Following on from my earlier thread on pain relief, can anyone advise me please ....
Rosie is around 13 years and I have just started her on Metacam.
Just recently, quite rapidly really - over a few weeks, 2/3 months, I have noticed she has difficulty 'motivating' her back legs. I say back legs, but it could be her back end so to speak.
I suspect it is worse on one side, than the other. Her resting posture has changed also. Today, I thought she looked really odd ... and realised she was sat, mostly supported by her back 2 legs which were very far forward, whilst her front paws were placed towards the back - if that makes sense. She wasn't resting on her front legs at all. Also, more often than not, her head rests on the floor.
She seems to have difficultly with the placement of her back legs (one of them anyway). When she gets up to move, her back legs struggle and she 'jumps' into position - rather than her legs actively placing themselves appropriately for movement.
Otherwise, she is eating enthusiastically, pooping, peeing and moving around the garden. She is grooming quite well under the circumstances (her rear end is clean!), but I can see it is difficult to balance when going through the rigors of grooming her ears etc. She can overbalance. Also, I can sometimes 'see a grooming thought' in her head (it is subtle - she goes to, say clean her ear), but then almost thinks better of it and abandons the idea
Does this point to anything other than say, arthritis? Muscle weakness? She has been to the vets today and I am quite annoyed at myself for not suggesting she see Rosie move! She did give her a good check over though and didn't think she had any particular weakness muscle wise.
Any thoughts please?
Rosie is around 13 years and I have just started her on Metacam.
Just recently, quite rapidly really - over a few weeks, 2/3 months, I have noticed she has difficulty 'motivating' her back legs. I say back legs, but it could be her back end so to speak.
I suspect it is worse on one side, than the other. Her resting posture has changed also. Today, I thought she looked really odd ... and realised she was sat, mostly supported by her back 2 legs which were very far forward, whilst her front paws were placed towards the back - if that makes sense. She wasn't resting on her front legs at all. Also, more often than not, her head rests on the floor.
She seems to have difficultly with the placement of her back legs (one of them anyway). When she gets up to move, her back legs struggle and she 'jumps' into position - rather than her legs actively placing themselves appropriately for movement.
Otherwise, she is eating enthusiastically, pooping, peeing and moving around the garden. She is grooming quite well under the circumstances (her rear end is clean!), but I can see it is difficult to balance when going through the rigors of grooming her ears etc. She can overbalance. Also, I can sometimes 'see a grooming thought' in her head (it is subtle - she goes to, say clean her ear), but then almost thinks better of it and abandons the idea
Does this point to anything other than say, arthritis? Muscle weakness? She has been to the vets today and I am quite annoyed at myself for not suggesting she see Rosie move! She did give her a good check over though and didn't think she had any particular weakness muscle wise.
Any thoughts please?