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Diet
Hey there guys, i've got the same problem with one of my cats. Mr Burns, or Burnsy, White Boy, Little Man or the Monster. He's one of three cats in our household but the only one with a problem.
He's a 10 month old, white domestic. Positive he's got some Balinese in him. He is usually very active, inquizative and extremely affectionate but over the last few weeks has become less and less like himself. At first he just seemed a little clumsy and arkward. We thought not much of it. He started urinating outside of his litter box which was right out of character. We were told that he was trying to mark his terratory. When he started falling short when jumping to tables and chairs we became a little concerned. His hinde legs were noticably weak. He was wobely. He looked uncomfortable whether sitting or walking. As we'd just started letting him outside we checked him over for any wounds or obvious injuries on his legs or belly. We couldn't see anything so hoped it was a passing sickness or he was simply growing into a clumsy cat.
Then, a few days ago he urinated while sleeping next to us in bed so we knew something was up. I mean, his "accidents" had become more frequent but it was only apparent now that he had no control over it. In the morning we took him straight to the vet. The vet found he had a minor urinary infection and gave him a shot of anti-biotics. He suggested the problem with his hinde legs maybe nerve related and caused by the inflamation caused by the infection. He told us the anti-boitics would kick-in in about 6 hours and to keep an eye on his walking. If he hadn't regained his agility within a couple of days then he should be brought back for x-rays.
The shot seemed to clear up the urinating problem but nothing else. That afternoon he seemed even more unsettled, uncomfortable and unsocial. He complained and would shy away when he was picked up. Later that night he was in too much pain to be handled so it was back to the vets this morning for the x-rays. 2 x-rays and countless tests later and they can find nothing wrong. They put him on a painkiller/anti-inflamatory (Metacam) and said if that didn't work then it may be a neurological problem. He came home as fragile as ever and still a little sedated from the x-rays. I know we've got a great vet but i knew they were a little stumped. Seeing my once vibrant and affectionate cat rapidly deteriorating with still no idea of what was wrong scared the hell out of me. I Googled every symptom i could think of and found out some pretty interesting things.
Unlike dogs, cats actually have quite a varied nutritional requirement. It's quite common for cats to have a calcium deficiency due to all-meat diets and to have Vitamin B1 (Thaimin) deficiency caused by cooking their food. Both these dificiencies have the exact symptoms mentioned all through this thread. I tried to supplement their dinner tonight with some watered down milk and some Vegemite on toast. It was the only Calcium/Thaimin rich foods i could to interest this usually ferocious eater. A dramatic improvement immediately. It may have just been the anti-inflamatories taking effect but he sprang back to life as soon as he finished cleaning a glob of Vegemite off his paw. He changed from a cripple back to a kitten. Sprawling over family members. Playing with the other cats.
The Metacam wears off in a few days so i'll be able to see if it's the drugs or the diet. It is probably a bit of everything we've done over the last few days but it's important to be aware of the need for a rich and varied diet. Kitty Milk is full of calcium and thaimin so it shouldn't be hard to supplement thier diet. We'd been feeding the cats nothing but tined tuna, mince meat and the ocassional pre-packaged cat food. Feeding cats the same food over and over magnifies the deficiencies in a diet and that's where we may have gone wrong with young Burnsy. Only time will tell and it's too early to tell yet. Atleast he seems content tonight. Even if there's more to his problem, i'm sure my new appretiation for his nutritional needs will benifit him so much in the years to come.
*i'm typing fast than i'm thinking. Hope that all made sense. It's late here and i can't be bothered with spell check
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