She doesn't seem in outright pain, it's more that she is not herself and looks in discomfort more than pain. If I thought she was really suffering with pain i would get something - but the side effects of the medication I have already been told can be horrendous and cause her other problems with kidneys and they only want to put her on medication as a real last resort. Her suffering is in her not being able to do things like jumping on beds or sitting upright.
I've just realised, she has never had any blood tests run in conjunction with this problem. I was looking up muscle weakness in cats and low phosphorus was mentioned but also feline diabetes - it was this paragraph on a site about diabetic neuropathy that made me wonder if indeed it is something that is not what my vet has said:
An affected femoral nerve can lead to a plantigrade gait, which is walking on the whole sole of the foot (e.g., like rabbits, bears, and people). In cats, this gait takes the shape of walking on hocks (heels), and the tarsal joints and nerves of the hind legs are progressively damaged, leading to pain, numbness, and weakness or paralysis. The first sign of neuropathy in cats is often weak hind legs. As the condition progresses, the cat won't be able to stand on its toes. Jumping will become increasingly difficult until it's impossible. Eventually, the cat's legs will seem to slip out from under it, and the cat will be unable to walk. These are signs of motor and sensory nerve damage
That is exactly the progress that Sky has had. There's no doubt she has the bone spurs but I am going to ask if this hospital can run blood tests on her to rule out anything else. She has been overweight for years (chronically at times) and so has had a higher risk of diabetes. I can't believe that she hasn't had tests and I didn't pick up on this.