Amy's Thread...

[Laura's Babies]

This winter has been really hard on Amy, it has rained a lot and been cold and she has really has a time getting around, even my neighbor noticed how much worse she has been. I had to take her in for her yearly the other day and I had them go ahead and give her another steroid shot and while is feeling better, she still has a hard time getting around.... so she don't do much but lay around anymore.. Come on SUMMER!!!

BUT, in the brighter side, she has been a little sweet lap baby, purring her little heart out since she got that shot and her eyes are so much brighter.. So far, NO accidents because she can't get in the big litter boxes yet, she is getting in them OK so far. The minute she has a problem, I will get her out for her to use.

I thought it was time for her a photo shoot so here they are...
Just relaxing outside her kennel/bed.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/Grammy707/AmyFeb.jpg

She has taken to getting on the arm of the sofa although she has a real hard time getting up there and balancing herself so she don't fall..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/Grammy707/HPIM1310.jpg

Look at those airplane ears... she has had enough of that flashie thing!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/Grammy707/HPIM1315.jpg

[jazzcat]

Sweet Amy. I'm sorry to hear that winter has been so hard on her but glad she's getting some relief from the shot.

Thanks for the update and pictures Laura.

[kuhio98]

Laura: I know that Amy has other issues, but have you ever tried using a snuggle safe? Petsmart (http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=84552444177 6038&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023689&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302026173&bmUID=1098463050243&cm_ven=ovt&cm_pla=unknown&cm_ite=sku)

Cammie has very bad arthritis and we have noticed a big difference in her mobility if she sleeps on the snuggle safe all night. We nuke it in our microwave for 3 minutes (each microwave is different so read the directions). Then I put it under her favorite blanky and she settles down all warm and toasty. On very cold (Alaska) days, I nuke it again in the morning and she warms up on it for a few hours and then she runs around like she's a kitten again.

It might be worth a try for Amy.

[catmandu]

Poor Amy,we are sorry,that this cold weather,is making you,uncomfotable,and we will send Fluffy,The Big Cat Angel,to nestle,against you,and keep you,warm.

[christa]

She's such a sweetie! Looks pretty comfy laying there, even if she is annoyed by the "flashy thing"!!!

You're a beauty, Amy! I'm glad Meowmie gave you your own thread today!

[kimlovescats]

Sweet Amy, I am so sorry that the cold and wet winter has been so uncomfortable for you. :( I'm glad that you got another shot to help you feel better, and look how sweet you are up there on that couch! I LOVE YOU sweet girl!;)

[QueenScoopalot]

Oh dear Amy...damp weather is the pits, and I'm sorry that yo're feeling so sore. Sure hope that shot kicks in, and your little legs start feeling better fast. :) :) Kirby sends you nose rubs. :)

[Laura's Babies]

I have looked around Pet Smart and haven't seen those snuggle safe things, next time, I will ASK someone.. I do have a heating pad in her bed but she dosen't seem to like it very long at a time. I just hate that she is so young and having all these problems so soon... Like I said before, I thought we would have YEARS before she got like this but it started around her first birthday and she changes with the weather.. Summers are best for her and I end up keeping my house hotter than I need to in winters for her.. She still has her spirit though.. She has been laying on the TOP HIGH perch all day today! So, that shot has perked her up a LOT!!

[momoffuzzyfaces]

Aw, poor Amy! As a fellow arthritis sufferer, I agree, this has been a hard winter, and we've really not had it as bad here as the rest of the country.

Please give her a kiss on her sweet little head from me, ok?

I loved seeing her pictures.:)

[catnapper]

Awww Ami, it'll be summer before you know it. In the meantime continue snuggling with meowmie!

[val]

Today feels a little warmer so hopefully Amy is feeling a little better! Isn't amazing what they can do when they set their minds to it, like climbing up high where cats just naturally like to be. She's a trooper, she is!

[Laura's Babies]

Amy has neroulogical (?) damage, not the ole arthritis. She was born with this, weebles and wobbles till she all falls down the whole time she walks. Her back legs just will not carry her very far before they give out and she flops over. Her back end bounces up and down the whole time she walks and at times like lately, her whole body trembles and she can't controll it, therefore, making it hard for her to walk without falling over more. The worst she has gotten was when she had to use her front claws to pull herself to the kitchen to her food bowl, to drag herself in there to eat because she couldn't walk at all... a really bad time for her.

It is heartbreaking to watch but when she has ANY small victory it is a monumental victory... Like the day she finally made it to the top perch and was so proud of herself... Making it to the second level was a hudge victory and she posed for pictures and was so proud..But when she made it to the TOP... What a day of JOY that was for her!! She is such a sweetheart too. Everytime I take her to the vets, they all have to hold her...

[CalliesMom]

Your description of little Amy has brought tears to my eyes. Bless her! I hope with summer coming that everything starts to get easier for her...she is a beautiful soul. :)

[val]

These ch babies are the most precious and it is SUCH a relief that they are not just being pts automatically any more. I'm still not positive if my Oliver is ch but he has some of the symptoms and the vet said when he first saw him that he has neurological problems altho he never said ch. He is the hit of the vets office when he visits as he walks in wearing a kitty harness with a leash. If I put him in a carrier that temper comes out and he can't even be handled.

Thank goodness you and Amy live in Louisiana where the winters are short and the summers are long and Amy can be more comfortable. VERY soon it will be 90+degrees every day and she can bask in the sunlight! Of course, the rain just never seems to end tho, huh?

Love and smooches to Amy and I'm so happy she has someone who loves her so much.

[Laura's Babies]

Val, Amy's vet never used the CH term for Amy either but they do show her special concern when she goes in for anything.. The doctor she saw the other day told me she remembers Amy from the day of her spaying and the whole office was so concerned about her surgery and worried to death about her and then was so relieved when it was over and she was fine.. Geezzzzzz! If I'd known that at the time I would have really been worried to death worse than I was and as it was, I paced the floor and cried a lot that day..

They are saying MORE rain! Rain for days again!! Darn, and she is perking up really good, even played some today.

[smokey the elder]

I wonder if Amy has something different than CH. Poor girl; I'm glad she responds to the 'roids.

[val]

Altho I like to be informed about EVERYTHING in the long run maybe it's better that you didn't know the vet's staff was so worried. But they probably should have expressed their concerns. From what I'm understanding tho, and QSL can explain it better than I, CH kitties can be sedated as long as only CERTAIN sedations are used. I would assume the same for Amy as these are the safest sedations to use. Definitely no ketamine. Ask QSL for the two common ones that are OK for the future in case you need to know and write them down as I have been told and have forgotten and hopefully Jan will respond here and I will write them down too! Jan, where are ya?

Hopefully, there won't be too much rain. I think they're saying Wednesday will be the rainiest. Today sure is warm and even kinda sunny! Amy must be feeling great (paws crossed):) ! Smooches to her!

[Laura's Babies]

Val, they might have told my daughter there was reason for concern and I was already such a basket case, she might not have told me if they did say anything to her. She knows what a softie I am with Amy... I was so upset over her surgery that I couldn't even take her, I called my daughter and begged her to do it for me. (I had aleady read up on CH in the internet and I knew what could happen and I wanted to back out of her surgery 1000 times)

HOWEVER, I went with Mike to take his baby Yetta to HER vet today and there was the same vet I saw with Amy the other day at MY vets office. (She is a vet that goes from place to place to give the vets days off or fills in when someone is sick..) So she is telling the nurse about Amy, describing how she walks and falls over and she DID use that whole CH word, saying that is what Amy had.

I am sure Amy's vet just isn't saying it to me because they all know down there that I am such a worrier when it comes to her and have her there if she just sneezes, worried to death...

She is perking up and her eyes have lost that weak look. She has spent the day on that top perch again today, enjoying this wonderful day we have had! (Up in the 80's folks)

[val]

I'm glad to hear Amy had such a happy day:) ! Today was positively Springlike! We cut back banana plants and pulled those nasty yellow flower weeds. I don't know their name but I call them pee pee flowers. Soon their pollen will coat EVERYTHING!

And it's OK to worry about our kitties. That's what makes us good parents. There's nothing wrong with being cautious and questioning everything. It's tough to remember sometimes that the vets are not Gods and they are working for us. It does sound as tho you've found one that cares very much about Amy and that's great. Some treat you like we're just a stream of idiots.

[iloverat]

Ok, I'm ignorant. WHat's ch stand for?

[val]

OOOPPPs, sorry! Cerebellar Hypoplasia. The part of the brain that controls motor skills has not fully developed due to the mama cat having feline distemper during pregnancy. These babies are normally healthy in all other respects, but their coordination is "off". So, it's basically neurological in nature. Ch disability can vary from cat to cat with some only mildly afflicted like my Oliver (if that is what he officially has), or more so like Laura's Amy to some that really can't walk at all. If they are worked with when they are kittens by using physical therapy they can learn to become much more coordinated. They are usually very, very, loving kitties but can be very stubborn (the ch temper). For a long, long time, until rather recently they were automatically put to sleep as they were considered too brain damaged. Thank goodness that has changed. If anyone has a chance to welcome a ch kitty into their life the rewards will be endless-I promise.

[iloverat]

Thank you for the explanation - :) Poor little ones. I'm glad that they are better understood now and are being adopted out more rather than automatically PTS.

[Laura's Babies]

QSL's Eli is far worse than Amy and he is so pretty. From what I understand, he couldn't even walk when she first got him, she rigged some sort of sling and taught him how to walk.. She said he is a sever case. Here is a picture she posted of him, isn't he pretty? (She also said $$$ is his favorite toy)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/QueenScoopalot/EliWHEEE.jpg

[iloverat]

Yes, Eli is beautiful!!! I think he and I must be kindred spirits as $$$$ is one of my favorite toys, too!!!! :D

[QueenScoopalot]

ROFLMAO Laura!!! My sweet special boy Eli really gets fired up with any $money$ that floats his way! Thumbelina, and Sweet Pea go nuts over it too...my kind of kitties. :D :D :D The two safe gasses to use for brain damaged kitties is Isoflourine, or sevoflourine, and Val's dead on about the Ketamine! :eek: A woman I knew years back had a severely impaired ch kitten (worse than Eli) and the vet used "Telazole" an anesthesia not used much anymore, but the kitten was in a coma for 2 weeks! :eek: From what I heard, it screwed him up so badly, that it set him back for months! And he just went in for a rountine neuter. :( Please give that sweet Amy lots of gentle nose rubs from Eli...and all my other very special kitties. :)

[Laura's Babies]

QSL to the rescue again! Thanks you for that information and I DID write it down in for case I ever need it. The world of information that you have amazes me!! Thanks so much!!

[val]

Me too! I've got it written down and hopefully will not lose it!
Thanks a bunch and Eli is beeutyfull!