Something's wrong with Stinky

Friday, 6:53 am

By Kate

There is something wrong with Stinky this morning. We will be headed to the vet within the hour.

On the way to school the lad said he thought something was wrong with Stinky—he wouldn’t get up. Being the usual morning mad dash around here, I hadn’t seen him, but didn’t think much of it because he often sleeps in until I come back home.

When I came back home I called him to me, but he wouldn’t get up. So I gently picked him up and set him on his feet. Either one or both of his hind legs caved in and he dragged himself toward me with his front legs. I felt what seemed like an irregular bump on one of his hind flanks. He didn’t want me touching it. I can’t tell whether just one of his legs won’t work or both of them are affected. Either way, it’s a bad sign. And naturally, I’m very, very worried now.

He doesn’t seem to be sick. He’s alert and has that old Stinky sweetness in his eyes. He began to purr when I pet him and all other signs seem to be okay. Just his hind legs. So I don’t know whether he hurt himself in the night or what. It doesn’t seem that if he’d had a stroke , he would be so alert or so ‘normal’ looking and acting.

The vet’s office doesn’t open until 9AM, so here we sit. I thought about taking him to the emergency animal hospital, but that’s over a half hour away, so I might as well wait until the one up the street opens.

Please keep him in your thoughts. Me, too, I guess. I’m pretty close to panicking here.