Scarey, Scarey Moment

We had quite a scarey moment involving Ivy the other day.  I was at school and LadyRanger was here.  Ivy visited the Litterbox, which sits right next to the computer upon which LadyRanger was working.  Nothing unusual to begin with, but then Ivy stumbled about 5 feet from the box.  Ivy was alternately walking a step or two, then dragging her back legs, which seemed to not work.  Poor cat was leaving skidmarks across the floor and was nonchalantly trying to get to the kitchen for a water-bowl raid, pausing only to throw up in the hall.  LadyRanger immediately alerted the vet she was incoming, scooped Ivy up, ensconced her in her carrier and defied traffic regulations for the short trip to the office.  Ivy was seen at once.  (note:  Ivy is a favorite at the vets' office since she's shown such courage since being found 2 1/2 years ago.  That and she's a pretty gentle patient)  When Dr G. took Ivy out of the carrier to see how bad the back legs were acting, Ivy simply toddled around the office with a perfectly normal (for her) stride, giving off an aire of wondering what the fuss was all about.

No cause was discovered, no impairment was noticed, no discomfort or disconsolation was witnessed.  Dr G. said that Ivy had good circulation in both legs, so it wasn't a blood clot.  She also ruled out this being caused by any of Ivy's other conditions.

Bizarre.

We really don't know what to make of this episode.  Was it just a spasm or other temporary issue?  (I mean, who here hasn't had a bathroom trip you were lucky to walk away from?)(Ick!) Or is it all a piece of the general deterioration of old-age?  Is this just another step on the final downward spiral?  LadyRanger and Dr G. spent some time talking about end-of-life issues for Ivy.  We've got another appointment scheduled for tuesday to discuss this again.  We are now in that terrible position that I suppose we all have to face:  when do we make the decision for Ivy?

Oh for God's sake...I'm staying in here 'til you get this out of your system... 

We don't want her to experience fear or pain near the end, but we *certainly* don't want to (almost literally) pull the trigger too early.  We'd love some advice from anyone who has it to offer.

The interesting? confusing? reassuring? thing about all this is that she doesn't seem to have lost any capability to enjoy life.  Once home from the vet, she immediately did what Dr G told LadyRanger to *not* let her do:  get up on the bed by herself:

 

What?

Ivy had a nap on the bed too, and kept getting up and down on her own with no sign of discomfort or futher impairment.  Go figure.

  Even did the favorite "Cat Leaning into the Sunlight" thing:

  In short, Ivy seems to be every bit her usual self.  Dr G. didn't want Ivy jumping around on her own, simply because she was afraid Ivy would hurt herself.  Our experience over the past three days is that you simply can't stop Ivy.  Certainly can't stop her from napping in the sun:

  or being extremely cute when she does so:

 Anyways, thanks to LadyRanger for pics 2-4.  And thank you for stopping by.  If you have any words of wisdom for us, let us know.  We'd appreciate any purrs and prayers.  We are a bit scared, but Ivy keeps giving us courage.

Comments

[jason]

If anyone has a definitive answer for you, please share it. I've been through this same consideration more times than I can count. The onlythe only answer I have is that quality is far more important than quantity. Since every life is an individual event, where the quality fails is anyone's guess. Ivy will know before you know; nevertheless, it's up to you to act. I wish I had a better answer.

That said, these are marvelous photos of Ivy! I'm so glad nothing major was found, although I appreciate the frustration that comes from not knowing why things happen like this. Age is a demon we all deal with eventually. Perhaps Ivy is just now growing too tired to endure, too weak to persist, yet not too deserving of an end quite yet. I hope it's this: perhaps a bit of stumbling from tired bones and aged muscles is nothing more than that.

[Michelle]

I think this one statement speaks out to me on trying to make a choice:

"The interesting? confusing? reassuring? thing about all this is that she doesn't seem to have lost any capability to enjoy life."

If she still seems to enjoy some quality of life, then I think that's what's most important. If she is still jumping up on furniture and being stubborn and active, it sounds to me like she might have a little fight left in her.

I kept a close eye on my cat Betsy for months after she was diagnosed with cancer, trying to decide what time would be the best time to say goodbye. She ended up losing the use of one of her legs, and I thought that would be the end, but she didn't let it slow her down. She kept climbing the stairs and jumping on top of the washer and dryer (with a little help) right up until the last few days of her life. When she started trying to hide and not getting up to move around, I knew it was time. We spent that last day together on the couch and said our goodbyes. Even though I know there was a little pain at the end, I believe the little bit of life she enjoyed up to that point far outweighed it and gave us both a chance to say our goodbyes.

I'll be thinking about your family and Ivy no matter what you choose to do.

[Scooby, Shaggy & Scout]

Well goodness, that's an odd thing. Your heart will know when its time. She sure seems like she's doing ok for a little old lady.
We have guinea pigs in addition to our cats. Many over the course of 10 years. A couple years ago one was suddenly dragging his rear legs. No idea what happened. I held on for about a week because I hoped he'd "come out of it" but he was dragging himself through feces & urine and getting scald on the dragging hip. I'd wash him off in the sink 3x day, but I realized I couldn't do that forever. He was bright & alert and it was so hard to take him in and put him to sleep. I'm choking up now just writing about it. Anyway, the vet could only speculate on a stroke or whatever. He was a great little piggy.