disc problem then we're just giving up on him and I do not want to do that. He is such a good boy and I love him so much so I want to do everything I can to help him but at the same time I don't want to add to his suffering. Also, if he has got a thyroid problem, will treatment for this affect his kidneys? I am at my wits end and don't know what do do for the best.

Please has anyone else been through this. Any advice/thoughts would be much appreciated.