A few weeks ago, we brought the ladder into the house so Spouse could do some work. Lily loves to play on the it but she's not the handiest cat in the world. On more than one occasion, I caught her chasing her tail whilst hanging out on the paint can platform near the top of the ladder...dangerous!
One day shortly after that, I noticed that she was suddenly walking with a small "hitch" in her gait. She wasn't limping, but she was definitely walking stiffly. After watching her closely for a couple of days, we concluded that she must have fallen off the ladder onto the tile floor below. Circumstantial evidence, as they say!
Taking no chances, I called the vet and took her in for an exam. The vet sedated her so he was able to examine her thoroughly. (Remember, Lily's chart is marked FEISTY!) He didn't see any evidence of a break but did see detect some signs of arthritis in her back legs, so he sent us home with a 3-day course of anti-inflammatory medicine.
That seemed to help. Her gait improved right away, but as soon as we were done with the medicine, she stiffened up again. In fact, on Monday of this week I noticed that she was quite a bit worse. Instead of trotting to the fridge with me to supervise her food preparation, she waited across the room for me to bring it to her. She wouldn't to jump up or down from the bed. While she wasn't hiding like kitties do when they're in pain, I could tell that she was definitely avoiding movement.
So I called the vet again and picked up Predisone for her to take until they could work her in for X-rays. Although it has side effects and I don't want her to take it long-term, it proved to be a miracle drug! She resumed walking and trotting about in her usual manner.
Yesterday she went in for her X-rays and, as you'd expect, I was very nervous. While I didn't suspect a break, I was worried that something sinister might show up. After the very sad situation I went through with Tinsel, I am gun shy.
Thankfully, the only abnormality on the X-ray was a bit of arthritis -- actually a possible bone spur -- on one of her back knees. A fall could have irritated that knee, causing her to have a stiff gait. The vet recommended that she continue on the Predisone for a while and start on a joint supplement.
I'm so relieved that Lily is OK and will just take some time to heal from whatever mishap occurred. In the meantime, I'm grateful that we have some options to help her feel better. She's almost 13 years old, so I guess these things are to be expected.
And just to be on the safe side, the ladder is back in the garage for now. 😉
Happy Feline Friday!
jp & Lily
And just to be on the safe side, the ladder is back in the garage for now. 😉
Happy Feline Friday!
jp & Lily
2 comments:
I’m so glad to hear that everything is okay with Lily after her apparent mishap! 2 of our 3 kitties are older, so I know just what you mean about being nervous nothing sinister would show up. Checkers is 14, and has always been a pro at leaping over our gate that keeps the dogs out of the entryway when necessary. But this past year, he’s started meowing much more frequently to be let through the gate instead of wanting to jump over it anymore. I don’t blame him, and I worry about the shock to his poor joints when he lands, so I always keep an ear out to be sure and let him through. I’d feel awful if he acquired some injury because he had to jump.
Awww, I do think it becomes harder for older kitties to jump. Maybe that's what sweet Checkers is experiencing. Lily has never been an adept jumper or climber, so I'm not surprise she fell off the ladder but I feel badly it happened!
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