My cat is sick!
She seems to be on the mend though. Under the cut: a description of the rather stressful circumstances, some mild cat body fluids.
View poll: #22070
(since those not up for clicking the cut may still want to boop. Tumblr peeps, your likes are just as appreciated :))
So I was already stressed on Saturday night because of a CERTAIN NATIONAL ELECTION THAT SHALL REMAIN NAMELESS. Also I finished watching a let's play of Transistor that had a downer ending I can't figure out my feelings about because a few hours later...
...we were woken at 4am by the cat yowling. She was flat on the ground so I picked her up and she flattened herself onto my lap, clearly very distressed, and kept moving her head around with her eyes wide like she was watching something moving along the walls. She eventually calmed down slightly but was still moving her head, and we quickly realised she was having extreme difficulty walking: her legs seemed weak, and she was wobbling all over the place.
Looking up her symptoms online the most plausible explanation seemed to be vestibular ataxia, which tends to settle by itself but should still be checked by a vet. So the next morning we found somewhere open on Sundays and checked her in.
That day I'd planned to see
moonvoice for the first time in several months, Cam kindly took care of the vet stuff while I flopped on Pia's shoulder and got hugs, and I am very grateful to have such wonderful partners.
The vet couldn't find any obvious cause, and it seemed likely Kira would get better by herself, but of course the vet suggested various VERY expensive tests etc to make sure. We felt bad but said no. We did leave her at the vets for a few days, though, to keep an eye on her condition and so she could have IV fluids etc since she wasn't in a condition to look after herself. (Which was also QUITE EXPENSIVE)
Cam and I both felt VERY SAD AND ANXIOUS but also hopeful that she really would be ok.
We went to visit her on Sunday afternoon and she was much calmer but also HELLA out of it, still moving her head around all the time and seeming to barely notice we were there.
Cam went to see her on Monday and she was a bit better again, able to sort of move herself around but covered in drool and food since she couldn't clean herself and was still very out of it. He didn't like that the vet hadn't wiped her down and we agreed to organise to take her home the next day.
Which we did! At first she was just EXHAUSTED, dragging herself on wobbly, weak legs to food etc but needing to lie down in between and needing to have her face wiped every time she ate. Her main symptoms are dizziness and poor control of her right side, so she can't walk easily or eat neatly and had a lot of drool, also her right eye is always half closed.
We set up her cat bed on the ground in the loungeroom next to the entrance to the kitchen (where her food is, and near her kitty litter), and I took down the couch cushions to set myself up on the ground so she can come sit with me without having to move very far or jump on anything, and can see me from her bed. This is NOT a very comfortable place for me to sit or sleep, my back is quite sore from it and all the bending down to pat a floppy cat, but she is SO HAPPY to have me here and sometimes drag herself up on the cushions to rest next to my feet, so I regret nothing. For a chronically ill 39 year old my back etc are fairly forgiving.
Also, after looking advice up online, I put her kitty litter into the bottom of the cat carrier, so she can just walk in and doesn't have to step over a high wall. It seems to be working pretty well, and hasn't made much more mess than usual since she's too tired to kick it about.
Mostly Kira and I have just been companionably napping near each other as we recover from a VERY stressful few days. Cam is working a few rooms over, when she's well Kira sits by him in his office, but instead he wanders by regularly to give her a pat and the two of us bond about HOW GLAD WE ARE to have her home.
She seems to be improving, since last night she's stopped drooling as much and is walking more steadily. She also has more energy: instead of only dragging herself up to eat, now sometimes she just moves around out of boredom or curiosity, she's cleaned herself a little, and has the mental energy to ask for scritches. She can't vocalise well, so her purrs are croaky and odd, but she's definitely making them.
I felt ENTIRELY INCAPABLE of posting about this while things were more up in the air, and don't really feel like discussing it much now. Thus, comments are off and I put up the poll.
This entry was originally posted at https://alias-sqbr.dreamwidth.org/728049.html. There are
comments.
View poll: #22070
(since those not up for clicking the cut may still want to boop. Tumblr peeps, your likes are just as appreciated :))
So I was already stressed on Saturday night because of a CERTAIN NATIONAL ELECTION THAT SHALL REMAIN NAMELESS. Also I finished watching a let's play of Transistor that had a downer ending I can't figure out my feelings about because a few hours later...
...we were woken at 4am by the cat yowling. She was flat on the ground so I picked her up and she flattened herself onto my lap, clearly very distressed, and kept moving her head around with her eyes wide like she was watching something moving along the walls. She eventually calmed down slightly but was still moving her head, and we quickly realised she was having extreme difficulty walking: her legs seemed weak, and she was wobbling all over the place.
Looking up her symptoms online the most plausible explanation seemed to be vestibular ataxia, which tends to settle by itself but should still be checked by a vet. So the next morning we found somewhere open on Sundays and checked her in.
That day I'd planned to see
moonvoice for the first time in several months, Cam kindly took care of the vet stuff while I flopped on Pia's shoulder and got hugs, and I am very grateful to have such wonderful partners.
The vet couldn't find any obvious cause, and it seemed likely Kira would get better by herself, but of course the vet suggested various VERY expensive tests etc to make sure. We felt bad but said no. We did leave her at the vets for a few days, though, to keep an eye on her condition and so she could have IV fluids etc since she wasn't in a condition to look after herself. (Which was also QUITE EXPENSIVE)
Cam and I both felt VERY SAD AND ANXIOUS but also hopeful that she really would be ok.
We went to visit her on Sunday afternoon and she was much calmer but also HELLA out of it, still moving her head around all the time and seeming to barely notice we were there.
Cam went to see her on Monday and she was a bit better again, able to sort of move herself around but covered in drool and food since she couldn't clean herself and was still very out of it. He didn't like that the vet hadn't wiped her down and we agreed to organise to take her home the next day.
Which we did! At first she was just EXHAUSTED, dragging herself on wobbly, weak legs to food etc but needing to lie down in between and needing to have her face wiped every time she ate. Her main symptoms are dizziness and poor control of her right side, so she can't walk easily or eat neatly and had a lot of drool, also her right eye is always half closed.
We set up her cat bed on the ground in the loungeroom next to the entrance to the kitchen (where her food is, and near her kitty litter), and I took down the couch cushions to set myself up on the ground so she can come sit with me without having to move very far or jump on anything, and can see me from her bed. This is NOT a very comfortable place for me to sit or sleep, my back is quite sore from it and all the bending down to pat a floppy cat, but she is SO HAPPY to have me here and sometimes drag herself up on the cushions to rest next to my feet, so I regret nothing. For a chronically ill 39 year old my back etc are fairly forgiving.
Also, after looking advice up online, I put her kitty litter into the bottom of the cat carrier, so she can just walk in and doesn't have to step over a high wall. It seems to be working pretty well, and hasn't made much more mess than usual since she's too tired to kick it about.
Mostly Kira and I have just been companionably napping near each other as we recover from a VERY stressful few days. Cam is working a few rooms over, when she's well Kira sits by him in his office, but instead he wanders by regularly to give her a pat and the two of us bond about HOW GLAD WE ARE to have her home.
She seems to be improving, since last night she's stopped drooling as much and is walking more steadily. She also has more energy: instead of only dragging herself up to eat, now sometimes she just moves around out of boredom or curiosity, she's cleaned herself a little, and has the mental energy to ask for scritches. She can't vocalise well, so her purrs are croaky and odd, but she's definitely making them.
I felt ENTIRELY INCAPABLE of posting about this while things were more up in the air, and don't really feel like discussing it much now. Thus, comments are off and I put up the poll.
This entry was originally posted at https://alias-sqbr.dreamwidth.org/728049.html. There are
comments.