Symptom List

Fluffy appeared normal at eleven weeks of age when we first met him, although within a few days we noticed a "clumsiness"--for example, jumping to a fence and missing, where his twin had no trouble executing accurate leaps. Later we were able to guess that this was not clumsiness at all, but an early sign of weakness. This weakness was apparently not what he was expecting--time and again he attempted things which he should have been able to do, and appeared agitated at his failure. It took a long while for him to stop trying to, for example, climb trees. Over time he showed difficulty while urinating or defecating--not in passing the waste, but in staying squatting while doing so. For that reason, he soon took to lying on his side and slowly emptying his bladder or bowels. It was a bit wrenching to watch, but in fact it didn't distress him and, other than creating the odd occasion when a little cleanup was required of me, it was simply a part of life that caused no particular trouble.

Except in two ways. It became my job to make certain that Fluffy was taking in enough water. He wouldn't go over for a drink across the room unless he was quite thirsty, and with the flaccidity of his bladder urinary crystals could build up more easily than in some cats. If adequate water wasn't taken in, these crystals weren't flushed out, and it was therefore easy for him to become blocked. For most of his life this was easily taken care of by keeping dishes of water on either side of the bed, where he spent most of his time, and I would offer him a sip when I thought of it, and paid attention to signs that he may be thirsty. (Eg, watching intently while I took a drink, etc.) In the last six months to one year of his life it became difficult to leave for more than a day or two as he would not take in enough water on his own, even with cat-sitters offering him water twice a day, to stave off blockage.

The other, much more rare, difficulty related to water, which occurred a few times over his life, but not more in the latter years than in the middle years, was constipation. This was treated in the usual ways, but was best avoided with increased hydration.

Twice in the final year Fluffy appeared to be constipated, due to an apparent mass in his abdomen and a terrible straining to pass. Even the vet thought this was the problem, but on examination there was no impacted fesces. It was, instead, a spasming of his abdominal muscles as he attempted to urinate. He was in fact mildly blocked with crystals, but because of the weakness of the surrounding muscles simply could not push past and ended up twisted and in pain. These increasing incidences of blockage were a result of critical weakening of the muscles and a heightened sensitivity to even a slight decrease in hydration.

Tremours, though initially small and not terribly significant, proved to be the clue that finally led to an accurate diagnosis. There are several diseases similar to NM, such as the muscular dystrophies; tremouring does not occur in them but is a diagnostic of NM. As time went by this tremouring, which happened mostly while he was standing, walking, or otherwise trying to use his supportive muscles, did become quite pronounced. In the latest stages of his illness I could feel tiny tremours and quiverings in the small muscles when he was at rest, but these were subtle and inconsistent. The tremours are not painful and did not appear to affect his comfort or mood.

Heart stress. The heart itself is not directly affected by NM. However, as the affected muscles weaken--the intercostal muscles (between the ribs), and so on--the heart must work increasingly hard to support movement. Over time this causes great stress to the heart.

At some point as a young adult Dr. Crook examined Fluffy and took his pulse while resting and after walking about eight feet. His pulse jumped 80 beats a minute after that brief exertion. We had his heart tested and it was found to be strong but working hard. Dr. Crook recommended a nutraceutical called Cardio Plus (now called Feline Cardiac Support) which he was given daily for several years. Immediately before his death his blood was tested and his heart was shown to be in better shape than it had been before starting on the neutraceutical years before. Nevertheless, the extreme stress on it from the diminishment of other muscle groups led eventually to heart failure. He was euthanized to spare him the possibility of drowning when his lungs filled with fluid as his heart failed.

At around age seven, Fluffy began to show signs of strain on his liver, which Dr. Crook attributed to the NM. He was then put on another nutraceutical, Hepatic Formula for Cats, by the makers of Cardio Plus, Standard Process.

Despite these sometimes saddening, sometimes alarming symptoms, Fluffy maintained a relaxed, happy existence for ten years, with only occasional incursions into his calm world. He was without question, and without bullying, the dominant cat in his neighbourhood, and even when he was very weak much stronger cats would slink away rather than mess with him or his smaller, fitter brother, Sparky. He was deeply affectionate, had an impish sense of humour, and was tolerant of a wide variety of failings in those around him. He would not, however, permit me to sing. This proved very useful. When he was lolling about in the bushes and I couldn't find him to bring him in for the night, I would start quietly singing scales and he would suddenly appear. If I continued, he would run over and hop onto my shoulder. (This was incorporated into his exercise regime, as you can well imagine.)

So do not worry that he was kept alive by heroic means when it would have been kinder to put him down. He was not. The moment it became clear that he was suffering in a way that would not quickly cease, he was gently and lovingly killed by his favourite vet, while his two best friends sat with him. The rotten woman who always held him for drawing blood and other unpleasant things was sent away by his flicking tail and he was allowed to die, as he was allowed to live, in peace with the people he loved.