Just like a cat....

I was trying to take a photo of my favorite mug, for a BVC user pic. Merlyn insisted in jumping up onto the counter, way too close to a hot burner. So, I shut him in the bedroom and took shots. Then I let him out. He complained for ten minutes, until I picked him up, carried him over to the mug, and set him down next to it for a shot.

What did he do? Wobbled around it for a moment, and then jumped out of the picture.

Well, we know who's really in charge around here.

Cat people, your attention --

I thought Max was trying to die on me Sunday am. He had spent the night in one of his favorite places -- on top of me. But when he got moving, he was standing braced, his head hunched down like a vulture. I, of course, jumped to an obvious conclusion, that he was finally ready to Go Ahead, and called W so he could come say good-bye. He cleverly called a dance buddy who owns 16 cats -- and when you have 16 cats AND highly recommend your vet to people, apparently you get the vet's home number. After some kibitzing, it was decided to take him in, because I actually thought a stroke had happened, with the odd tilt on the head and slight staggering. Kidney failure, not much left to do. A stroke? That they could work with --

Well, much money later, the vet at the EM Clinic suggested that low potassium was the culprit. We did a slow IV drip for him during the day, and I picked him up and brought him home around 10 pm. I heated the big rice bag for him, and he was happy there all night. I even turned off the overhead fan, because he would go hide in the closet, a fan free zone.

The new cat vet was not in on Monday, but I took him in for a look-over and observation. The guy on the "EM" section of the place said he was as puzzled as I was -- no pain apparently, nothing about the blood work yesterday unexpected. He said he didn't see dehydration, although he recommends upping Sub-Cue to twice a week. A small possibility was a brain tumor, but neither radiation nor surgery is appropriate for a 17 year old cat. So I brought Max home and heated his rice bag for him. He hopped out to hit the water bowl and box once, but otherwise, he's sleeping.

I tried massaging his neck -- the muscles are very tight, vibrate when I touch them. I have a very mild oral/topical painkiller, and right now I figure I will give it to him in the next hour, to see if that will give him overall relaxation.

Any theories? I'd think strychnine poisoning, but there's nothing for them to get into except laundry detergent, which is boring. I thought stroke, because that happened to our Persian, long ago. But that made Rocky circle. This does not work like that.