# cat sometimes has trouble sitting down



## Guest (May 4, 2012)

my cat is 17, has arthritis of back legs. can't jump or run any more, but walks perfectly normally, on her toes. she gets cosequin (glucosamine, chondritin and msm) and vit b12 as methylcobalamin to try and help with the arthritis and weak back legs.

usually she can sit down no problem, but occasionally i see her go halfway down (plantigrade) then seems to get stuck and can't drop any further. at the same time her tail quivers, like she's having trouble tucking it out of the way. i suspect this sometimes also causes her to miss over the side of the litter tray.

first reaction is take her to the vet, and i will, although i suspect she'll just say "oh well, getting old, nothing much to be done. and anything drastic i might suggest would cause more distress than needful"

so i wondered if anyone else has experience of this, and any suggestions of further palliative care?


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## Paddypaws (May 4, 2010)

I don't know how much real difference the Flectabeds make, but all my oldies adore them so worth the money in my book. I also _think_ a Bioflow collar helped Nellie, although my scientifically minded forum friends universally trashed it!:scared:
lastly I used to give Nellie Vit C as sodium ascorbate and again I believe that helped.


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## jill3 (Feb 18, 2009)

Also you could try the heat pads that you can get especially for Dogs/cats. You just pop them in the microwave for a couple of minutes and then put them in their bed.
We had a 17 year old with very stiff back legs and she had cosaquin but it never helped her.
The vet gave us some Metacam which I didn't really want her to have but her kidneys were fine.
She wouldn't take the metacam anyway. I the end we got her a Halogen heater and she spent most of her days in front of it.

I think you have to way up the quality of life. If she is in pain then maybe painkillers from the vet. If he wants to give her Metacam then you can always get her Kidneys checked out first.
The main thing is to keep her pain free and warm away from the damp.
Which at the moment is a bit hard with our weather.


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## Guest (May 4, 2012)

thanks for the replies.

i don't think quality of life is an issue yet, though thank you for mentioning it. it's only occasionally i see her having trouble getting all the way down, with accompanying tail quivers. i don't get the sense she's in distress. usually she just plonks herself down on her bottom as normal.

she actually has a heat pad, one for humans(!), that i leave on all the time. she'll sleep on it at night, but prefers a cushion usually.

i think the cosequin has helped, as has the vit b12, though both took a while. i suddenly thought one day hey, she's walking really well now, but it was probably a gradual thing.

thanks for the tip about vitamin c. i've not seen that anywhere else and will have a google about it.


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## hobbs2004 (Mar 12, 2010)

doujyr said:


> thanks for the replies.
> 
> i don't think quality of life is an issue yet, though thank you for mentioning it. it's only occasionally i see her having trouble getting all the way down, with accompanying tail quivers. i don't get the sense she's in distress. usually she just plonks herself down on her bottom as normal.
> 
> ...


Have a google for rosehip powder and arthritis. Some studies have been done with humans, not cats though. Rosehip is full of vitamin C. I would be cautious with the dosage though (and I have no clue how much is enough for effectiveness and how much is too much I am afraid) as too much Vitamin C acidifies the urine too much, which can lead to oxolate stones. Oh why is everything such a balancing act.


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## Guest (May 5, 2012)

thanks, will have a look


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## thedeans (Apr 8, 2009)

My old bridge baby was just like this during her last years - she used to spend forever trying to sit, when she eventually managed it my kids used to be sooo thrilled they would congratulate her "YEAH good girl, well done" - which used to get her excited so she STOOD up and went over to them for a fuss - and it started all over again:blushing: - we had to BAN making a fuss of her :laugh:
Socks lived like this for many years - she slept on a big padded bed so kinda flopped into it at night - we pts(age 20yrs) when it spread to her spine and she was dragging her back legs


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## Guest (May 5, 2012)

thank you for posting that. it's good to know it's not something unique, though the bit about dragging her back legs fills me with dread. did it cause her to miss over the side of the litter tray?

did you take socks to the vet about it? and if so what did they say, and any treatments they recommended?


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## thedeans (Apr 8, 2009)

she was pooing over the sides for years before the end - I used a hooded tray and a second one in a corner in utility room with a puppy pad under once it started so wasn't as much of an issue

Socks was PTS a week after she first began dragging her back legs - it seemed to happen over night - noticeable stiffness one day that got worse over next couple of days - then the vets:cryin: (I knew what they would say)
Vet offered strong painkillers but nothing would bring back the use of her legs - I couldn't allow her to drag herself about - she was doubly incontinent by then too - and wasn't too happy being washed when she'd not been able to get out of her bed in time - For me it was time to let her go - yours has many happy years left yet - speak to your vet though cos they can offer anti-inflamatories to help with the pain


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## Ianthi (Oct 21, 2008)

doujyr said:


> thanks for the replies.
> 
> i don't think quality of life is an issue yet, though thank you for mentioning it. it's only occasionally i see her having trouble getting all the way down, with accompanying tail quivers. i don't get the sense she's in distress. usually she just plonks herself down on her bottom as normal.
> 
> ...


Given there's a very real chance the arthritis has become more extensive ie spinal, i wonder if acupuncture would be any help? I've heard of cases where symptoms improved when medications failed to have much effect. Certainly worth considering and your vet might be able to recommend a practictioner nearby.


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## Guest (May 9, 2012)

thedeans said:


> she was pooing over the sides for years before the end - I used a hooded tray and a second one in a corner in utility room with a puppy pad under once it started so wasn't as much of an issue


once again, thanks for posting this.

she doesn't miss when pooping, only when peeing, which is actually more hassle as her poops are well formed, small and odourless thanks to mainly raw diet. they would be much easier to clean up. she only misses occasionally, though. my heart breaks a little bit every day when i see her not being able to run and jump, but she seems happy enough doing what she does. garden walks have to be supervised just in case some other creature tries to attack her.


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## Guest (May 9, 2012)

Ianthi said:


> Given there's a very real chance the arthritis has become more extensive ie spinal, i wonder if acupuncture would be any help? I've heard of cases where symptoms improved when medications failed to have much effect. Certainly worth considering and your vet might be able to recommend a practictioner nearby.


thanks, i'll look into it.


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