Update on Kahekili

kai bengals

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Some of you will remember when I posted about our troubles with Kahekili becoming paralyzed in all four legs, and how we had to put him through a bazillion tests and procedures in order to discover what was wrong and get him cured.
Well, it's been about 2 1/2 months now of solid good health..no relapses...no lamness. Even the fur on his neck has nearly grown back. The neurologist had to shave him to put a needle in his spine. Here are some pictures I took outside today, of him doing normal cat stuff. You would never know that just 3 months ago, this cat couldn't stand up to use the litterbox or to eat on his own.



 

sbw999

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awwwwwwwwwwwww......what a handsome boy Kahekili is..Im so glad that so far he is doing so great!!!!
 

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He sure looks good! I am hoping to get an outdoor cat enclosure in the spring so I can adopt some more feral cats. Your enclosure looks great. Do you have a roof on it?
 

sunnicat

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Those pictures made me so happy to see him jumping and doing all the normal cat stuff!!!
He looks great!!!!
 
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kai bengals

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Originally Posted by joecool

WOW!!!!
Did you ever find out what was wrong?
Yes Wesley, we did. Interestingly enough, he doesn't have any illness or genetic problem.
We (all the Vets and us), have come to the conclusion that he intially fell off of the cat tree, landed badly and injured his spine. This incident caused the initial paralysis. Once treated and when he started feeling better, he would unkownly re-injure himself through normal cat behavior...jumping, running, rough housing, etc.
He had 3 paralysis episodes, all 30 days apart. Sort of a cycle like this...Injury...treatment....recovery....back to normal....re-injury.
He was tested for everything all the Vets could think of. Negative for everything.
Once we removed everything high he could jump on or off of, and gave his spinal area a good long chance to heal......
Like magic, he's better than ever. So, ever so slowly we are allowing him to exercise with higher objects, but no 6 foot high cat trees just yet.
 

hopehacker

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He is such a beautiful boy. I am so happy he's regained his health and I pray his good health continues. He's a real gem. He is one amazing looking Bengal.
 
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kai bengals

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Originally Posted by Beckiboo

He sure looks good! I am hoping to get an outdoor cat enclosure in the spring so I can adopt some more feral cats. Your enclosure looks great. Do you have a roof on it?
Thanks! We're planning to expand it by 12 more feet in length this spring. Right now it's completely open on top, to allow the sun in, because we have so many pine trees providing shade. Once the expansion is complete, we're going to roof a portion of the enclosure. Bengals are extremely good at jumping, so they are supervised 100% of the time in the enclosure, due to the fact that there is no roof to keep them safely inside.
I'm just kind of torn between allowing them to bask in the sun in a roofless enclosure while standing guard, or putting a roof on, so we can let them enjoy, unsupervised.
 
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kai bengals

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Originally Posted by HopeHacker

He is such a beautiful boy. I am so happy he's regained his health and I pray his good health continues. He's a real gem. He is one amazing looking Bengal.
Hope, thank you! I see you have Angel in your new signature now..that's great!
 

beckiboo

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I'm hoping my enclosure will have a roof made of fencing material. That limits the size of the enclosure, but allows the weather in. My dream is to have it partly inside the polebarn, with a gate where I can enter. It will have an opening where they can access the outdoor pen.

My goal is for rehoming ferals, so it will have to be as tight as a drum or they will sneak away the first day! I thought it would be nice to keep them locked in, but dh thinks it is cruel to shut in a feral. We will probably just pen them for a month or so, then let them free. And then use the pen for a dog run!
 

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Soooo glad that Kahekili is doing well! Gorgeous boy!
Originally Posted by Kai Bengals

<snip>
Once we removed everything high he could jump on or off of, and gave his spinal area a good long chance to heal......<snip>
Hmmm, that's very interesting! We had something apparently similar happen to Melichus (the cat in my avatar) but nothing like so severe. He was a fairly young cat, although I'd have to do the math to figure out exactly how old, when "suddenly" one day he couldn't walk very well. EXTREMELY wobbly in his hindquarters. Pretty obviously some sort of a back injury since I'd already been through a couple of like episodes with a rambunctious Pekingese puppy (long-backed breed, can have back problems.) We shut Mel up in the bedroom, put a bed on the floor for him, and tried to make sure that there was nothing he could jump on, pretty much the same routine we went through for the dog except she would be confined to a crate for the duration. After about a week or ten days he was right as rain and it never recurred
. The best we could figure, there was a sort of built-in divider thingie of cabinets between the kitchen and LR of the mobile home we lived in. The top cabinet a good 6.5-7' off the floor (the peak of the "cathedral" ceiling right above there was probably about 8') which he ADORED bouncing from the floor, to the counter top, to the cabinet top, maybe taking a nap up there, and then taking one huge long leap down. While he was recuperating I filled that space with all sorts of pans and things and it became an off-limits to kitties space. At least he never hurt his back again and I never saw him up there again.
 

beckiboo

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Originally Posted by RoseHawke

Soooo glad that Kahekili is doing well! Gorgeous boy!Hmmm, that's very interesting! We had something apparently similar happen to Melichus (the cat in my avatar) but nothing like so severe. He was a fairly young cat, although I'd have to do the math to figure out exactly how old, when "suddenly" one day he couldn't walk very well. EXTREMELY wobbly in his hindquarters. Pretty obviously some sort of a back injury since I'd already been through a couple of like episodes with a rambunctious Pekingese puppy (long-backed breed, can have back problems.) We shut Mel up in the bedroom, put a bed on the floor for him, and tried to make sure that there was nothing he could jump on, pretty much the same routine we went through for the dog except she would be confined to a crate for the duration. After about a week or ten days he was right as rain and it never recurred
. The best we could figure, there was a sort of built-in divider thingie of cabinets between the kitchen and LR of the mobile home we lived in. The top cabinet a good 6.5-7' off the floor (the peak of the "cathedral" ceiling right above there was probably about 8') which he ADORED bouncing from the floor, to the counter top, to the cabinet top, maybe taking a nap up there, and then taking one huge long leap down. While he was recuperating I filled that space with all sorts of pans and things and it became an off-limits to kitties space. At least he never hurt his back again and I never saw him up there again.
This info is just so amazing. I wonder how many kits with less observant owners have been pts for these types of injuries? I have never heard of this before..will file it away, hoping I never have such an injury in my crew.

So glad Kahekili and Melichus are fully recovered! You meowmies deserve a gold medal for your great care!
 

rosehawke

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Originally Posted by Beckiboo

This info is just so amazing. I wonder how many kits with less observant owners have been pts for these types of injuries? I have never heard of this before..will file it away, hoping I never have such an injury in my crew.

So glad Kahekili and Melichus are fully recovered! You meowmies deserve a gold medal for your great care!
You're so right (Melichus, BTW, went "over the bridge" in October of '03. Bone cancer.) The thing is, if I had NOT already been through something similar with Kellie and learned that about the best thing you can do in such a case is just confinement I'm sure I would've been dragging Melichus to the vet as well, and I suspect that there would have been much head scratching as you just don't expect such things from such an amazingly agile creature as a cat! But on the other hand, you don't expect falcons and hawks to die while learning to fly either from making foolish errors, but it happens. Young creatures, of any species, don't have a lot of sense!
 

stampit3d

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It sure looks like he`s 100% PLUS now! You`d never guess there was ever a problem at all to look at him h\
ow. What a BEAUTY he is!
Linda
 
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kai bengals

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Originally Posted by RoseHawke

as you just don't expect such things from such an amazingly agile creature as a cat! But on the other hand, you don't expect falcons and hawks to die while learning to fly either from making foolish errors, but it happens. Young creatures, of any species, don't have a lot of sense!
You really hit the nail on the head with that. I don't think anyone suspects that a cat can get hurt by jumping up and down off of heights within the home. But, we are witness to it and it does happen. The Vets at the University here said that most spinal injuries they see are in cats less than a year old.
In the case of Kahekili, youth and inexperience most likely caused him to do some crazy bengal agility move that injured him.
 

wenzee

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That is UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!! And very inspiring!!!!
He looks PERFECT. I am soooooo happy for your sweet bengal boy!!!!!
 
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