Elk scared me yesterday. I was doing household chores when I saw Elk freeze while he was on his way to the water fountain. He stood there for a while. I tapped his head and walked away. Shortly after, I saw him walk into the common room and stopped halfway, completely frozen. Elk has never behaved like this before. He may be clumsy, but he’s quick when he switches places to sleep. He hardly ever pauses in the middle of walking, and if he does, it is usually when he’s peeing or pooping. But he did none of that yesterday.
I sat next to him, petting his head. I asked him what happened, but he kept still. I held him on my lap and petted him again. He looked perfectly comfortable. I placed him back on the floor. He walked and bumped into the wardrobe when I wasn’t watching him. When I decided to tap my finger near his eye, he didn’t flinch or react. Elk had temporarily lost his vision. I didn’t panic at all. He’s old. I placed him on a comfortable towel to keep him warm and safe. I went to take a shower, and when I came out of the bathroom, I saw Elk eating kibbles. He looked up at me, and I knew he had regained his eyesight. Still, sending him to the vet was necessary.
We went to VES since our regular vet was not available. The vet at VES ran a comprehensive blood test on him, and the results came out clean.
He’s home and back to himself again—yelling at the top of his lungs as usual. He does a pee yell, a poop yell, a before-meal yell, and an after-meal yell. Thirteen years of yelling and still kicking! The vet said that his blood test result was remarkable.
Elk has had neurological issues since the day we took him home. He was attacked by dogs. We didn’t know that Elk was deaf until a loud thunder clap occurred one day. When all the other cats were running for their lives, Elk slept with his four paws facing up and his mouth wideopen.
When I held him in my arms yesterday, the feeling was heavy. It’s always heavy when any of my cats falls sick. 50% attachment, 50% woes.
In order to live longer and happier life, I learned one thing from Elk and that is “one ear in, one ear out.” Don’t let the speech of others affect your life.
