Hi folks, I'm new here and although this thread is old, it was a huge help/comfort to me when my cat Raffy went through unexplained hind leg weakness. I thought I would post what happened to him and how he got past it, in hopes that others who are searching out answers might find it.
Raffy was one year old exactly when he started exhibiting signs of hind leg weakness. At first he just seemed clumsy, incapable of landing on his feet. He started being lazier in fetch games, and walking fast rather than running. Eventually we took him to the vet and they commented he had very loose kneecaps, but that it might be related to weight (he was two pounds over his ideal weight at the time). So they took xrays, and blood tests, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
We began feeding Raffy less, and carrying him alot as over time he was no longer able to get on the bed with us, or even walk properly. He would drag himself by his front paws then slide his back end over. The most steps he could take were about 8-10 before sitting hard on his hind end. Eventually he could no longer climb in the most shallow litterbox, so we had to interpret his cries for 'potty' and put him in his box, then take him out again. We became desperate and went to see a neurologist several times but nobody found an answer.
Around this time my cat sitter (bless her!) mentioned the wellness cat food recall and mentioned that she knew Raffy had been eating it. So we switched his food out to three different varieties (Almo nature, solid gold wet and dry, and Call of the wild among others). He was still on reduced portions and finally at a stable healthy weight. More bloodwork was sent out and he was put on vitamin B shots twice daily to see if that helped. He also had thiamine, as that was the issue with the wellness food. I gave him twice daily zukes hip action treats as well, hoping that any little bit could make a difference. A week after his shots had ended, Raffy was walking again. Three weeks later, he was running. And now a month after they are done, Raffy is back to his normal self. Oddly enough, his bloodwork revealed that his levels were perfectly normal... so it may not have been the wellness food at all. I just wanted to share everything we did to get him back to normal, just in case it helps anyone else out there.
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