s-sigh
I AM WORRIED ABOUT MY CAT.
As I've mentioned to a couple of people, Shadow's been having episodes over the few weeks(? how long has it been?) where his left hind leg suddenly starts scratching out of control. It's very clearly out of control because if he's anywhere near the edge of something, he'll scratch himself right off onto the floor and KEEP scratching there. He's fallen off the bed and the cat food table that I've seen, though he's only managed to break one glass so far. These episodes also include him biting at that leg and pulling out chunks of his own fur, but I can't tell if that's also beyond his control, or if that's his own attempt to stop it. Today I tried to at least stop him from biting himself during an episode through BLANKET INTERVENTION, but that left me with a nasty long scratch on my arm and Shadow sulked three times as much as he usually sulks after those episodes, so I wonder if it's appropriate just to keep him from getting more bald spots.
Anyway, these episodes have been happening frequently, at least once per day. Just now he's done it twice within about two hours, which REALLY CONCERNS ME, because after Googling everything I can think of on the topic every time this happens, my best guess is that this is a seizure of some kind, and every page that discusses seizures says that if a cat has more than one seizure within the span of 24 hours then one should seek veterinary assistance immediately.
I've discussed the episodes with my mom, but she's not convinced that there would be anything we could actually do for him. Not to mention if it's a serious problem, trying to fix it might be a money sink, and with Shadow's age and our financial situation Mom would probably prefer putting him down. There's also the fact that Shadow seriously, seriously dislikes cages and vets probably more than the average pet. He really really freaks out at cages ever since we put him on a plane and dragged him on a couple cross-country road trips with us when we were moving. I don't especially blame him. And when he's... not having a seizure, he seems to be living his life peacefully enough. I'd like to be able to just consult a vet without having to bring him there, but idk if that will also cost a lot of money.
Really I just don't know what the best option is for Shadow and our family as a whole. There needs to be some sort of balance struck, but \(o_O)/ I try to minimize whining about it on Twitter since my mom watches my twitter now and I don't want to come off as horrendously PA, so, similar to my vehicular woes, I JUST HAVE TO VENT ON LJ. :(
As I've mentioned to a couple of people, Shadow's been having episodes over the few weeks(? how long has it been?) where his left hind leg suddenly starts scratching out of control. It's very clearly out of control because if he's anywhere near the edge of something, he'll scratch himself right off onto the floor and KEEP scratching there. He's fallen off the bed and the cat food table that I've seen, though he's only managed to break one glass so far. These episodes also include him biting at that leg and pulling out chunks of his own fur, but I can't tell if that's also beyond his control, or if that's his own attempt to stop it. Today I tried to at least stop him from biting himself during an episode through BLANKET INTERVENTION, but that left me with a nasty long scratch on my arm and Shadow sulked three times as much as he usually sulks after those episodes, so I wonder if it's appropriate just to keep him from getting more bald spots.
Anyway, these episodes have been happening frequently, at least once per day. Just now he's done it twice within about two hours, which REALLY CONCERNS ME, because after Googling everything I can think of on the topic every time this happens, my best guess is that this is a seizure of some kind, and every page that discusses seizures says that if a cat has more than one seizure within the span of 24 hours then one should seek veterinary assistance immediately.
I've discussed the episodes with my mom, but she's not convinced that there would be anything we could actually do for him. Not to mention if it's a serious problem, trying to fix it might be a money sink, and with Shadow's age and our financial situation Mom would probably prefer putting him down. There's also the fact that Shadow seriously, seriously dislikes cages and vets probably more than the average pet. He really really freaks out at cages ever since we put him on a plane and dragged him on a couple cross-country road trips with us when we were moving. I don't especially blame him. And when he's... not having a seizure, he seems to be living his life peacefully enough. I'd like to be able to just consult a vet without having to bring him there, but idk if that will also cost a lot of money.
Really I just don't know what the best option is for Shadow and our family as a whole. There needs to be some sort of balance struck, but \(o_O)/ I try to minimize whining about it on Twitter since my mom watches my twitter now and I don't want to come off as horrendously PA, so, similar to my vehicular woes, I JUST HAVE TO VENT ON LJ. :(