Pumpkin on steroids
Just over a week ago Pumpkin was starting to falter again on a smaller dose of steroids (1ml per day), and so when he got his scheduled Cartrophen shot we consulted with the vet and also put his dosage back up to 2 x 1ml per day. Between the two treatments we expected him to be as he was before - back on his feet most of the time.
I’m sad to report at this point he has failed to bounce back as expected. He certainly improved when back on the higher dose (or as a result of the Cartrophen, we can’t tell), but he has not yet regained the level of mobility he had when we decided to trial the lower steroid dose. Back then he was staying on his feet almost 100% of the time when he was just wandering around the house, and would only tip over when he got most excited about being near his humans and/or food.
Now he regularly loses his footing even when just wandering from room to room, and I will often see him stop suddenly in the middle of nowhere and just decide to stay there for a while. He also seems to find it difficult to get his feet back under him. Sometimes I’ll find him dragging and place him back on his feet and he manages to wobble away, but getting up seemed to be the issue. When he attempts to drag himself along at speed both hind legs seem to drag to the side, whereas before he was at least using one foot to swim against the carpet.
There was also another travelling poo incident this evening, so perhaps I need to whippersnip a larger area in his nether regions. He’s clearly having trouble standing clear of the action. I’m removing about the usual amount of fur in normal grooming for this time of year i.e. a truckload.
He’s getting tired again, but in this weather (even with aircon) it’s not exactly surprising. I’d describe this result for now as disappointing rather than dire - he may yet improve further after a few more days at the maximum steroid dose, but it does rather suggest that he needs the full dose for decent quality of life. He’ll need to improve significantly before I’m prepared to try another shorter trial at the lower dose.