Paraplegic cat - way off topic

[ksdaddy]

In 1999 I brought a Dilute Torti home from the shelter. She and her sister had been taken there because the owners were moving into an apartment that didn't allow pets. They were named George and Gracie. Well, George turned out to be female so she was renamed Georgette. I had her spayed and declawed and she has been Queen B___ of the house ever since.

 

A month ago she lost complete use of the back half of her body. No use of legs, tail, bodily functions.... I took her to the vet and she gave her a steroid shot. We got another one a couple days ago. No change. I help her with her daily functions, which is wonderful, lemme tell ya.

 

I'm looking into a wheelchair/mobility cart of some sort. She's happy as a clam, eats well, gets pampered... just can't move.

 

It's like I need more crap to deal with. Life is giving me a s*** sandwich without the bread.

 

Anybody else blessed with the burden of caring for a handicapped pet? Euthanasia is out of the question as long as she's content.

 

Here she is on her throne:

 

[Dennis G]

There was a large dog in our neighborhood who basically had the same problem. Couldn't move her hind quarters. They had a harness with wheels so the dog could "walk". Her owners were of the same opinion as you - as long as she was happy, they'd deal with it. Good on you, and best of luck to you and the Queen!

[BigKahune]

Sorry to hear you have another tough situation to deal with.

 

Dennis G talks about a cart - I've seen those. With your talents, you could probably rig one up.

 

Hope you can work it out.

[Gilliangirl]

She's so cute! I've had similar situations to deal with, which included cutting holes into preemie Pamper diapers and putting them on cats. The holes were for the tail to go through. You do what you have to do to get through, knowing that you're doing the right thing. If you wanted to devise a wheelchair of sorts for her you could do it Scott as you are so handy and creative. Or if you're strapped for time, you put an ad on Craigslist saying you need a carpenter to come up with something unique. I've requested all sorts of weird things on Craigslist (i.e., a pigeon palace built into my roof) and have had amazing success.

[Californiaman]

That's too bad about your pet.

Our cat developed skin cancer on her face. There was nothing we could do about it.

After several months her face was just about gone. I had to put her down.

It tore me up losing Pebbles. She was a good cat.

[damian]

Bless you for caring for her the way that you do......One of our cats is up there in age, but with love and attention she soldiers on.......

[Andy R]

That is a great thing to do. There has to be something just not sure how much a cat would dig it. I have 3 cats and at times I think they are all completely paralyzed. I told girlfriend no more cats after these pass as I am going to have them all taxidermed and put them back on the top of the couch cushions and we will never know the difference....

[Bender 4 Life]

beautiful cat.........

i've never had a paralyzed pet, but I raised a "foundling" Black Lab from about 2 months old that had unmanageable epilepsy, from the day I adopted her she was my best friend and "tag along buddy", we'd hike the woods together, camp together, canoe together, we remained inseperable until the day she died, 2 months short of 5 yrs old .

her 1st seizure came at 18 months old, and from then until she died, it was a series of, go to the vet(s), medicate 2x daily, ok for a while(never more than 3 months), series of seizures, back to the vet, adjust/add different medications, ok for a while, series of seizures (harder/more violent every series), to the vets.........

even with us doing everything we could, and medicating her as religiously as we would a child, and eventually just staying home with her except for work (to "tend" her) she had a seizure that increased her blood pressure so badly that she burst several aneurysms internally(inoperable, nothing could be done to save her)......rushed her to the vet, and held her in my arms telling her what a good girl she was as he euthanized her and she breathed her last.

 

for any of you that wish to have deceased pets cremated, there is a company in the US named "Journeys End" that does exactly that.

 

EDIT: btw, anybody having a pet euthanized, please ask the vet to sedate them 1st (it takes 2 seperate shots) otherwise, they suffocate to death, and can't fight it because the euthenasia paralyzes them.......any vet that says "it's an all in 1 shot" is LYING......no such shot currently exists.

[ksdaddy]

Spooky had kidney failure and I had him put down last January. They explained that he would get two shots, one to sedate him and one to flip the switch. I couldn't be in the same room or hold him, although that was an option. If he had so much as squeaked when he got one of the needles it would have been stuck in my brain forever. They said he went quietly though.

 

 

I'm looking into a cat wheelchair (seriously). They sell crap ones on ebay for $50 but they aren't recommended. Last night and this morning I took a strip of old towel and fashioned a sling to support her back half, which was long enough for me to hold while I was standing up. I 'walked' her around for a few minutes, not a lot because she hasn't supported herself on her front legs for a month or so. She headed right for the cat dish in the kitchen so I know her brain is fine. I plan to make something better, something her front legs can fit into so it stays on her better.

 

Apparently paraplegic pets are more common than I thought.

 

[badbluesplayer]

Good Kitty.

[canon_mutant]

My brother and sister-n-law have a three legged dog and a three legged cat. Both got hit by drive bys and lost their legs not too long apart from each other. Both have gone on to live full and happy lives and are best buddies. Kind of a weird coincidence though huh?

[BigKahune]

I knew you could figure something out KSdaddy.

 

Loved the bit about "straight to the cat dish". B)

[grampa]

I recently lost my long time buddy to cancer, he was 19. I was his first and last human contact and the loss was deep. He never lost his facilities until his last night but if he had and I had to put him down, there is no way I would not be holding him at that point. I could not have been able to just send him off with out being there with him. As it was, he died next to me as we slept.

We got our new cat during the wonderful Giants victory in the World Series and he is a very good "replacement" but then, I do have a very soft spot for kitties.

[chase1410]

I have a St. Charles Spaniel that when we got her she in perfect health....in a few months both of her legs started to bow and she could walk right any more...soon enough she had to crawl painfully to just get anywhere...Once we got enough money for surgery we did, and payed for physical therapy sessions....Well now she has three legs she can run on but the fourth one is bowed and cannot be used....so she's not as crippled as she used to be..and she can still put up a fight against the Malamute!!..Good luck man! Your doing a great thing for your cat.

[daveinspain]

I had 4 Russian Blues, beautiful cats... I am down to three now. I lost one this past Sept. Now the oldest female, sister of the one that died in September, is having problems. She is crapping all over the place. At first I thought whats up with Tia (her name is Tia Buena, we call her Tia for short). She would be crapping near her box, around her box several feet away from her box or in other odd places. Then one day she jumped on the kitchen table an crapped right in front of me... So i knew something was wrong. Took her to the vet. Vet said cats do this when there is a problem, so she did tests, drew blood did analysis....etc. Put her on antibiotics and some sort of liver pills... But she was still crapping around. At first I would get mad stick her nose in it and give her a swat. Then I realized that Tia is just getting old and she doesn't have the control anymore. i felt so bad for being angry at her for something she couldn't help. When she was crapping near and around her box it was because she was trying to get to it but didn't make it. So now I just clean up after her and love her as always. She is still very affectionate, lively, eats well and is a wonderful cat. I just try to limit where she can go in the house so nothing get ruined... Small price to pay for many years of company and affection...

[grampa]

Dave hit it pretty right on, we do a lot for our kitties but they in turn do much more for us.

[PP_CS336]

Spooky had kidney failure and I had him put down last January. They explained that he would get two shots, one to sedate him and one to flip the switch. I couldn't be in the same room or hold him, although that was an option. If he had so much as squeaked when he got one of the needles it would have been stuck in my brain forever. They said he went quietly though.

 

ksdaddy, I went through a similar experience with my cat, Gary. He was a stray that just wandered into my house one day (long story so I won't get into details).

Nobody claimed him and the local ASPCA said they would have to put him down (go figure on that) because they already had too many cats. So I took him to the vets

and had him cleaned up and adopted him (I already had 3 other cats). About a year afterwards I noticed that someone was missing the litter box when he peed. I had

to watch to make sure which cat it was. It turned out to be Gary. I took him to the vets and they said his kidneys were starting to go, but they could do this, this,

and that and he'd be okay. I agreed to it and after getting the bill I cried ($900.00). So I took my feline friend home and he was good for another two years. Then it

started again. They gave him some shots and some medication for me to give him, but he relegated himself to the bathtub and he got very lethargic this time. Since he

wouldn't eat, stopped taking his medication (he always managed to spit it up later when I wasn't looking), and was losing weight, I took him back to the vet. I love

my cats, but I'm not a rich man, so this time I had to have him put down. They gave him the first shot as you said to sedate him. They allowed me to hold him and we said our goodbyes (I was balling my eyes out). Then they came in and gave to give him the final shot. Just before that he looked at me as if to let me know it was okay

because he had been in so much pain before. I kissed him and hugged him tight until he was finally gone. I took him home with me and buried him in the back yard, like I

did with one of my Calico cats, Patches, years before. Getting my own little pet cemetery going.

[TommyK]

Scott,

As it happens, I have a cousin who has a couple Welsh Corgi dogs. They are about the size of your cat. One is paraplegic. I've seen pictures of two different sulkies he's had for his dog. One appears home made of metal parts, lawn mower wheels and duct tape. The other appears to be a lighter weight factory made device. If memory serves me, and now-a-days, it sometimes don't, the dog is able to mount the sulky without assistance. I've emailed him for details. I'll update you when he responds.

[Bender 4 Life]

at last years vaccination clinic (several vets and techs gather in a strip-mall parking lot and sell rabies shots for 1/2 price) I met a fellow with a paraplegic Argentine "Singing Dog".....it looked just like a solid white Boxer/Pitt mix, and had the most beautiful voice......instead of barking, they literally sing.......he was completely adjusted to his wheel-device and was as happy and outgoing as any dog i've seen.

back when I had 1 dog instead of 6, I also had a Hymilayan (long haired Siamese) cat......she was beautiful, and her and my 1/2 white sheperd, 1/2 doberman dog were literally "life mates/significant others"...they played/ate/slept together 24/7/365......the cat actually attacked my Dad once for smacking the dog on the butt with a rolled up newspaper, when I say attacked, I mean it took 9 stitches to sew him up.

Meg (the cat) was also my watchcat, guarding my son in his playpen....when Meg was in the pen w/him, no one, not even his own mother dared to reach in.......I was the only soul that could take him from the playpen.

Meg passed at 8 from feline lukemia and feline AIDS....F.I.V.

[blues335]

another singing dog

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUYn1dJsYOY

[ksdaddy]

We lost Georgette tonight. Her breathing became erratic, then labored, then she had a few convulsions and passed. I was with her. Thankfully it only lasted a few minutes.

[stevef]

Sorry to hear it ksd.

[BigKahune]

Sad news.

 

My condolences.