Terrible news

My sister's cat Ebie suffered a stroke last night. Ebie is 12, and was otherwise healthy. Right now Ebie is at the vets, where they are trying to see if there is anything that can be done to help her.
I feel like I've been hit in the stomach. Ebie was such a lively little cat, with a very independant streak. Last night she was helpless, blinded by the stroke, and unable to lift the paws on her left side.
Even thought Ebie is not my own cat she is still so dear to me. Please keep her in your thoughts today, I hope so much that something can be done for her.
For those that would like to see Ebie the link is http://pets.burnerkitty.com/3149 . The first picture makes her look sort of grumpy, but she was such an independant cat that she didn't like to be picked up for too long.

[ November 08, 2001: Message edited by: nsweezie ]

Oh nsweezie, I am sorry to hear about precious Ebie. I will keep her in my thoughts and prayers today. God Bless you!

I'm really sorry to hear that - Best wishes to Ebie!!!

Beans, Bladie and Jade also send her their best wishes and are hoping for a speedy recovery!

Lots and lots of prayers go out to Ebie - good luck sweet thing - hope the vet can fix you with meds!!!!

Oh no, that's terrible news! :( I know it's horrible to see them so helpless, it's heartbreaking!
Hopefully she will recover from this, I'll keep her in my thoughts - best wishes to her!

BTW, looked at her pic, she's a sweet little girl...

Kirsten

You guys are in my thoughts and prayers.

Oh no, how sad :(
We keep you in our thoughts and hope that Ebie will be better soon!

I wish I could offer more comfort than text. I know how truly sad it can be. My thoughts are with you and your sister and Ebie. Best of luck to all of you.

We'll be thinking of you and your sister and Ebie. I hope she recovers! I know how heartbreaking it can be to feel helpless when it comes to a furbaby. Lots of hugs, scritches and purrs to Ebie. I hope she gets better!
P.S. I looked at her pics too, and she's just precious!! :D

Poor baby Ebie! I will prayer for her well-being and for your families sadness.

Poor little thing, she really is beautiful, thank you for sharing her site with us.

My sister and I picked up Ebie from the vet this afternoon. She was doing a little better, but she was still refusing to eat. She is very unsteady on her feet, as she is weak on one side. We are taking her home to see if she improves at all.It's hard to know if she is suffering, or if she wants to fight on. I've never been in the situation where I might have to put a cat to sleep where the cat is not desperatly ill.
We have decided not to make any decisions until the weekend. If she continues to refuse food then I'm not sure what to do. This is truly the hardest decision, trying to balance Ebie's happiness with her quality of life. I'll keep my fingers crossed, as the vet said that there is always a chance that there will be some improvement.

weezie, I think y'all made a good choice. Sure, she's probably uncomfortable right now, but probably not in real distress and not likely in any pain. I agree, give her every opportunity to improve before the ultimate decision has to be made. Is it possible that she's not eating becuase her face is paralyzed? Maybe she needs to be spoon-fed baby food or pureed cat food or something. We will be praying for her, her humans, and of course we're still rooting for little Mac!

WAIT! My Moon Girl Cat just went through a VERY similar thing - stroke like things - IT MIGHT BE OK :confused: :) This was 6 weeks ago and she is getting better. It was some sort of inner ear BAD infection and she may never be back to her old self but she is soooo much better and is eating and actually playing with her "own things that play in the dark" ;) :confused: :D . I don't know if this is Ebie's problem but if it should be...have faith. She still walks a bit sideways but Moon girl has adjusted enough to show the other guys to still give her space and the respect she deserves. She is still the matriarch after all. :D
laurie

Ebie is doing a bit better today, however she still refuses to eat. She was at the vet's earlier, and they gave her another IV.
She is still blind and also weak on one side, but she is a little more like herself. She has always liked to fight with Scooter, and this morning she gave him a sound slap across the face, which we took as a positive sign (not for Scooter of course). At this point we are going to take a wait and see approach. Has any one else had experience with a cat that has had a stroke?

I think it's a good sign that Ebie's condition improves a bit... it might get better day by day. I don't have any experiences with cats having strokes (and I hope I never will), but I think it happened that felines can recover from it.
Best wishes to Ebie, I hope her appetite comes back soon, that would be a good sign I think.

Kirsten

Sadly, the only kitty I know of that had a stroke died instantly. In that respect, Ebie and her humans are lucky.

I don't know about strokes, but I do know it is IMPERATIVE that she eat. Cats are really strange creatures in that when they refuse food, they very quickly reach a point of no return - no matter what is done, and even if the condition that first caused the anorxia improves, nothing saves them, even tube feeding.

Cats are also peculiar in that they won't eat what they can't smell. It's possible that the stroke has effected her sense of smell. Try offering her something really smelly, and even warm it up - but just a bit becuase you want to be careful that it won't burn her!

If that doesn't work I'd be calling the vet again and be specifically asking for advice on how to get her to eat.

Prayers for Ebie!

We're wishing the best for Ebie and all her human family. I hope things resolve quickly to give relief to all, one way or the other.

Leah, what good advice! PetTalk is such a great source of sympathy and concern AND helpful suggestions - what a wonderful place with wonderful people and pets! :cool: :cool: :cool:

nsweezie, I'm so sorry I missed this earlier. I am praying that Ebie continues to improve; especially I hope she starts to eat :( But, as a nurse, I can tell you that it often takes considerable time for the brain to retrain itself to perform many basic functions following a stroke. If she is not walking around much, be sure to do some gentle, passive exercise of her limbs to prevent muscle atropy (weakness) and to prevent clot formation. Is she able to walk around; use her box? Very often, with time, the muscle weakness and her ability to move around will improve considerably. A lot of verbal and tactile stimuli is also very important. Talk to her often in your usual voice, pet her, etc. Make sure you offer her small amts of food often; and try anything! As Leah just mentioned, her sense of smell may have been affected, so try something with a very strong smell, such as warmed, canned tuna to stimulate her appetite. And without her sight and her muscle weakness, make sure she is never so high that she must jump any great distance down to the floor. I will be praying for Ebie and her family. Her photo was precious; such soft, muted color and the cutest face. Love to you Ebie.

[ November 10, 2001: Message edited by: tatsxxx11 ]

[ November 10, 2001: Message edited by: tatsxxx11 ]

I tried feeding Ebie some really smelly fish. She ate a little, which makes me think that her sense of smell has been damaged. She also has some trouble closing one side of her mouth, and has trouble getting food into her mouth. It helped to place the food right in her mouth.
Ebie was an outdoor cat, and has been desperate to get outside, but since she isn't able to anymore, this has made her quite angry. She might go to the vet again tomorrow for another IV to boost her strength.

Today I gave Ebie some pureed food, and she had more luck with that. She has to be reminded to eat and drink, so throughout the day I will put her in front of the food dish. She is still quite thin though, as even when she was perfectly healthy she was still slender. She is spending much of her day asleep, which is good I guess as it conserves her energy. As long as she will still eat and drink then I think that she will be ok.

Oh, nsweezie, I can't believe I didn't see this post before. I'm so sorry about beautiful Ebie. Please know that she will be in my thoughts and prayers.
When my Charlie (Rainbow Bridge) wasn't eating because of a sinus infection, the vet told me to feed him Sheba cat food. It's one of the strongest (yuckiest) smelling things on the market. The duck flavor smells particularly strong and he ate that without a problem. I don't know if it's available in Canada, but you might look for it. I'm glad to hear that you have been able to get her to eat and drink a little.
Hang in there.

Just wanted to give everyone an update about little Ebie. She is doing better now. She is still weak on one side, and the vet thinks that this is a permanent effect, but she can walk ok, and she will eat pureed food. She sleeps alot more than she used to, but there is a huge improvement.
The biggest problem is that she wants to go outside, but because of the weakness, and that she is blind in one eye we can't let her. So now everyone has to be super careful when opening doors.
All in all the news is good, and Ebie seems happier too!

Thanks for the update. Glad she is doing better. Hope she continues to improve.

{{{hugs}}} Hang in there.

Yeah, Ebie!

Yea!!! Yea!! Hugs and kisses to brave little Ebie. That's great news. Thanks for the update.

I'm so glad she has improved!

:( Sad news today. Ebie was doing so well, we had great expectations that she would be around for years to come. This morning Ebie suffered a major stroke. She was unable to move at all, she couldn't blink, or swallow. After alot of gut renching thought, my sister and I decided to put her to sleep. She was having trouble breathing, and we didn't want her to die alone in the night, but rather with her family around her.
She peacefully went to sleep, and now we are left without her. It always amazes me how much I love all my cats, and saying good bye is so hard even when it is the right thing to do.
Right before she fell asleep I told her to look out for Chelsea, our other cat at the Rainbow Bridge, and he would be with her.
I'm trying to remember that she was a fighter to the end and that she was a sweet and good little cat, and not think about her not being here.
Louise

Louise, this is terrible news. But of course, you and your sister absolutely made the right decision. And of course, all our Rainbow Bridge babies are gathering around her to make sure she is not lonely and frightened.

I read her Burnerkitty page, too, and see that y'all have changed it to a memorial page.

I'm so glad that we have these pet sites so we always have a place to go to when we need to express our grief. It also helps to think that our babies will never be forgotten as long as they are on someone's computer screen every once in a while.

Beautiful Ebie's family will be in my thoughts and prayers.

Goodbye little Ebie. Thank you for being a good kitty friend to your loving humans. You were a blessing here on this weary Earth. Go romp in the sunshine and know that you were loved.

NsWeezie and Sister - My thoughts are with you.
- Pam

So sorry you lost your Ebie. You made the right choice, but even so its hard cause you miss her. Ebie is no longer in any misery - she is young again and playing with all the other furkitties at the bridge.

[ December 16, 2001: Message edited by: sammi ]

I was following this topic ans was so happy to see she was improving, and so sad to hear you had to put her to sleep. You have made the right choice, but it's still hard. My cats are still so young (the oldest is 2 years old) and I hope I waon't have to deal with this choices for years to come.
Be strong, and remember she's watching you now and thanking you for the time you cared for her.

So sorry to hear about Ebie! You all did the right thing, and now Ebie has no pain or agony.
It still hurts, though.....Ebie sounds like a sweetie pie. Our thoughts are with you.