Kind of a weekend from hell, (although not compared to losing a home in =
a
hurricane). Returning from an exhausting day at the winery and some =
errands
that couldn't be avoided, even though I was cranky and starving (no time =
for
lunch), I found dear Arabelle unable to keep her balance. She was =
falling
down, often and dramatically. As I hydrated and made a sandwich I was
trying to figure out what the problem was and saw her take at least one =
full
side flop that looked like someone had pulled a rug out from under her.
Except that you couldn't make a healthy cat fall like that if you tried.
A horrendously awful night at an emergency care facility was ended
precipitously at 1:30 am (we had been there for 3 hours) as I picked up =
the
cat carrier and took my baby home, apologizing to her all the way home =
for
taking her out in the first place. A tech had peered through the =
opening in
the carrier once and that was the closest we got to medical care. They =
were
very concerned that she might have been poisoned, but didn't make her a
priority and let everyone else go before me. I wouldn't let them take =
her
to the back room without me and as the night drew on, it felt more and =
more
wrong to even be there.
Monday was spent trying to keep my anxiety at bay, she didn't get any =
worse;
_maybe_ even some improvement. And when I got through to someone at my
vet's office they mentioned vestibular disease. I googled it and =
started to
get some hope. It's really more of a syndrome, causes can be serious =
stuff
like brain stem issues and ear infections, but the most common cause is
named idiopathic vestibular disease because they don't know what causes =
it.
The good new is that it goes away on its own in 7-14 days, rarely
reoccurring.
Huge relief when the doctor checks Ari and says it's probably the =
idiopathic
form. He says that he keeps articles around to give to people because =
when
they see such scary symptoms it's hard to believe that you don't have to =
do
anything to fix it. (If she gets worse, we re-evaluate but he doubted =
that
she would.)
So what was going on at the emergency care place that they didn't even
mention that these severe symptoms sometime had a pretty benign =
source???
They were very willing from the moment I came in to take my cat and test =
and
treat her without me, I wonder what the bill would have been. (They =
were
quoting one family $600-1000 to stabilize a diabetic cat that came in a
coma, that's just for 24 hours. The cat was already being treated, the
family could only do that or choose euthanasia.) I am sooooo glad I
followed my instincts! Soooo sorry it took me three hours to figure out
what was going on.
Esther Czekalski
****************************************
Half the interest of a garden is the
constant exercise of the imagination.
~~Mrs. C.W. Earle
****************************************
That all sounds so upsetting, Esther. I hope Arabelle continues to
improve.
Just as another point of information, I periodically get a viral thing
in my inner ear that causes dizziness and instability. I'm lucky that
when it does occur, my head only spins when I tilt my head to the left,
and I can usually weather the bouts without much intervention. I have
seen doctors for it, but they can only treat the symptoms (with stuff
called antivert) and the side-effects of drowsiness are often worse than
the condition. It's a harmless thing, and it always goes away with time.
I hope Arabelle's thing is similar.
But see, that's part of my issue with where we've come with pet/cat care
these days. It's a circus, and there's not a lot of common sense
anymore. These veterinary groups rope you in, then play on your guilt
and emotions to get you to spend enormous sums for dubious benefit. ...
and they especially prey on the people who view their pets as "family."
It's gut-wrenching to think you're a "bad person" because you're not
willing to hand your pet over and let them use all their expensive tools
and techniques.
I had a kitten in an oxygen tent overnight once in the 80s, but the
problem was a serious respiratory issue, and I had JUST adopted it from
a shelter. I took him back to the shelter... it was sad, but the cat was
likely to face a short life with serious issues... and meanwhile some
healthy cats and kittens with a potential for a long life might be
euthanized for lack of a home. To me, it's just common sense. I know
others may disagree.
Anyway, best wishes for quick recovery for Ari.
Peg
eczekalski
Sent: Tuesday, September 06, 2005 4:23 PM
To: GARDENS@LSV.UKY.EDU
Subject: OT: cats again, a little long
Kind of a weekend from hell, (although not compared to losing a home in
a
hurricane). Returning from an exhausting day at the winery and some
errands
that couldn't be avoided, even though I was cranky and starving (no time
for
lunch), I found dear Arabelle unable to keep her balance. She was
falling
down, often and dramatically. As I hydrated and made a sandwich I was
trying to figure out what the problem was and saw her take at least one
full
side flop that looked like someone had pulled a rug out from under her.
Except that you couldn't make a healthy cat fall like that if you tried.
A horrendously awful night at an emergency care facility was ended
precipitously at 1:30 am (we had been there for 3 hours) as I picked up
the
cat carrier and took my baby home, apologizing to her all the way home
for
taking her out in the first place. A tech had peered through the
opening in
the carrier once and that was the closest we got to medical care. They
were
very concerned that she might have been poisoned, but didn't make her a
priority and let everyone else go before me. I wouldn't let them take
her
to the back room without me and as the night drew on, it felt more and
more
wrong to even be there.
Monday was spent trying to keep my anxiety at bay, she didn't get any
worse;
_maybe_ even some improvement. And when I got through to someone at my
vet's office they mentioned vestibular disease. I googled it and
started to
get some hope. It's really more of a syndrome, causes can be serious
stuff
like brain stem issues and ear infections, but the most common cause is
named idiopathic vestibular disease because they don't know what causes
it.
The good new is that it goes away on its own in 7-14 days, rarely
reoccurring.
Huge relief when the doctor checks Ari and says it's probably the
idiopathic
form. He says that he keeps articles around to give to people because
when
they see such scary symptoms it's hard to believe that you don't have to
do
anything to fix it. (If she gets worse, we re-evaluate but he doubted
that
she would.)
So what was going on at the emergency care place that they didn't even
mention that these severe symptoms sometime had a pretty benign
source???
They were very willing from the moment I came in to take my cat and test
and
treat her without me, I wonder what the bill would have been. (They
were
quoting one family $600-1000 to stabilize a diabetic cat that came in a
coma, that's just for 24 hours. The cat was already being treated, the
family could only do that or choose euthanasia.) I am sooooo glad I
followed my instincts! Soooo sorry it took me three hours to figure out
what was going on.
Esther Czekalski
****************************************
Half the interest of a garden is the
constant exercise of the imagination.
~~Mrs. C.W. Earle
****************************************
****************************************
Half the interest of a garden is the
constant exercise of the imagination.
~~Mrs. C.W. Earle
****************************************
I just sent this to the list, forgetting that you are having problems =
with
mail. It is good news I hope; a few days will tell for sure.
The more I think about it, the more probable it becomes that the =
emergency
care place really does rip people off with these games. I sat there =
numbly
waiting in my grief and pain for three hours before my instincts started
screaming.
I read about those crystals today. I'm sorry that the medication isn't
working better. Winnie goes in tomorrow, we will talk about his not =
eating,
peeing and pooing inappropriately but now he has diarrhea so we'll =
probly
just get something to stop him up a bit. I'm more resigned to his =
health
problems because they just go along with his age; one expects eventual
deterioration of these little guys. Of course, in spite of that, he's =
been
happy to have Ari's wings clipped. He's been able to walk around for =
days
without getting chased.
Esther Czekalski
Kind of a weekend from hell, (although not compared to losing a home in =
a
hurricane). Returning from an exhausting day at the winery and some =
errands
that couldn't be avoided, even though I was cranky and starving (no time =
for
lunch), I found dear Arabelle unable to keep her balance. She was =
falling
down, often and dramatically. As I hydrated and made a sandwich I was
trying to figure out what the problem was and saw her take at least one =
full
side flop that looked like someone had pulled a rug out from under her.
Except that you couldn't make a healthy cat fall like that if you tried.
A horrendously awful night at an emergency care facility was ended
precipitously at 1:30 am (we had been there for 3 hours) as I picked up =
the
cat carrier and took my baby home, apologizing to her all the way home =
for
taking her out in the first place. A tech had peered through the =
opening in
the carrier once and that was the closest we got to medical care. They =
were
very concerned that she might have been poisoned, but didn't make her a
priority and let everyone else go before me. I wouldn't let them take =
her
to the back room without me and as the night drew on, it felt more and =
more
wrong to even be there.
Monday was spent trying to keep my anxiety at bay, she didn't get any =
worse;
_maybe_ even some improvement. And when I got through to someone at my
vet's office they mentioned vestibular disease. I googled it and =
started to
get some hope. It's really more of a syndrome, causes can be serious =
stuff
like brain stem issues and ear infections, but the most common cause is
named idiopathic vestibular disease because they don't know what causes =
it.
The good new is that it goes away on its own in 7-14 days, rarely
reoccurring.
Huge relief when the doctor checks Ari and says it's probably the =
idiopathic
form. He says that he keeps articles around to give to people because =
when
they see such scary symptoms it's hard to believe that you don't have to =
do
anything to fix it. (If she gets worse, we re-evaluate but he doubted =
that
she would.)
So what was going on at the emergency care place that they didn't even
mention that these severe symptoms sometime had a pretty benign =
source???
They were very willing from the moment I came in to take my cat and test =
and
treat her without me, I wonder what the bill would have been. (They =
were
quoting one family $600-1000 to stabilize a diabetic cat that came in a
coma, that's just for 24 hours. The cat was already being treated, the
family could only do that or choose euthanasia.) I am sooooo glad I
followed my instincts! Soooo sorry it took me three hours to figure out
what was going on.
Esther Czekalski
****************************************
Half the interest of a garden is the
constant exercise of the imagination.
~~Mrs. C.W. Earle
****************************************
Sorry about that second copy, it was to Elizabeth and I pressed the wrong
key. At least I wasn't speaking badly about any of you
Esther Czekalski
****************************************
Half the interest of a garden is the
constant exercise of the imagination.
~~Mrs. C.W. Earle
****************************************
Hahahahahaha. Thanks for the chuckle, Esther!
Peg
eczekalski
Sent: Tuesday, September 06, 2005 5:20 PM
To: GARDENS@LSV.UKY.EDU
Subject: FW: cats again, a little long
Sorry about that second copy, it was to Elizabeth and I pressed the
wrong
key. At least I wasn't speaking badly about any of you
Esther Czekalski
****************************************
Half the interest of a garden is the
constant exercise of the imagination.
~~Mrs. C.W. Earle
****************************************
****************************************
Half the interest of a garden is the
constant exercise of the imagination.
~~Mrs. C.W. Earle
****************************************
It looks as if you were having double trouble!
Two cats sick at once?
That is a real handful, or two hands full.
jo
nj
****************************************
Half the interest of a garden is the
constant exercise of the imagination.
~~Mrs. C.W. Earle
****************************************
Arabelle has a loving mum. What a scary situation. Hope she
recovers quickly and hope it doesn't recur. Linda in NW Ohio.
****************************************
Half the interest of a garden is the
constant exercise of the imagination.
~~Mrs. C.W. Earle
****************************************
