Prayer circles, gather and bend a head for my little Harvey cat. Where to begin? His scratching and itching has not abated since the start of the month (even with 2 weeks on antibiotics and steroids); and then on top of that, he got a sniffle last Monday. Now, for most cats, sniffles are no biggie, but my baby has Feline HIV, a.k.a. No Immune System. So, when the nose whistle and snot did not go away quickly, I called up the new area vet (we moved, remember?) on Wednesday and made an appointment for Friday after work.
Cut to me getting home Wednesday, and John says, "Watch Harvey's back leg; is he limping?" So we watch Harvey walk around... then start waddling... then full-on stagger and stumble around. He developed a head-tilt and a lean to his left side, then had a minor fall-down convulsion fit. At that point, I had a fit and dragged Harvey and John to the emergency vet in town. After a VERY long and stressful 30 minutes or so, Doc says that there is this thing in cats called vestibular disease. They don't know what it really is, why it happens, how to prevent it, or (even worse) how to fix it... but it happens frequently at the turn of the seasons and totally screws with the cat's inner ear. Very traumatic for owners, but not too terrible for the cat. At least, as not as terrible as seizures or strokes or brain pudding-ification. Doc says that it comes on quickly and can leave just as randomly. I had flashbacks to where I was cracked out on that inner-ear medication back in college that made me all loopy and dizzy, and I sympathize with my kitty.
So we got to take Harvey home and watch him stagger around with the grace of a drunken college party-goer... with one eye closed... and one high heel on... on a waxed floor. :( It's really heart-wrenching to watch sometimes. AND THEN, as if all this crap wasn't bad enough, the little fool stopped eating! He lost a little less than a full pound in about a week, and he only started out at 7.8 lbs! That's about 12%, or about 15-20lbs for a grown person.
We decided to keep the regular vet appointment today, and Vet was able to give me some more information about vestibular disease. She peered in Harvey's ear and saw a bunch of gunk that might be hiding an inner ear infection that might have contributed to the vestibular disease. It's all a bunch of maybes and mights, but there's not much we can do but keep an eye on him so that he doesn't have too many problems getting around.
And good news, everyone! Vet suggested getting some wet, stinky cat food to see if that would entice him to eat, and as I was holding the dish in front of his nose, he started chowing down! Apparently, it was a height thing- the dish was too low on the ground for him to lower his wobbly head to eat out of! So, now all his dishes are up on boxes and books to raise them up. He's almost eaten a whole pouch of Friskies tonight (Granted, a cat his size should eat like 3-4 in a day, but still! more than nothing!)
Hopes and prayers:
1 - Harvey keeps eating and puts the weight back on.
2 - Antibiotic shot clears up sniffle-nose and there are no complications.
3 - Vestibular disease quickly clears up & he stops stumbling around.
4 - Itching fades, too, so his skin can heal.
Like I said, my kitty has problems. August is not his month. :(
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