Cat people, your attention --

[alfreda89]

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.

Comments

[sheilagh.livejournal.com]

huh. :( no clues on this one, so sorry hon :(

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

You can get "wry" neck by sleeping wrong. I wonder if it's simply that, and he's so light, it throws him off balance? But my cats are in such good shape, it seems odd that he suddenly would lose muscle tone on one side. The human condition is usually from loss of muscle tone on one side. Hence the sleeping wrong version often called wry neck.

Occasionally, the simplest answer is the best.

I refuse to consider Lyme disease....

I've lost my copy of this book,

[sheilagh.livejournal.com]

but it was neat when I read it, and you already have healer-touch training...

http://www.amazon.com/Tellington-TTouch-Revolutionary-Natural-Favorite/dp/0140117288

Re: I've lost my copy of this book,

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

I have that buried somewhere. It was light, circular touch, right?

yes,

[sheilagh.livejournal.com]

with different configurations of hands .. sometimes fintertips, sometimes whole fingers pressed flat, etc...

[bevhale.livejournal.com]

Give my furr boy a big kiss for me and tell him to get well fast. Let me know what I can do for you. Love you.

[6-penny.livejournal.com]

I have a friend whose elderly dog had occasional mild seizures that sound similar. She (after consultation with the vet) gave him a tiny bit of her own muscle relaxant prescription for the tight muscle aftereffects whenever this happened. Worked like a charm.

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

I'll give him some more in a bit here -- thanks for passing on the story.

-- k

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

Low potassium (2.3), in Max's case. His Crea was 4.7, but not sure about how the BUN rated -- 63. I forgot the Sub-Cut has K in it -- I approached it tonight as if it was the simplest thing on Earth and no big deal (and Ed was here to scritch him and grab, if necessary) but Max's still tired enough that he stayed put even when I got fur and no skin at first! Within 5 minutes he was hopping around and investigating everything he'd ignored for a time. Also eating crunchies.

Thanks for web site URL -- looks like a good source of info. Now that I think of researching again, I will bookmark and try to remember its existence.

I know I can't stop time, but I'd like to slow it a bit, if I can. He'd be dead now if W had not insisted we try the vet once. And I appreciate his insisting and paying the first bill. It helps.