Kitty Issues

Once again, I must apologize for taking an unexpected break in posting. The past few months, it seems like every time I feel like I will be able to write on a regular basis, something else happens to screw my plans up.

This time it was because one of my cats, Precious, has had some serious health issues. Every night, I open my window so that my two kitties can go outside for awhile. To reach the window sill, my cats have to jump about 3 feet. About two weeks ago, I did this at around 11:30 pm and then sat down at my desk, with my back to the window. Several minutes later, I heard Precious fall, hard, from the window sill to the couch below. I ran over and picked her up, placing her on my bed. Immediately I knew something was wrong. She couldn't stand. Her head was twitching back and forth and her eyes were darting everywhere. She looked like she had had a stroke. I panicked. I raced downstairs, woke my mother, and we rushed Precious to an emergency animal hospital.

The entire ride over I was crying, thinking I was about to lose her. I have had her for 11 years, since I was 11. I got her as a birthday present when she was only 6 weeks old. She has been with me through a lot and I love her more than anything.

When we got to the hospital, the doctor immediately started looking her over. She quickly determined that Precious had not had a stroke, but was suffering from labyrinthitis due to idiopathic vestibular syndrome, which is swelling of the inner ear for no obvious reason. Precious was going to be fine. Those words were some of the best I have ever heard.Unfortunately, there was not much the doctor could do to speed up the recovery. Precious would get better on her own, but it would take time.

Since then, Precious has needed much of my attention. Her legs were wobbly and she would frequently roll over onto her side. She couldn't jump without falling. Her head was constantly tilted to the right and her eyes continued to occasionally dart back and forth. Every time she sneezed or shook her head, she fell over. For the first few days, she couldn't walk at all. I had to help her to her food and water bowls and to the litter box. She would throw up 2-3 times a day from the nausea caused by vertigo. While she wasn't in any pain, she often got frustrated, understandably so. Even though she is considered a "senior" cat, she is extremely active. She has never been seriously ill (before this, the only time she had to go to the vet outside of regular check-ups was when she broke her jaw when she was 6 months old), so she is not used to having such limitations placed on her.

Slowly but steadily she has been improving. As of today she can walk on her own with only a little wobbling. She can make short jumps onto large surfaces (like from the floor to my bed) without falling most of the time. Her eyes aren't randomly moving around anymore. She still cannot jump very high or onto small or narrow surfaces and her head remains slightly tilted to the right. However, I am optimistic that she will be back to her old self within a week or so. I am beyond happy to know that she is going to be alright.

Here's a picture of my beautiful Precious, taken a couple weeks before her fall.