it has taken me a week and a half to write about havana's vet appointment - horrible - but here goes:

our kitty is 15lbs of rage at the vet. certainly some have experienced havana being quite the watchdogkitty at home, protecting the tt and i from strangers...on his guard, and meowing his version of a lion roar. imposing, yes, but different than at the vet. tasmaniandevil is pretty close description-wise, wombat, claw tornado, foaming at the mouth hissing, ragebeast etc.

our kitty does not take kindly to vets.

add to that a sprained left elbow compounding the problems with his left knee, and you have hell, simple and pure hell. they knocked him out and took x-rays of his joints (this is the 4th time for his knee to be x-rayed) a familiar process for us by now. what we did not expect was a clear diagnosis of what the issues were/are. our kitty is arthritic, and has been so since his 1st or 2nd year of life. arthritis does not go away, ever. there is no cure for kitties - and the future seems bleak for those who have it, after all - it only gets worse over time.

at least he has only a slight chance of getting arthritis in his spine (very common for cats to get it in their spines between 8-10 yrs. of age) - for his leg injury has kept him from being a great jumper. jumping supposedly over time causes pressure, strain and eventual arthritis in the backbone. crazy.
on the other paw, havana will most likely become progressively arthritic in his fore and aft leg joints. one knee and elbow are shot already...*sigh* and will continue to put more strain on the others until he has it in all leg joints.

it is distressing to see your beloved kitty stuck on his side like a turtle while helplessly waving useless left paws in the air, mewling and mewling. carry him to the litterbox/food/water, lay him out on a heating pad, cradle him on his back in your lap so as to not bump painful legs...horrible, horrible.

he is walking again now, stiff and limping wildly, but walking... although when he jumps up on the bed he cannot get down on his own. baby asprin and glucosamine are now part of his regimen, for life. the vet mentioned cortizone injections later on when he passes the point of being helped by asprin.

good that this will not kill him - bad that this means our kitty will be uncomfortable for the rest of his life, and most likely has been for 5 out of his 7 years.

no wonder why he is grumpy at times.

*sigh* we are doing everything we can to make his life as wonderful and love-filled as possible - after all, it is our duty and pleasure, and havana's right. it has been a rough week.5.