New to site - Hello & Thank You!

[Cattal]

Don't know if anyone is still reading this thread, but if so, Max went to the vet neurologist today (quite a long car ride I must add) and it was concluded that Max does likely have a pinched nerve.

IF they had been able to do a proper exam on him, they could have concluded for certain, but feisty man would fought them every step of the way! The Dr. came back to me and said "that is one aggressive guy!" If after a week, we dont see improvement on steroids, he may have to have further tests, but we are hopeful that Max will be up and about in no time!

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers !

[wolflady]

Thanks for the update on Max. I was wondering how he was doing! What a cutie he is!! Wow, a pinched nerve, huh? He must be so miserable! I sure hope those meds work!! He sounds a lot like how my Scooter acts when we bring him to the vet. It is such a huge ordeal for us to do so It's gotten to a point that the vet really doesn't want us to bring him in anymore, because they have to sedate him...just to get near him, everytime!!! Ugh! Honestly...he's a pretty nice cat at home!!! Really!! LOL
I'm still thinking about you guys and Max! I sure hope something helps him out soon! Keep us posted on his progress *hugs*
Karen, Marius and Scooter=^..^=

[4 feline house]

Max's human - anytime one of the Pet Talkers is in distress, whether it be the two-legged or four-legged kind, rest assured we read the thread until it is resolved! As long as you care to post about Max's progress, we will be reading it, rooting for him, praying for him, and wishing all of y'all well until he's better!

[gini]

First of all, a welcome from me to Pet of the Day and Pet Talk.

Please let me add my prayers and thoughts for Max. All of us care and hope he is well again soon.

Gini

[Cattal]

Yes Karen, he has been miserable for almost 2 weeks. It has been so painful for him - and so painful for us to watch.

Thanks for the invite to orange cats . . . We're heading over!

It has been wonderful to come here to vent and post thoughts - most people don't understand the bond . . .I'm very thankful for ALL of you!

[ July 31, 2001: Message edited by: Max's Human ]

[tatsxxx11]

Poor Max! A pinched nerve is so terribly painful! Hope the steroids help to reduce the discomfort and find him up and about very soon! Max, you are one gorgeous guy! Healing thoughts and lots of love to you Max!

[Cattal]

Hi everyone,

Not much good news to report on the Max front - he is still in pain and lethargic. My husband called me at work this afternoon and suggested that we call the neurologist vet early (I'm supposed to check in on Monday) so I did. Of course, I missed his office hours and I still didn't get a return call.

Since I've gotten home, I haven't heard Max scream/jump back once which I am optimistic about. Although still VERY lethargic, he has also managed to slowly "show up" in every room I've gone into - including here in my "office" - something he hasn't done in a few weeks.

So, our handsome guy still needs lots of good vibes coming his way and we thank you again!

Happy weekend!

[Cattal]

Max goes back to the vet neurologist tomorrow morning for further tests and hopefully a definite diagnosis. He will need to be "knocked out" so he doesn't "take out" the vet or his staff with his bad cattitude, but that also means he has to stay overnight. Max's human's are NOT liking that! He is right beside me as I type and I miss him already.

He has gotten a little bit better in the past two days - he actually batted around a fresh bing cherry (albeit slowly) all over "his" kitchen last night and tonight which is ADORABLE to watch. I have photo's of him from last summer when he first discovered those crimson "toys" (I will share somehow - but I have no scanner) he picks them up (in his mouth) by the stem and flings them around . . .we are thrilled to see our big boy "kitten" again - it has been too long!

Again, we ask for your thoughts and prayers both for Max through tomorrow and Friday and for his "missing him already humans"!

I'll post again when we know more.

Be well!

[Ginny]

This story brought chills down my spine how touching. What a miracle story.

[cr7clark]

Max's Human, I know how you feel! Before my Abby went to the rainbow bridge, my husband and I spent a disturbing evening at the emergency vet clinic trying to find out why Abby had blood in her urine. She'd been spotting for several days and it got worse all of a sudden.
Turned out she had stones (struvite calculi) in her bladder. We tried changing foods, but that made her get diarrhea! We eventually had to have her put down because her body just couldn't get straightened out. I sure hope Max does better!!

[wolflady]

Lot's of hugs to Max!! We're still thinking about him and that the neurologist can find out what's happeneing so Max can get better!!

[Cattal]

Hi everyone,

It is Friday evening and we still have no more news than we did before we took Max to the vet yesterday. As a matter of fact, he has to stay an additional evening. We miss him terribly. They did some sort of scan on him today - I hope it finally solves the mystery. I can't believe he had to stay AGAIN! Did I mention we're miserable?!

[BeeTrixPotter]

Please know that prayers and good wishes for you and Max are being sent from me.
Keep us posted

[Cattal]

Hi everyone - we picked up Max yesterday and brought him home.

The test results (spinal tap and scan) showed NO ABNORMALITIES. While we should be reveling in this news, the highly regarded (and VERY expensive) specialist told us point-blank he doesn't KNOW what is wrong with Max. He took a sample of spinal fluid and sent it out for analysis - we'll have those results tomorrow. The Dr. wants to rule out a more serious problem.

Max is VERY happy to be home, but it is evident that he was put through ENOUGH tests for awhile. He has been sleeping almost constantly since he arrived home almost 24 hours ago. He has his appetite and uses his pan, but he has moved into our walk-in closet where it is cozy and dark to sleep - highly unlike our social butterfly. The scream/drop to floor thing seems to be worse since he was at the vet - we were starting to see him improve before he went. The tests they put him through were nothing short of miserable for anyone - I hope that is why he is behaving this way now.

I guess it's obvious that he still needs all the positive vibes this community can give him - he is not even 3 in human years.

[4 feline house]

Bless his little heart.

I learned from Zebo (rainbow bridge) that some kitties just want to hide when they don't feel good.

When Zebo was not even a year old, he darted out one day as I was leaving for work. I didn't have time to look for him, but decided he would be okay outside, figuring he'd find a bush to sleep under and snooze the day away.

Well, he found a place to snooze, but is wasn't the safety of a bush.

When I got home I didn't notice anything. But after a few hours I realized I hadn't seen him; in fact, he hadn't even eaten. I hunted him down and found him in the closet. I still did not know something was wrong, but he did get up and follow me out of the closet. Since he usually ran ahead of me when I went into the kitchen, I turned around to see what was taking so long. That's when I finally saw it - he was favoring one of his back legs and his tail was cut clean through about two inches down - just a flap of skin was holding it on. No wonder he had been hiding in the closet! The vet said he apparently had been in a car engine, and the fan belt got him when the driver turned the car on - a common injury to outside cats.

Jump ahead about 10 years, and due to a fight with one of the neighborhood cats (both neutered, both sweet and docile until they saw each other, us owners never did figure it out) Zebo developed a deep abcess - right next to his jugular vein. The vet was reluctant to excise it, but he would drain it as necessary. I originally figured out something was wrong with Zebo because he was hiding under the bed - he couldn't go hide in a closet because in the house we were in then had doors on the closets (my apartment had been one of those efficiencies where the closet is really nothing but an alcove). Each time he had it drained he would be his normal self, but then he would retreat to under the bed again, and I knew it was time to have it drained again. This story had a good ending, though, because the vet finally decided it was time to take the risk, because Zebo was surely going to die if the abcess wasn't drained - whereas he only might die if it was. So I had it done and Zebo was fine.

Anyway, I didn't mean to go on, I was just trying to say that Max probably just doesn't feel very good right now, so he feels the need to be alone where it's quiet.

Bless his little heart, I hope this mystery is solved soon, and he starts feeling better again.

[ August 12, 2001: Message edited by: 4 feline house ]