shipperx | Something is Wrong with Kitty

Something is really wrong with my cat. She was just fine Friday (actually being a bit of a pest with her food demands). And she seemed fine yesterday morning, but when I came home last night at 11pm and she jumped on the bed, she stumbled and appeared to lose balance. When she tried to get off the bed (and I reached to help) she jumped and fell, skidding across the floor. I became really worried, and tried to get her to drink water (she did) and get her to walk, but the poor dear wobbles and shakes. She tries to walk but she knocks herself off balance if she moves very fast. She doesn't appear to be in any pain. Her eyes are clear. She's reactive (though a bit more reactive to noise than usual). Her personality is mostly the same. I was up with her until about 2am, when she finally settled down and slept, and she slept most of the morning.

I called and the pet shop near me has a vet in this afternoon, but I also called the vet I usually use (got his answering service) and that service lists that he comes in at 5:30pm to 6:30pm on Sunday (and is only about 1/4mi from my house. I could easily walk there from here, though I won't. The weather is for shit today). Since I would prefer the normal vet, I was going to wait until his office hours (which means that I'll miss the pet shop hours). She doesn't seem to be in any distress. She behaves normally except that she is wobbley. (And having googled, her symptoms can stretch from something minor that'll go away on its own, to a few treatable things, to a stroke (she is nearly 17 after all), to something incurable and fatal. So there's just no way for me to know.) Hopefully, he really will be in at 5:30pm (though there is no way to contact him directly). And I can't tell whether she's better this morning or not. She has eaten, drunk water, and gone to potty, though. If it weren't for the extreme balance problem, you wouldn't know that she was sick. I hope, hope, hope it's something simple (if the doctor can diagnose it at all). ::fingers crossed it's not something serious:: I know the baby is old, but she has never behaved like an old cat, and my last cat lived to be 23. Carly isn't quite 17 yet.

ETA: Finally got in contact with the vet's office. Turns out the vet himself doesn't come in on Sunday just some of the staff. I had already missed the vet time at the pet store. The regular vet's office gave me the number of the emergency vet a few miles from me and I spoke to her on the phone. She said that as long as my cat was eating, drinking, going to the potty and in no visible pain and without labored breathing that I could wait until tomorrow and take her to my usual vet. Just to keep her confined so that she doesn't hurt herself by climbing up on something (which she could. I caught her an hour or two ago in her favorite place on the back of the chocolate-colored chair. Not sure how she'd climbed up there. She's eating about the same as always and may seem just a bit more balanced (hard to tell. She still shivers occasionally when you hold her, but that might actually be feverish chills). At any rate, unless she worsens I'm going to hold off until tomorrow morning and take her to her normal vet. SHe hates car rides so badly that she usually ends up foaming at the mouth and the emergency vet is nearly 20 miles from here. I'm not sure that the trip wouldn't traumatize her worst. Her usual vet is less than 1/4mile from my house (I can literally hear dogs in the kennels from my front yard if things are quiet and the dogs are barking). Plus her regular vet has seen her several times before and has her medical history.

Right now she's napping in the seat of her favorite chair, and she ate a few minutes ago, so I'm going to let her be for the time being.