# Positive thoughts needed for our Kira



## Harleysmum (Aug 19, 2014)

We arrived home from our trip to discover that our 14 year old cat Kira had been missing for 24 hours. This is not an unusual occurrence for her. Our housesitter felt that it might have been the appearance of suitcases that had caused her to adopt a low profile. Also she doesn't like storms and will often take refuge under the house rather than coming inside. We were hopeful that once she heard our voices she would appear. We called her a few times but she did not appear. Then about an hour later we tried again and we could hear her and she came out from under the house obviously in a very bad way. Her voice was quite odd and she was totally paralysed in her back legs. We suspected a tick. We raced to the vet and a tick was found in her mouth. She is still at the vet, on a drip and a very sick girl. Your positive thoughts and prayers would be greatly appreciated.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

sending positive thoughts & prayers to your Kira that she recovers fully & quickly


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## mmaree16 (Sep 5, 2015)

Best wishes for your Kira all the way from Queensland, Australia. Please keep us updated. I am hoping to hear some good news soon.


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## Harleysmum (Aug 19, 2014)

mmaree16 said:


> Best wishes for your Kira all the way from Queensland, Australia. Please keep us updated. I am hoping to hear some good news soon.


I am in Queensland too so your good wishes have got here very quick. Thank you.


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## Pilgrim123 (Jul 26, 2014)

Poor Kira! Those paralysis ticks are nasty, nasty news. They used to scare me when I lived in Brisbane. I hope you got her to the vet on time. Best wishes for her recovery.


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Kira*

Praying very hard for sweet Kira and you!


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## elly (Nov 21, 2010)

Such a worrying time. Sending everything positive your way. Be well soon Kira! X


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## 4goldengirls (Jun 10, 2014)

Oh the poor kitty. So sorry to hear she's ill. Those nasty ticks seem to serve no purpose other then spreading illness.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

I'm so sorry about Kira, sending my thoughts and prayers for her and to you also.


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## Harleysmum (Aug 19, 2014)

She is still at the vet. We will be ringing to check on her as soon as they open.


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## 3 goldens (Sep 30, 2005)

Hopefully good news for you kitty..


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## Harleysmum (Aug 19, 2014)

I went to see Kira this morning. Vet is concerned that she is not eating yet. I took some roast chicken with me as that is her favourite. She seemed pleased to see me and rubbed against my hand but would not eat. Eventually I got her to eat a tiny amount of the food the vet had tried. I put some on her paw and she licked it off. She still has some paralysis in her throat and cannot purr. She is usually a very vocal cat. She is still on and off the drip.

DH and I went back this afternoon. Although still not eating she seemed a bit better. Her coat felt softer and she can now purr! She was able to use her litter box to have a wee. She may be able to come home tomorrow. Vet is open till 1 pm and he will make the decision then. It is likely to be a long convalescence.


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Kira*

Praying for sweet Kira and you and hoping she can come home tomorrow!


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## Harleysmum (Aug 19, 2014)

Kira is home. She is still suffering paralysis and is not eating on her own. She needs to be fed with a syringe every two hours. But she is safe and home and showing interest in her environment. I think it is going to be a long recovery period. Let the healing begin.


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## nana2 (Oct 8, 2015)

Best wishes for your Kira. Glad she is home where she can get lots of loving attention.


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## SandyK (Mar 20, 2011)

Prayers to sweet Kira. I hope she recovers soon. Glad she is home with you and would love to see a picture of her.


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## Pilgrim123 (Jul 26, 2014)

I'm very glad she made it. Must be good to have a complete family again.


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## Harleysmum (Aug 19, 2014)

Trying to find a picture of her to put up. Some time ago I did a thread "Has my dog cured my cat". She is pictured in that thread along with our other cat Allie. Who knows where I got that picture from. Thanks for all the good wishes.


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## Harleysmum (Aug 19, 2014)

We have advanced from the syringe feeding and she will now eat independently from a tablespoon but not from a plate. I am managing to get the required daily amount into her so that is a relief. I think that it is going to be a long slow convalescence but we are seeing some improvement.


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## Pilgrim123 (Jul 26, 2014)

That's very good news.


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## tikiandme (May 16, 2010)

I'm glad Kira is improving!


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## Harleysmum (Aug 19, 2014)

Karen519 has kindly given me a lesson in posting pictures. Lets see if I pass ...YES


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## jennretz (Jul 24, 2013)

Glad to see the progress with her recovery. I had not heard of a tick causing paralysis before....you got home in the knick of time it seems.


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## Harleysmum (Aug 19, 2014)

Thanks Jen. We have several types of ticks in Australia. Bush ticks are relatively harmless but the paralysis tick is awful. It is more deadly to dogs than cats as cats groom themselves so thoroughly they often dislodge them before they do too much damage. Kira continues to improve but slowly. Today her eyes are back to normal, they had been stuck in a wildly dilated condition. She continues to eat off the spoon, she has had some raw egg today. She managed to get to her litter box during the night and has done her first poo (normal) since this whole thing started.


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## kwhit (Apr 7, 2008)

Kira is beautiful. So happy that she's doing better.


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## KKaren (Oct 29, 2014)

Good to hear that she is doing better. What a very scary thing to happen. Prayers and kind thoughts off to Kira and you and your DH.


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Kira*



Harleysmum said:


> Karen519 has kindly given me a lesson in posting pictures. Lets see if I pass ...YES


You passed the test! Kira is beautiful and glad to hear she's getting better!!


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## SandyK (Mar 20, 2011)

Thanks for posting a picture of Kira. She is very pretty. Glad she is still improving!!


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Kira*

Kira sure is pretty! Keep us posted on her!


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## Harleysmum (Aug 19, 2014)

I can now report that Kira has made a full recovery. She is now eating really well which I am pleased about as she needs to put on some weight. I am currently feeding her four smaller meals a day instead of two. She has in the past had some trouble with vomiting and she seems to keep these smaller meals down more easily. She is also extremely affectionate towards me so I do feel appreciated ha ha.


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Kira*



Harleysmum said:


> I can now report that Kira has made a full recovery. She is now eating really well which I am pleased about as she needs to put on some weight. I am currently feeding her four smaller meals a day instead of two. She has in the past had some trouble with vomiting and she seems to keep these smaller meals down more easily. She is also extremely affectionate towards me so I do feel appreciated ha ha.


I am so happy to hear that Kira has recovered and is eating! 
You are an EXCELLENT MOM!!:wavey:


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## mmaree16 (Sep 5, 2015)

I am so pleased to hear that Kira has recovered. What a relief! Tick paralysis is such a scary prospect in Queensland. We are currently using Nexguard for prevention. I still get worried that it won't work. I suspect that they would be difficult to see on golden retrievers due to their coat. I have also heard stories of dogs who have had ticks in their mouths, ears, etc. Were you using anything on Kira at the time she was affected? What has your vet recommended for tick prevention?


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## Harleysmum (Aug 19, 2014)

It is interesting that you bring this up. My husband is hugely allergic to chemicals and we are forced to live as chemical free as we can. He gets really sick if we use any topicals at all. We have lived in Qld for 10 years and although the cats have had the occasional tick with their constant grooming they tend to knock them off and have developed some immunity in the process. This year has apparently been horrific for ticks. In the past there has not been a successful preventative for the paralysis tick but now I am considering Bravecto for Harley which is a three monthly chewable. I am also considering having him clipped. I am against clipping goldens but many people who have to deal with paralysis ticks do clip their dogs as it makes the ticks easier to find. The USA does not have this same deadly paralysis tick that we have in Australia. I have friends who use tick collars with some success but they also make my husband really ill and Harley is in the water a lot. We have taken a "the less chemicals the better" approach with Harleys health. He is raw fed and on a holistic wormer and heart wormer as recommended by our local GR Rescue and we are not vaccinating every year. Our usual vet recommends the chemical route but the vet who ended up treating Kira is holistic in his approach. I have been considering going to him for some time actually so Kira's emergency was an opportunity to see him in action. He certainly saved her life and the bill was cheaper than I thought it was going to be(!). If he uses any chemical treatments he supports with herbal supplements to counteract the chemicals. I find it interesting to read the Americans report "I found 35 ticks on my dog". Here we are searching for that ONE deadly tick that can kill our dog in 24 hours. Where abouts are you? We are in Cooroy just inland from Noosa.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Kira is beautiful, great to hear she has recovered and is doing well.


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## L.Rocco (Jul 28, 2015)

Glad to see Kira is doing well!
Ticks are a big problem here in Brazil. My Kid had some serious tick infestations and he was using a tick collar at the time and taking regular baths with some medication to help prevent it. But they obviously didn't work very well and we really didn't know what to do!
One day Kid got sick and was diagnosed with Ehrlichiosis, it can be very serious but we were extremely lucky, we started the treatment immediately and he was okay! After that we started using Bravecto, and we never found a tick on Kid again!


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Kira*

So happy to hear that Kira is doing well!!


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