Update on Lightning
By blackbriar
@blackbriar (9076)
United States
June 28, 2007 12:10am CST
Hi my friends...Well, guess what. My hubby found Lightning this morning under the side porch. He thought he was dead till we pulled the deck boards up and he lifted his head and meowed at him. Talk about a flowing river of tears from me when hubby picked him up and put him in my arms. I hugged him so tight he hissed and almost attacked me. BUT....he isn't right and it's not the heartworm that is doing him in. I sure as hell would like to know what is going on with my cats cause my kitten, Tigger, suffered the same thing Lightning is now suffering. Partial paralysis of the back legs and the muscles that control urine and bowel movements. I called the vet thinking I was taking him in to be put down but once I got there and the vet did a quick check-up on him, he told me there is a 25% chance Lightning could improve on medication but would have to stay a few days to see if the meds are helping him. If not, then he will be put down. Tigger is coming out of whatever it is that is affecting my cats. Tigger snuck out a few days b4 Lightning disappeared and my hubby found him a day and a half later under our front porch where he was meowing his head off to get our attention. Now Lightning. wtf?!? He can't stand up at all, just sit up and roar like a banshee cause he's in pain. The vet said his bladder was so full that that is what is causing him so much pain because he can't go potty. My daughter told me yesterday that she heard meowing coming from the woods by the creek but didn't see him anywhere. When I went over there and called him, he didn't answer me back. He had to of crawled over 100' to get under the side porch overnite cause when I looked under there yesterday, he wasn't there.
Last update on him will be when I talk to the vet and see if he's coming home to recuperate or to be buried. We already dug a hole for him out back b4 lifting the deck boards thinking he was dead and would move him right to the hole and bury him b4 our daughter came home from school. I'm praying that I'll be filling an empty hole in a few days.
Thank you to all my friends here for the support and encouragement when Lightning disappeared and I felt he went off to die alone.
2 people like this
5 responses
@ashlee67 (95)
• United States
28 Jun 07
I was reading through your other message earlier, and was saddened by it. I'm happy to hear that you found him! I hope that you find an answer to what is causing him to be in the pain he is in.
On a side note, I have a cat named Tigger as well. :)
On another side note, have you thought about the possibility of cremating him, rather than burying?
@blackbriar (9076)
• United States
28 Jun 07
Does your Tigger bounce straight up in the air? This one does, 6' straight up from a stand still. lol As for cremation, I can't afford it or I would. I have my 2 best buds, father and son, sitting on my mantle right now. I owe the vet over $1,000 so cremation is out of the question. I was fighting myself on just putting him down immediately or have the vet try and help him.
@blackbriar (9076)
• United States
28 Jun 07
lol at bounce off the wall. Tigger is doing much better now and back to his old self pestering his big sister who hates him. I just got done talking to the receptionist at the vets but there were no notes in the system left by the vet and he won't be in till the afternoon. Gotta call back round 3pm to find out more about Lightning. Guess the vet goes in from 3-6 am then leaves to return again in the afternoon on Thursdays. Lightning was sitting up and doing his usual threats to her when she checked on him thou. He HATES the vet and makes e1 there know it with teeth and claws whenever he has to stay.
@ashlee67 (95)
• United States
28 Jun 07
Unfortunately, no, my Tigger does not bounce. He has become lazy, although the newest addition (a small kitten found outside last year, who we took in) is a bit feisty and has brought some of the kitten back out in Tigger. Most of the time, he prefers to lay around somewhere though. He did "trip" while jumping over a toy that was left on the floor in the hallway earlier, causing him to jump into the wall and bounce off of that, though.
It has got to be a tough decision with Lightning. I can only hope that the vet will discover what has caused it, and that it may be treatable. If he is simply going to be in pain, however, it would be best to just have him put down.
@blackbriar (9076)
• United States
28 Jun 07
So am I and thank you for the prayers. That's what Lightning needs now along with the meds to hopefully recover.
@estherlou (5015)
• United States
28 Jun 07
So glad you found him! It really sounds like he got into something, a poison, or pesticide or something. We had a cat that got into something once, the vet asked if she had drunk toilet water that had toilet cleaner in it, but we didn't think so. Anyway, her organs started shutting down. She actually hid under a bed from us for a day or so until we realized she was acting abnormal and dragged her out and to the vet. We got her there in time and medication got her well. So, hope the meds do the trick for your Lightning too!
@blackbriar (9076)
• United States
28 Jun 07
I sure hope the meds help Lightning as well. Just in case, I prepared my daughter for him not recovering. I don't want to get her hopes up that he will come out of this ok.
@webeishere (36313)
• United States
28 Jun 07
Grats. Did you take that walk in the woods looking?
Hope things get better for the cat(s) also. Bummer.
@blackbriar (9076)
• United States
28 Jun 07
I had my jeans and boots on ready to go looking for him in the woods when hubby said he found him. Thanks, Grandpa Bob. I sure hope things get better as well.
@Gemmygirl1 (2867)
• Australia
28 Jun 07
Well, i cant be sure but has anyone thought about ticks? I only ask because the paralysis thing sounds like it could be ticks.
They're not common here in Oz but i have heard about them & perhaps your cats are getting ticks & they're staying on too long which is what is causing your animals to go this way :(
I really do hope you can work out what is happening with your pets coz i don't think i'd be coping very well with it either but if it is ticks then there is medication for it that you can buy over the counter (here anyway) so it shouldn't be hard for you to get over there either.
Take care & good luck :)
@blackbriar (9076)
• United States
28 Jun 07
All my animals are on Revolution so it's not ticks or fleas doing this to them. Tell ya one thing, I told my daughter that if any of our cats are near the door when she has to go outside, to chase them back into the kitchen and close the utility room door so they can't sneak out. I don't want any of them outside even though 2 are indoor only cats and Lightning is indoor/outdoor cat. He doesn't use the litter box but tells us when he has to go out. He will get put on a leash from now on to go potty.
