not so restful weekend...

Everything started out alright. Friday, I joined a friend and her roommates for drinks and dinner. I made it an early night because I had to get up the next morning and take Auggie to the vet. I've had my cat for a little over a year. She's been to the vet twice. Both times have been fairly routine. She does surprisingly well riding in the car. She's even really calm while in the vet's office. She gets her temperature taken, a shot, and she's done...So, I had no reason to think that this time would be any different.

Boy was I wrong! I guess my vet automatically adds expressing anal glands to the yearly routine. (If you don't know, I'm not gonna tell you.) This procedure made Auggie very nervous. Then came the three shots that she needed. She's never had problems before, so when the doctor warned of side effects, I thought nothing of it. But, it's a very good thing that I was listening.

When we got back home, I gave Auggie a couple treats and sat down to play with her a bit. She wasn't very keen on that idea. Then, she started itching her ears like mad. Then she would get up an walk a bit, but she'd kind of weave back and forth. Within 10 minutes of getting home she threw up. So, we rushed back to the vet...Thankfully, it's only 5 blocks away. Right as we pulled up, she got sick in the back of AF's car.

I rushed in while he parked. They took her out of the carrier and cleaned up a little. Then took her downstairs, where I wasn't allowed to follow, and gave her a shot of benedryl and a steroid. The kept her downstairs for about 30 minutes, while AF and I stood in one of the exam rooms wondering what to do. Finally, they brought her upstairs, drugged up and WET! Yup, my poor kitty dirtied herself so much they felt she needed a cleaning. Then, they had me sit with her for 15 minutes so she would calm down, then released her. We took our wet, stoned cat home and let he hang out for most of the afternoon. Try as she might, she really could walk anywhere. And, since the vet said she would be groggy, we didn't pay her too much attention.

Later in the afternoon, she got up and tried moving around again. This time, I noticed that she wasn't using one of her rear legs. It would literally drag behind her, paw facing upward...This is when I began to freak out. No one mentioned loss feeling in limbs. No one warned me that one of the side effects of vaccination could be paralysis! Thankfully, by the time I went to bed, the leg looked a more live...she was at least able to lift it enough to not completely drag it behind her.

On Sunday, I would pick Auggie up every once and again to try to get her to walk for a bit. She was still sluggish and unresponsive. At one point, I picked her up and she was like a dead weight in my arms. She truly was a sad sight. That afternoon, she started eating again and got some of her strength up.

This morning, when I got up, she came and met me at the bedroom door. It was a much slower walk than usual, but I was glad to see that she was responsive and alert again. I called my vets office as soon as they opened. I was told that the feeling will continue to turn in her leg, but if she's not better by Wednesday, I should bring her in. I was very relieved...Another one of the doctors even called back an hour later to re-affirm the advice.

Oh well, that was my weekend...hope yours was better!