To a cat, the world is his litter box......

Toby with very strong legs
at Brian's, about 6 months old

As Jezibel’s babies got older, we noticed that two of the ones we have, Ellie and Toby, seemed to have wobbly back legs. Sometimes they stumbled when they were trying to run or walk fast. Grady also had a little weakness in his back legs, but not as bad as Ellie and Toby.

Ellie (top) and Toby just 3 years old
in Virginia
No leg problems yet

We took Ellie and Toby to the vet to see if it was a physical problem that we could help. They could find nothing on examination. Toby was pretty big.....17 pounds, and we thought maybe if he lost some weight, it would help. We tried changing his food and giving less of it, etc., but he only seemed to get bigger.

Toby didn’t walk much because of his legs. Ellie is small and though she has weak legs, she still got around. She can’t jump up on anything that is higher than a foot or so though.

Two years ago, because Toby’s legs got to the point that they just gave out on him, we decided to take him to a neurologist at VSH to see if there was anything that could be done for the problem.

He was examined and basically we were told that since Ellie and Grady had the same weakness, it was most likely genetic. We could spend thousands of dollars in tests, etc., but in the end, since it was a nerve disorder, most likely there would not be a cure for it. We asked the doctor if they could do a study on Toby and Ellie and maybe then could find a cure or it would help further their research in neurological problems in animals. But, the doctor said they had no funding to do that, although he would have liked to.

Jezibel does not have a problem with her legs. Neither do Mr. Creme or Lexi. Their brother, Panda is fine too. However, the other brother, Pinto, is showing weakness in his back legs now, although not as debilitating as Toby. I hope Pinto and Ellie don’t get any worse.

Because our other cats have never accepted Toby and Mr. Creme, they sleep in the garage. We found out the hard way that Mr. Creme had a “spraying problem”. After that, he got banned to the garage. Toby was happy to go with him rather than stay in the house with the other cats, who hated him.

We let the “beach boys” out into the backyard during the day, unless we are not here. Then they stay in the garage. They have their food and water and a litter box, which they both use.........

........But, last year we took a month long trip. When we came home, the pet sitter told us that Toby was not using the litter box at all. He was wetting the rug that was on the garage floor. It was ruined, so, we rolled it up and threw it away. We knew we had to confine Toby to one area and try to train him to use the bathroom in that area.

First we set up a little fenced-in area for him which had his bed and food and water on one side and an open box with a puppy pad in it for his “litter box”. His problem was, he couldn’t stand up long enough to pee because his legs wouldn’t hold him. I watched him in the yard one time and saw that he was doing the best he could. He did pretty well for awhile and used the puppy pad. So, I just had to keep a clean pad down for him at night. He was in the yard during the day.

But, then he started wetting outside the box in his pen. So, we bought a 4'x4'x6' dog kennel and set that up for him to stay in when he was in the garage at night. That seemed to work better for him and he started using the pads again.

We put him out in the morning. He walks around to the back of the house to the patio. There is a bed for him there under the glider. During the day we go out and get him from his bed, take him back around to the garage side door and feed him a little. He then walks back around to his patio bed. That is the only way we can exercise his legs. By walking around the house a few times a day, at least he’s moving. He also uses does “his business” while he’s in the yard. He has never wet his bed on the patio, unlike the one in the garage before. His legs do seem to have gotten stronger and he has lost about a pound, down to 16 pounds now. Otherwise, he’s normal. He’s a happy, loving fellow and wants lots of attention. We just think of him as our “special needs” child.

He was scratching his left ear last week. When we rubbed inside the ear with a tissue, it was pretty dirty. We thought he might have ear mites so we took him to the vet. He did have a little infection, so we got ear drops for the ear. It’s all better now.

Sometimes he comes to the patio door and wants in. We let him in, give him some food and he likes to sit with his dad or me and get brushed. Finally he settles down and goes to sleep. Sometimes we take him out to his bed if it’s time, but usually when he’s ready to go to bed, he goes to the garage door. For a cat with very weak legs, he can really move along. He has to take some steps, sit down, then get up and take more steps. He’s walking further between stops now. We just have to keep him up and moving. Otherwise, he’d lay on his patio bed all day and not move at all. We want his life to be as normal as it can be, despite what Charlie lovingly calls, “his affliction”.

Mr. Creme and Toby right after their 1st birthday
Still at our house

Toby and Mr. Creme were raised together and they still get along well. Sometimes Mr. Creme comes to the patio door. If Toby is nearby, he comes over to Mr. Creme and starts biting him on his neck and pulling on him. Brian used to call them “the lovers”, so I assume they always wrestled around like that. At least Toby still loves his brother!

More later.......