My Cat

[Anneke]

So another member of my family is Balou, my black cat. He is 18 years old and has been with me since he was 9 weeks.
Saturday he fell off the couch and a little later he wanted to jump up the couch and completely missed. Then I noticed him shaking his head and falling over.
My first thought was he might have an ear infection, but the ears were a bit dirty, not too much and they didn't feel warm. No redness. I put some earcleaner in.
But every time he shook his head he would fall over. That worried me terribly. He has never been sick and he is a strong healthy cat.
Over the weekend the symptoms faded, but it still worried me. And since the dogs had to have their yearly shots, I took Balou along.
He had a little redness in his left ear, so there is a slight infection going there, but the vet thought it that wasn't the cause of his falling over.
He thought it likely that he had a TIA(brain stroke) Since the symptoms af a tia usually fade over 3 days.
I do hope this is a one time thing!!
My parents last cat had many, many tia's in his last year and it is horrible to see. There is not much that can be done to help cure this.
Boy, this is a BIG reminder that they don't live forever.

 

[sara]

Awe he's gorgeous! No they dont live forever, but they are worth every moment! My childhood cats died when they were 15, and as I have pretty bad allergies to cats, I haven't had another, but I really miss having a cat!

 

[Evie]

Awww, poor Balou. Hope this isn't a sign to come. He's a real cutie

 

[Adrianna & Calvin]

What a gorgeous kitty! I love the tall ears. Cats are wonderful companions, really just becoming part of our lives, so it is tough when they show us that they, too, are mortal like the rest of us Fingers crossed that Balou will grace your couch for a long time to come.

 

[southerngirl]

Poor baby, I hope he still has a few years left. I love his name. He is a very handsome boy. Sadly they don't live forever My cat that I got when I was 1(she was one too) had kidney failure and was put to sleep the day after my 13 birthday. Animals are amazing, but they can be real heart breakers.

 

[Dogster]

Awww, hope Balou gets better soon. He's gorgeous!!!! I miss my cat, she died unexpectedly a couple of months ago, at 7 years. Yeah, it's definately heartbraking, realizing that they don't live forever. I hope he'll be okay....

 

[MaryK]

Awww poor Balou, sure hope he get's better and doesn't have any more TIA's. He's absolutely BEAUTIFUL

Sadly they don't and it's heartbreaking when they cross. But if we didn't have them, think how much we would miss, and how empty our lives would be.