First words from the Vet were "this is not good".

[tencats]

He said it twice after seeing my Maggie flop helplessly on the exam table. Two days ago she had attempted to jumped up to my desk top, a jump that she makes several times every day but this time she she jumped way short. She fell back-wards hitting her head on hardwood floor. I was looking down at her at the time and saw how she landed and thumped the floor. She ran off a short ways and stumbled, her right side shoulder thereafter collapsing inward at every effort she made to stand upright. I picked her up thinking she had surely broken a bone in her leg but I couldn't detect anything broken nor did she seemingly have any pain either. It was 9 pm and I crated her with her little kitty bed and stayed up most the night observing her while waiting for the clinic to open at 7 am. We were at the clinic an hour early waiting for the first Vet to arrive. Luckily it was Maggie's Vet that arrived early and he took us in immediately. By then I didn't know it but Maggie could only flop around on the exam table while softly crying. Also her head was oddly set in a position turned all the way around to the right. The Vet said after closely looking as I had for some outward sign of trauma that she had likely suffered a severe vestibular failure to one side that was not necessarily due to injury. He said he sees this condition in dogs but only one cat in twelve years of practice. He gave her a Dexamethasone injection for the small chance there was some swelling from injury that we couldn't see and we are back home waiting to see what develops. The Vet advised me that if she shows no improvement within 3 or 4 days that he will recommend that she see a specialist for an MRI and bulla series x-ray graphs. Maggie can neither eat or drink on her own, so I syringe feed her and give her fluids under her skin on her back. It will be 72 hours since her fall tonight and right now she seems to be mentally all there but she just can't stand up to do anything.

Poor cat, I miss her not laying laying on my key board in the evening.
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[Sanity Claws]

1. Poor Maggie, poor you.

I'm sending you and Maggie good vibes for her recovery. Please keep us informed of her progress.
Also can you tell us how old dear Maggie is?

[tencats]

10. My Maggie is estimated to be around 8 yrs old.

She came home with me on January 4, 2004. What little was known of her was that she was surrendered to the DuPage Co, IL animal services on 12/28 along with her brother. From there she found her way up to a cat rescue in WI. I found her there and got her after the first adoption applicant rejected her. She a petite girl at 6.5 lbs. She's a bit of an old maid in personalty, she doesn't like any other cats and warns them off with her special raspy meow. She's got the biggest rubbling purr of any cat I know. And she's a long rang jumper distinguished by her graceful arching jumps. She's front de-clawed, not be me, and is defenseless against attack but she swats at any that come close never the less.

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[ceile]

2. tencats, that's awful!

Poor Maggie. Is this reversible? If it isn't, you may want to ask yourself what kind of quality of life she's going to have.:hug:

[tencats]

12. Have hope that it will resolve within a weeks time.

If its idiopathic vestibular syndrome, she should recover. It could be that she jumped short and fell because she was already suffering some dizziness. I hope thats what it is and not head injury because that would be not as likely to resolve.

[ceile]

15. Oh, well that's good.

From your OP it sounded really bad. Good luck to miss Maggie!

[Tammie]

3. Sounds serious

I will keep good thoughts for you and Maggie. I hope she pulls it together. Please keep us posted.

[yellerpup]

4. Poor sweetheart.

Good for you that she's still mentally acute. Makes it so much easier to track her progress. Good luck and hearty healing purrs coming your way. :hug:

[alstephenson]

5. So sorry for Maggie's problems.

Keep us posted on how she's doing.

[demnan]

6. I am so sorry

I hope she is not suffering too much, but I know you are. :hug: I hope there is a good outcome in spite of the vets' thoughts.

[tencats]

11. You know how it is.

I suffer plenty when ever one of my few cats are down and they suffer too I'm sure but my Maggie here seems more like she's very afraid and confused. I had her back at the clinic this evening and the Dr had a deep down look inside her ears. He thought that possibly she could have a punctured ear drum but the report is that all looked good. Otherwise she is a bit worse with her head now pulling up like she's attempting a back flip. Her eyes are now abnormal, she has horizontal nystagmus. She can't sense which direction is up or down. Right now the only thing to do is give her supportive care as best I can and wait and see what develops. There is a known condition called feline vestibular syndrome, or idiopathic vestibular disease which can be very severe like I see with Maggie's present condition. Here is a link to an article that describes it simply, http://www.cathealth.com/vestibular.htm

[smokey nj]

7. I'm so sorry tencats

:hug: I'm sending good vibes to you and Maggie. She's such a gorgeous kitty.

[blondie58]

8. hang in there, sweet Maggie

she is in my thoughts and prayers. What a gorgeous girl she is.

[AZBlue]

9. My baby's named Maggie too!

Both my Maggie and I are sending best healing thoughts to yours!! :hug:

[Eurobabe]

13. Oh tencats, I am so sorry. Hope Maggie will

be doing better soon. I know how you feel, my guy is still at the vets. The house seems a little lonely without him, although everyone in awhile I swear I see him here. It's a bizarre thing.

Please keep us updated on your little girl's condition. :hug:

[BrklynLiberal]

14. She is such a lovely girl..and your pics are fabulous. I hope she recovers from this...

I will be sending lots of positive vibes and white healing light...

Please keep us posted.

[Lorien]

16. How awful! Poor Maggie!

That must have been a sickening feeling when you first saw her stumble. I know how awful that feels. :hug: to you for being there for her and doing all you can. I'm sending good vibes and hope that she makes a full recovery soon!

[AZBlue]

17. How's Maggie doing?

[tencats]

18. Maggie's back!

The first four days were very very grim with Maggie unable to stand. She couldn't feed herself or use the litter box and I syringe fed her and gave her subq fluids. She did use the litter box beginning on the 3rd day as I held her upright in the box. On day 5 she began to show a lot of improvement almost by the hour. She could sit up but would fall over to the same side repeatedly but that was good considering. She was also able to crawl over to her water dish and drink but her mobility was no better than a 3 week old kitten. At the end of day 6 she became very ill, repeatedly vomiting and then had endless slimy diarrhea. I had to several times put her in the laundry tub to clean her back side which made her real mad. Finely the old Pepsid AC cleared her of the stomach upset and she has again been showing good progress with every passing day. Today I have her out of her crate and she is back on her favorite spot right in the middle of my desk. She is today eating and drinking near normally, does just fine on her own in the litter box too. She remains a little dizzy at times and has the head tilted always to her left side. She has an odd weakness in her legs in that while she can make a low jump up she will not come down. Today I tested her by leaving her on a chair seat and encouraged her to try to get down by herself. When she did finely come down her legs collapsed under her. I have put down nonslip pads on the hardwood floor where ever I think she could fall though. She will remain confined to the crate most of the day except when I can watch over her.


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[Sanity Claws]

19. Yippee!

I'm happy to hear that Maggie is on the road to recovery.
Now tell us about that cat in your sig line. He looks like one strung out dude.

[tencats]

28. Thats the Squeaker

He's not normal you know.
I took him recently to be examined by the Doc and he confirmed my suspicions, not a normal cat.
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[Grateful for Hope]

29. Hilarious!

Looks mighty healthy, though!

[Sanity Claws]

31. In what way is he not normal?

I've got to hear about Squeaker.
Was he on catnip when you took that photo?

[tencats]

32. "I don't get zonked on nip"

Nope, the Squeaker here is immune to the influence of catnip.
He's just not a normal cat.
Does this look like a normal cat?
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[IndyOp]

20. Terrific! You are a masterful cat healthcare worker.

I am glad Maggie had you to tend to her.

:hi:

[yellerpup]

21. Happy day!

So glad your dear Maggie is back with you and getting stronger every day. This must have been a stressful time for both of you but you neither one gave up. Thanks for sharing the wonderful news!

[blondie58]

22. poor little Maggie and also her caregiver, tencats

she sounds like a fighter, though. I know how she feels though, having had nystagmus, vertigo and balance problems. Keep us posted, but it sounds like she is on the road to recovery.

[demnan]

23. I'm so glad to hear it

Your love and good care were what brought her through, no doubt.

[Grateful for Hope]

24. Thank goodness she has you, tencats

She is one lucky tiny (6.5 pounds...so tiny!) little girl. I am so glad to hear that she is doing better!

I checked out the link you posted, and, it does look like there is spontaneous recovery from the ailment described.

I am sending some healing vibes to Maggie that she recover completely.

BTW...she has such beautiful eyes...so soulful.

[AZBlue]

25. Oh, I'm so glad she's doing better!!!

She's lucky to have you to take care of her!
:hug:

[Lisa0825]

26. I am so happy she is improving!!!

If the weakness in her legs persists, you could get her some steps to help her get up and down from her favorite spots. I have some strategically placed ottomans, boxes, etc for my Sonny Boy who has weakness and wobbles.

[Zoigal]

27. Happy that Maggie is recovering so quickly..

Our older whippet had something quite similar not long ago. Dizziness,
problems walking, jumping, etc. Vet diagnosed it right off and gave her meds for
the dizziness, etc. Took her several weeks to recover. Apparently some animals don't
recover period. Looks like our pets were some of the lucky one. Our vet also said it could
recur. Has yours mentioned that possibility? z

[BrklynLiberal]

30. So glad your sweet little girl is doing better..

Aren't those two of your babies on the screen behind Maggie??

[tencats]

33. Another Maggie update 3/31/08

Maggie is out of the crate and back at her old spot at the end of my desk. Today she got up there by herself and showed further progress by demonstrating that she could jump down without my help although her landing was a bit clumsy. Up until today, while she could make low jumps up she had been unwilling to jump down. She is back to being her crabby little self too, she chased off three cats that she found squatting around her favorite desk top perch. First time too that her head tilt is nearly absent. Amazing to see her show improvement with each new day.

Crabby Maggie
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[Grateful for Hope]

34. Awwww...you go, Maggie!

So good to hear such wonderful news! Sometimes a girl just has to be crabby so that others know that she is boss!

[Omaha Steve]

35. To a long and happy friendship

I'm amazed.

[smokey nj]

36. This is great news!

Keep it up, Maggie!
:hug:

[Pool Hall Ace]

37. Very happy that Maggie is showing improvement

Coming in to this thread late to offer more healing vibes for Maggie. I know how hard it is when our furballs aren't well and they can't tell us what's wrong. You are to be commended for your kitty-care! :hi:

[demnan]

38. She is so loved, and she knows it

Good for both of you. And keeping those young cats in line is good for them too!

[Eurobabe]

39. Oh good tencats, you go Maggie!

Nice to hear that both our felines are hanging in there. :hug: