This week started out with my beloved cat, Kinko, contracting a disease called Vestibular disease. What is that? Well in humans, it would be like "vertigo". It is brought on without reason or cause and your cat may look or appear to have had a stroke. The cat looses all sense of balance and it so scared, that it cries out loud, with a bellowing cry. Their eyes can move rapidly, back and forth and that is something that I will never forget. To see his eyes dilated and moving as they did, is just something I never want to see again. He could not walk, his neck was turned to the side like it was hinged and stuck in place.The first 48 to 72 hours are the worst! I had to force feed my poor kitty and he was practically life-less and when he did move, he looked as if he was a robotic cat. A very sad state for an owner and for children to see. With each passing day, he is getting better. They say that 50% of cats make a full recovery. Some never make a full recovery and some will still have a tilt of their head as a result of contracting Vestibular disease...
Kinko is one of the most adorable cats I have ever owned. He is mild mannered and will drop to the floor, with a roll-over, to his back and stretch out for a nice belly rub. He will paw at my arm to have me pet him. He is just adorable! Kinko is still very unstable on his feet, but has started to eat a bit on his own. His eyes are no longer dialated and moving. All very good signs. He have a long way to go, but he is doing better and that is good.***KINKO is his name because when he found my hubby at his place of employment, he was homeless, hungry, and had a crimp in his tail. Poor kitty. Hence, he became our Kinko. ;)
As if that was not enough--our furnace went out on Wednesday morning! It was out from about 9:30 a.m. until 7:00 p.m., Darrel was working, so I did what I thought was best. I turned on a couple of electric heaters. Well, that was a mistake. I tripped the breakers and reset them. I unplugged one heater, tried the other two again, they tripped again and I could not get them reset. So there we were, without heat in 26 degrees weather. It did get down to 42 degrees in here, thank goodness it was only for a short time.
I am very thankful that hubby is so handy! He got the furnace going and we are warm and toasty again. Needless to say, I do not want to repeat this week again, EVER! I am behind on my homework, so guess what I get to do this weekend? Any guesses? Homework. I am over joyed about that. I will get a little done each day. I am pretty diligent about that. I did want to work in my studio, but as we all know, our best laid plans don't always work out. I hope you all have a blessed weekend. I for one, am glad it is the weekend. I can sleep in a bit and breath. ~Tonya
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14 comments:
Tonya,
I am really sorry to hear about Kinko. I do hope he continues to heal and all is well.
Hope things are smooth sailing from here.
Blessings,Pea
Aw...Poor Kinko.
Over all the cats I have ever had, I've never had one get that. Thank goodness. I hope Kinko makes a 100% recovery!
Thank you both, for your kind words.
I had never heard of it either. The vet said that he sees Vestibular disease on a monthly basis, both in cats and dogs. It is very scary.
Although I had never heard of the technical term, I think one of our cats had it when I was just a little girl. He was put to sleep the old fashioned way :( Later we were told about it.
They thought he had a stroke, or was hit by a car or that his nervous system was shutting down.
I too, hope Kinko makes a full recovery.
Blessings,
Tonya
Yes, Tonya, your winter is just beginning - we just had our furnace service checked, so hopefully no problems this winter. Hope by the time you read this that Kinko is even better. Poor kitty. I always feel so bad when our pets are hurting and you see they're scared. Just like babies that can't talk. Hoping for a full recovery for him. How do they contract that and are the other kitties able to get it from him? Have a great Thanksgiving. jo
I love the picture of all of them cuddling. Poor baby. We pray he gets better soon. Man, 26 degrees. BRRRR already? jeez I saw on the news you got snow up there? wow!
HI Jo, I hope MN winter won't be typical this year. I hope it is nice and mild :)
Vestibular disease is normally found in older cats when there is an abnormality within the central nervous system. Typically 12 to 13 years old.
When younger cats contract it, they call it idiopathic - no known reason. It can be because there is an abnormality within the middle ear, but no known reason or cause for it, if there is nothing wrong with their ears.
No, it is not contagious to other cats.
Thank you for your kind words. He means so much to all of us.
Blessings,
Tonya
Hi Jenny,
Yes, that picture is so sweet. They cuddle and clean each other all the time.
Yes, it has been chilly on the over nights and it is going to get cold pretty much during the day too. We are in for a cold snap for this weekend and during the week :( I am sure winter is here.
Everyone around us received snow. It snowed a bit here, but didn't stay because we also got rain. We currently do not have any snow and it can stay that way. LOL
Yes, Kinko is a bit better today. Little by little. We still have to keep him locked up at night, so that he does not fall down any steps. We have 3 sets of steps and a total of three levels. He tries to go up the steps when we open the door, but he cannot do steps yet.
Have great day, Jenny.
Tonya
Ohhh Toyna I am so sorry to hear about you Kinko. My daughter get vertigo real bad, but at least a person can understand what is happening. Poor kitty.
So glad to hear that Kinko will be okay, Tonya - it's awful when our furry friends are having troubles. Beautiful cats!
So glad to hear that Kinko will be okay, Tonya - it's awful when our furry friends are having troubles. Beautiful cats!
I do hope your cat will be better soon.
Hanni
Our family has five cats and they are family members to us! I hope Kinko continues to improve. Bless his feline heart!
Oh Tonya - I'm so sorry about Kinko and I know just what you are going through. Our last dog, Sam, a black labrador got that. It was the most awful thing to have to see. And you feel so helpless. He was quite old when he contracted it - about 13 - but he did recover from that. It took a couple of months until he was pretty much back to normal. I hope I never see that again in my furbabies.
Hugs to you and Kinko....Susan
Hi,
I'm sorry to hear about your kitty. I have a kitty that has that disease and she does very well. She hasan't had an attack now in two years. She's 8 years old and the attacks started when she was a baby. It is frightening and there have been times when the head tilting lasts for several months after she's recovered. He will be fine I'm sure and Orpheus and I will keep him in our prayers.
Blessings
Sallie
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