He ran!

Today for the first time since he took ill on the 8th of May, Abelard felt
good enough to RUN -- not very fast, more of a "bounding through the tall
grass" sort of gait, but it sure is an indicator of a cat regaining his
balance and confidence. I'm happy for him.

"Pat" wrote in message
et...
Today for the first time since he took ill on the 8th of May, Abelard felt
good enough to RUN -- not very fast, more of a "bounding through the tall
grass" sort of gait, but it sure is an indicator of a cat regaining his
balance and confidence. I'm happy for him.

How lovely!

Joy

Pat wrote:

Today for the first time since he took ill on the 8th of May, Abelard felt
good enough to RUN -- not very fast, more of a "bounding through the tall
grass" sort of gait, but it sure is an indicator of a cat regaining his
balance and confidence. I'm happy for him.

What wonderful news!! You've certainly had a hard time of it with him.
I'm so glad he's getting better.

--
Joyce ^..^

(To email me, remove the X's from my user name.)

Pat wrote:
Today for the first time since he took ill on the 8th of May, Abelard
felt good enough to RUN -- not very fast, more of a "bounding through
the tall grass" sort of gait, but it sure is an indicator of a cat
regaining his balance and confidence. I'm happy for him.

Wonderful news, Pat! Your loving care has done wonders. Give Abelard some
scritches from Pua, Tyrone and Chloe, please. :~)

kili

Pat wrote:
Today for the first time since he took ill on the 8th of May, Abelard felt
good enough to RUN -- not very fast, more of a "bounding through the tall
grass" sort of gait, but it sure is an indicator of a cat regaining his
balance and confidence. I'm happy for him.






Yay, Abelard!

Sam, supervised by Mistletoe

Pat wrote:
Today for the first time since he took ill on the 8th of May, Abelard
felt good enough to RUN -- not very fast, more of a "bounding through
the tall grass" sort of gait, but it sure is an indicator of a cat
regaining his balance and confidence. I'm happy for him.

That's great news! :-)
--
Adrian (Owned by Snoopy, Bagheera & Shadow)
Cats leave pawprints on your heart
http://community.webshots.com/user/clowderuk

"Pat" wrote in message
et...
Today for the first time since he took ill on the 8th of May, Abelard felt
good enough to RUN -- not very fast, more of a "bounding through the tall
grass" sort of gait, but it sure is an indicator of a cat regaining his
balance and confidence. I'm happy for him.


This is really good news and I'm glad to hear it.
However if it *was* a vestibular attack that he had please remember that
they rarely recover completely and are often left with a degree of
disability around balance that can be permanent.
You've done so well nursing him and getting him as far as you have. I don't
want you to be disappointed if he doesn't fully recover back to his old
self. Rather be glad you've got him at all since some do not improve from
the first stages of not being able to stand up and extreme nausea which
prevents them from eating.

Tweed

"Christina Websell" wrote

| "Pat" wrote
| Today for the first time since he took ill on the 8th of May, Abelard
felt
| good enough to RUN -- not very fast, more of a "bounding through the
tall
| grass" sort of gait, but it sure is an indicator of a cat regaining his
| balance and confidence. I'm happy for him.
|
|
| This is really good news and I'm glad to hear it.
| However if it *was* a vestibular attack that he had please remember that
| they rarely recover completely and are often left with a degree of
| disability around balance that can be permanent.
| You've done so well nursing him and getting him as far as you have. I
don't
| want you to be disappointed if he doesn't fully recover back to his old
| self. Rather be glad you've got him at all since some do not improve from
| the first stages of not being able to stand up and extreme nausea which
| prevents them from eating.

Did you ever witness one of these attacks? If so, I would like to hear what
it looked like. In retrospect, Abelard's initial onset doesn't really fit
with the classic appearance of "seizure" because it went on for half an hour
and he never lost consciousness, and somehow I don't think a stroke would
look like this did either.

He is definitely not fully recovered, and I don't expect he will get all the
way back to his old self. I will be pleased when he is back up to at least
7-8 lbs. Right now I'd guess he's at 5-6 lbs., up from probably 4-4.5. He is
eating well and plenty, and no longer barfing so often (only when he has a
hairball or eats too much grass at one time), but he still has a head tilt
(not so pronounced as before) and can be unsteady on his feet at times.

One positive effect this illness has had on him is to make him much more
talkative than he ever was before, and his voice is louder and not as
breathy. It's such a treat to hear my baby boy speak! He's also much more of
a "mama's boy" and would sit on my shoulder all day long if I let him. One
day I tried getting him down and he grabbed my left ear with a few claws....

Pat wrote:

"Christina Websell" wrote

However if it *was* a vestibular attack that he had please remember that
they rarely recover completely and are often left with a degree of
disability around balance that can be permanent.

You've done so well nursing him and getting him as far as you have. I
don't want you to be disappointed if he doesn't fully recover back to
his old self. Rather be glad you've got him at all since some do not
improve from the first stages of not being able to stand up and extreme
nausea which prevents them from eating.

Did you ever witness one of these attacks? If so, I would like to hear what
it looked like. In retrospect, Abelard's initial onset doesn't really fit
with the classic appearance of "seizure" because it went on for half an hour
and he never lost consciousness, and somehow I don't think a stroke would
look like this did either.

A vestibular attack is caused by an inner ear infection. It messes
with one's sense of balance and can cause vertigo and nausea. It's not
neurological like a seizure, nor is it a stroke.

I think what Christina's saying is that the damage done by the ear
infection could be permanent and chronic, and that he might always have
trouble with balance and occasional dizziness and nausea. Or maybe not,
but it sounds like something you might have to keep an eye out for.

eating well and plenty, and no longer barfing so often (only when he has a
hairball or eats too much grass at one time), but he still has a head tilt
(not so pronounced as before) and can be unsteady on his feet at times.

That would be consistent with what Christina was saying - maybe he will
always have some problems with balance.

One positive effect this illness has had on him is to make him much more
talkative than he ever was before, and his voice is louder and not as
breathy.

This could also be from the ear infection, which could have affected his
hearing.

In any case, it doesn't mean his future is bleak, it just sounds like you
need to be aware that this could come up again, even if not as severely
as the first time. I'm sure Christina could give you better info though -
I'm lucky in never having had to deal with that myself.

I am glad that he's up and about, eating, gaining weight, enjoying
being outside, and becoming a cuddly mama's boy.

--
Joyce ^..^

(To email me, remove the X's from my user name.)

"Pat" wrote in message
et...

"Christina Websell" wrote

| "Pat" wrote
| Today for the first time since he took ill on the 8th of May, Abelard
felt
| good enough to RUN -- not very fast, more of a "bounding through the
tall
| grass" sort of gait, but it sure is an indicator of a cat regaining
his
| balance and confidence. I'm happy for him.
|
|
| This is really good news and I'm glad to hear it.
| However if it *was* a vestibular attack that he had please remember that
| they rarely recover completely and are often left with a degree of
| disability around balance that can be permanent.
| You've done so well nursing him and getting him as far as you have. I
don't
| want you to be disappointed if he doesn't fully recover back to his old
| self. Rather be glad you've got him at all since some do not improve
from
| the first stages of not being able to stand up and extreme nausea which
| prevents them from eating.

Did you ever witness one of these attacks? If so, I would like to hear
what
it looked like.

It's the wrong name for it, "attack" It is not like that at all. They are
not suddenly attacked by something. It's an inner ear thing that is
extremely serious. I have no idea why they get it, and neither does my vet,
but some of my elderly dogs did. I have seen it often enough to try and give
you some advice.
It comes on suddenly IME, no warning. One minute they are OK and then they
are falling around all over.
As I have said already, they need nursing over it, which you have done
excellently for Abelard, but in my own experience through nursing dogs
through VA, they are never quite the same again.
I have no experience with cats that might have this syndrome, I'm just
telling you my experience with dogs, and I doubt it will be much different
with cats.

Tweed











In retrospect, Abelard's initial onset doesn't really fit
with the classic appearance of "seizure" because it went on for half an
hour
and he never lost consciousness, and somehow I don't think a stroke would
look like this did either.

He is definitely not fully recovered, and I don't expect he will get all
the
way back to his old self. I will be pleased when he is back up to at least
7-8 lbs. Right now I'd guess he's at 5-6 lbs., up from probably 4-4.5. He
is
eating well and plenty, and no longer barfing so often (only when he has a
hairball or eats too much grass at one time), but he still has a head tilt
(not so pronounced as before) and can be unsteady on his feet at times.

One positive effect this illness has had on him is to make him much more
talkative than he ever was before, and his voice is louder and not as
breathy. It's such a treat to hear my baby boy speak! He's also much more
of
a "mama's boy" and would sit on my shoulder all day long if I let him. One
day I tried getting him down and he grabbed my left ear with a few
claws....