I will always have a cat. I love kittehs. I love dogs too and may one day have another one, but there will always be a cat in my house.
Yup.
I will always have a cat. I love kittehs. I love dogs too and may one day have another one, but there will always be a cat in my house.
so, this morning absolutely sucked.
woke up and did my normal morning routine, jackson didn't really respond to me getting out of bed (which is normal), but then once i opened the bathroom door he still hadn't moved. this was slightly concerning because normally while i'm in the shower it'll register with him that it's walk/food time and he'll be waiting nose in the door for me to open up, but i could see him breathing and figured he was just in a deep sleep. went and got dressed, came back in to get him up to go outside - that's when i realized he couldn't move. he was awake, he was looking at me, but he couldn't move. i tried to help massage him up, but he was unable to help me help him. i finally lifted him to standing and he just leaned against the bed. at that point i woke jason up, which is basically my nightmare, and the two of us tried to coax him into moving/walking it out. he couldn't.at this point, jason and i are both sobbing. we fastened a towel as a harness and he was able to take a few hobbly steps, but then laid down in the hallway. we carried him to the car and got him to the vet, where he was able to hobble-step on his own into the office (side note- if you're crying really hard when you go into the vet's office, you get into an exam room really quickly).
at the vet jackson was wagging his tail, but clearly still unable to really control his legs and obviously distressed. with a couple quick tests (putting his foot in an awkward way and seeing if jackson could/would fix it) the vet quickly diagnosed degenerative neuromyopathy, which is like MS - his peripheral nerves are breaking down; some days are better than others and clearly today was a bad day. i truly think he saved up the 'bad day' for this morning so the girl we had staying with him this weekend didn't have any issues with him. the vet did some acupuncture on him because that had helped his old lab with similar issues and now we've got him on some anti-inflammatory meds, and we just ordered a harness that will help me get him up and down the stairs. so that's where we're at now. i have no idea time-frame, anything. i'm pretty sure we both thought today was it... thankful for however many more days we can have with that stinky sweet man, as long as he's not in any pain.
not the greatest start to the day.
so, this morning absolutely sucked.
woke up and did my normal morning routine, jackson didn't really respond to me getting out of bed (which is normal), but then once i opened the bathroom door he still hadn't moved. this was slightly concerning because normally while i'm in the shower it'll register with him that it's walk/food time and he'll be waiting nose in the door for me to open up, but i could see him breathing and figured he was just in a deep sleep. went and got dressed, came back in to get him up to go outside - that's when i realized he couldn't move. he was awake, he was looking at me, but he couldn't move. i tried to help massage him up, but he was unable to help me help him. i finally lifted him to standing and he just leaned against the bed. at that point i woke jason up, which is basically my nightmare, and the two of us tried to coax him into moving/walking it out. he couldn't.at this point, jason and i are both sobbing. we fastened a towel as a harness and he was able to take a few hobbly steps, but then laid down in the hallway. we carried him to the car and got him to the vet, where he was able to hobble-step on his own into the office (side note- if you're crying really hard when you go into the vet's office, you get into an exam room really quickly).
at the vet jackson was wagging his tail, but clearly still unable to really control his legs and obviously distressed. with a couple quick tests (putting his foot in an awkward way and seeing if jackson could/would fix it) the vet quickly diagnosed degenerative neuromyopathy, which is like MS - his peripheral nerves are breaking down; some days are better than others and clearly today was a bad day. i truly think he saved up the 'bad day' for this morning so the girl we had staying with him this weekend didn't have any issues with him. the vet did some acupuncture on him because that had helped his old lab with similar issues and now we've got him on some anti-inflammatory meds, and we just ordered a harness that will help me get him up and down the stairs. so that's where we're at now. i have no idea time-frame, anything. i'm pretty sure we both thought today was it... thankful for however many more days we can have with that stinky sweet man, as long as he's not in any pain.
not the greatest start to the day.
Bought some "boots" for my dog last weekend since we're taking him hiking with us next month. Put them on and hilarity ensued for about 10 minutes, but he's been doing great walking in them this week; it amazes me how quickly he adapted.
Bought some "boots" for my dog last weekend since we're taking him hiking with us next month. Put them on and hilarity ensued for about 10 minutes, but he's been doing great walking in them this week; it amazes me how quickly he adapted.
I really want to buy some and video that first ten minutes, just for my own amusement.