back leg weakness in old cat

Question
QUESTION: I have a recently acquired 12 year old neutered male cat that has auto immune disorder that seems only to be affecting his skin and fur.  He takes Prednicare daily and Leukeran once every 4 days, but for the last 2 or 3 days has been unable to get upstairs or onto a bed or chair without help.  When he walks, he is very unsteady and I have noticed his left hind foot dragging.  Often when he uses his left hind leg especially, it does not support him.  His front legs seem quite strong.  He has a poor appetite and has always been very thin.  He does not seem to be in pain.  I have made an appointment with a vet, but would like someone else's opinion on what they think may be wrong with him.  He eats, drinks and goes to the loo normally and walks there, though he walks rather unsteadily.  Today when I took him for a morning walk in the garden on his harness and lead, he did manage to balance and walk along a narrow bit of flowerbed edging, but his back legs did not look at all strong.

ANSWER: Victoria,

First, congratulations on keeping you boy going to age 12 with an autoimmune problem.  Yes, by all means, see your vet.

Autoimmune disorders can have so many different symptoms, it is likely that the rear leg weakness is part of the over all problem.  On the other hand, you cannot necessarily rule out something else.  My guess (not being a vet) is it may be a neurolgical problem.

It does sound as if he is adjusting as well as can be expected, but, you are right, the rear leg weakness is problematic and should be looked at.

A reasonable treatment for autoimmune disorders in cats is an off label prodcut called CMO.  You can order it on the web.  I believe the dosage is 375 mg (one capsule) once a day for 10 days then once a week for 10 more weeks until they are used up, but I am not sure. If your vet is willing to give it a try, they might contact Dr. Gail Bowman, Bowman Animal Clinic, Raleigh, NC <tuvets@bellsouth.net>, who has had good success and can give you a good source and the proper dosage for your boy.  The only thing to check is the liver enzyme levels.  If the cat has liver problems, it will not hurt the cat, but it will not help the cat either.

Please let me know how your vet appointment goes.

Best regards... Norm.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: The vet gave Solomon a very thorough examination and could not find anything obvious (eg pain) to account for the weakness, which he did not have when I first got him about 2 months ago.  There is a further vet review in my diary, but in the meantime, I have only been advised to observe.  All I have changed, on the vet's advice, is to bring his Prednicare back up to 2 a day as his respiratory system was getting affected, and since then that is OK, but the weakness in  his legs breaks my heart when I see him trying to get up on a chair etc.  Is the product CMO available in the UK?  If so, I will discuss it with the vet.  Many thanks for your helpful answers.

Answer
Victoria,

I have no idea whether or not CMO is available in the United Kingdom.  CMO stands for:  cerasomal-cis-9-cetylmyristoleate.  Most people get it via the Internet.  You can check it out at:

http://www.cmorelief.com/

I apologize, in advance for the marketing slime on the site, but the stuff did work on one of our cats with a severe autoimmune disorder.

I did check the website, and the capsules are 385 mg. each.

I would review it with your vet and have your vet contact Dr. Gail Bowman (whose e-mail I gave you in the previous answer).

Best regards... Norm.