DSLD in cats

[SonnysMom]

So I have a cat that is roughly 15 years old. Best guess she is a Maine Coon cross. She is a bit overweight. About 18 months ago I noticed she was walking weird on one of her front paws. Basically her fetlock was touching the ground. Over the next 6 months the other paw did the same thing.
We brought her to the vet about 6 months ago and he ran some blood work. The results came in after we left the office. They were bad enough she should have been dead and he wanted us to rush her to the emergency clinic for a blood transfusion. Since this condition had been going on for a good year before the blood tests and the cat was her normal cranky self we decided to not get the blood transfusion. Our guess was something was weird with the results.

So last week we finally take her back and try again. The blood results were fine with the exception that her electrolytes were a tiny bit low. Only suggestion vet had was to change her food. He is a big fan of Purina. He is pretty stumped on what may be causing this. This vet has been around a long time, has generally seen everything so it is weird he is stumped.

The cat is not in pain. She willingly wanders around the house, goes outside through the cat door. Loudly demands treats. Scraps with one of the other cats. She just is walking on both her pads and fetlocks.

So the question is can cats get something similar to DSLD? Anyone ever had a cat with a similar issue?

[Marla_100]

Here’s a condition “Carpal Hyperextension” that is when the ligaments and tissues lose condition and stretch. Can be caused by diabetes which affects tissue.

https://wagwalking.com/cat/condition/carpal-hyperextension

[Angela_Freda]

@Marla 100

Here’s a condition “Carpal Hyperextension” that is when the ligaments and tissues lose condition and stretch. Can be caused by diabetes which affects tissue.

https://wagwalking.com/cat/condition/carpal-hyperextension

I was going to ask about diabetes. Uncontrolled long-term hyperglycemia can do something like this

[4horses]

In Llamas, this can be caused by a deficiency in copper and zinc. I don’t know if the same applies to cats. As for Purina cat food, my cats have been on it for years and seem to be doing okay. Purina was one of the name brands not involved in the huge cat food recall back in 2007. Almost every other name brand at that time was.

I also feed home cooked meat and Instinct Cat food, as well as Hound and Gatos. I started feeding Purina years ago to help control my cats urinary issues- as before that they kept having crystals on other foods. My oldest cat is 16 yrs old this year. No food poisoning, no diarrhea, or other health issues. My only complaint is that everyone has a tendency towards constipation so I do add Miralax.

Instinct Cat food seems to promote urinary issues as it does not promote acidic urine, so i would not want to feed that solely. Hound and Gatos has been excellent but they are rather pricey.

[SonnysMom]

I will dig up the bill and check what blood work he ran. I would guess he ran glucose or something along that line. We previously had a cat with diabetes so are familiar with the normal symptoms. This was the same vet that diagnosed and treated him. I doubt the he would miss diabetes.
At this point due to her age I would be hesitant to do a fusion let alone both paws especially since she doesn’t seem in pain. Also after the fusion they recommend not letting them outside. Due to how my house is set up it would be very difficult to restrict her from going out the various dog/cat doors. To do that I would need to confine her to a spare bedroom. Her mobility is a little bit limited so it isn’t like she is killing birds or other critters. Actually she sucked as a hunter since I got her as a 1 year old. I have no evidence that she ever actually caught anything in her life. Therefore I don’t feel guilty about letting her outside.
I will verify that the vet checked for diabetes. DH and I are comfortable giving shots so treating diabetes isn’t an issue. But I would have thought that would have shown up on the most recent round of blood tests.

I don’t think that she had trauma as it started in one paw and took a long time to affect the 2nd paw.

I know it seems like I ignored the issue for a long time. I will own that. DH was diagnosed with a blood cancer in late 2017. He had a stem cell transplant in July 2018. The cancer caused his kidneys to fail so he is on dialysis. He had a few trips to the ER with admissions due to high blood pressure and a suspected stroke that turned out to be a weird type of migraine. Needless to say his medical treatment was all consuming and took priority. Poor Punky took a back seat. I would have been more pro-active if I thought she was actually in pain.

If we figure anything out I will update the thread.

[Marla_100]

If punky does have diabetes or something similar, some articles online say a change in diet can put them in remission.

Might be a good idea and also since Punky is a little overweight, it might cause a decrease in weight.