Facebook Messages Wednesday 14 Oct 2026,
07:59 Bentonbag
Hi. I
don't want to depress you but if you were wondering about the wailing last
night it was because Felix had a fit, followed by a long sleep which we thought
he wouldn't come out of. When he did Thunderthighs'
emotions were released. Felix has had
three more fits since and I'm going to take him to the vets as soon as I can.
Miss
Doozer
No you
won't depress me
Oh Ben, I
have just got on the bus otherwise I would be straight round for hugs.
The vets
may visit you at home if you don't want to take him there.
Felix is
so, so loved. He knows it.
Doozer
Esq is in and does good hugs
Bentonbag
Thunderthighs
has gone to Hextol as Felix was up and had some breakfast before he went out,
and the latest fit. Which is a good
thing. I've a feeling Fester will be
willing to come with.
I am
still in my nightie.
Miss
Doozer
So is
Tom. He knows now - I just called him
Go over
to ours if you need him
Bentonbag
Felix
shared our bed most of last night, so we know about the intermediate fits.
Thanks
I'll let Doozer Esq know if we need him.
Miss
Doozer
Let Thunderthighs
rage and scream when he gets back
Let
yourself too
I did
08:41
Bentonbag
First
appointment available 3.15pm so will bring Ferretfingers home from the day centre
and then go down. I shall take Thunderthighs
with me as he should be home by then. I know from Matilda's end that that will
be the better way. ööö
For some
time Felix has been getting increasingly wobbly and quivery, and has taken to
sudden unearthly yowling (like a demented seagull) in the middle of the night;
we put it down to him being 18 years old and becoming senile.
The first
fit was sudden, spectacular, and happened while I was contentedly watching a
recording of The Chelsea Detective. I
sat on the floor next to him when he came out of it. He stared around for a bit then stretched out
and went to sleep. We stayed there, me
keeping in touch and occasionally talking, preparing Thunderthighs for the
worst. Eventually he woke up and there
were tears and sobs of relief.
At
10.30pm we took him up to bed with us.
The fit started with an unearthly yowl, he fell off the bed and the
convulsions lasted some five minutes, followed by worrying stillness and
staring, then a long sleep.
Fester
insisted Felix lie on the bed between us.
I wear a nightie, pull the duvet right up to my chin and sleep with my
back towards Fester. He wears shorts
(sometimes) and barely covers himself. When
Felix had the third fit at 3am he had his back to mine so Fester got the full
value of the madly scrabbling paws and claws.
One would
believe in karma if it hadn’t been so upsetting.
He had
another in the kitchen at 7.30am and then 1.30pm; fortunately Thunderthighs was
out both times.
Thunderthighs came home in good time for the 3.15 appointment and brought the catbox down from the loft. Felix
hates the catbox and yowled all the way to the vets and when we were in the
waiting area.
The nice
eastern European lady vet tipped him out of the box and examined him thoroughly.
Nothing
wrong with his eyes or ears and nothing to feel anywhere on his body.
“He has a
lot of fleas. We will do some
bloods. We will need to shave some fur
off the front of his neck to do it. Can
you wait for the results?”
She took
him into the surgery, we went into the waiting area and some minutes later she
brought him back.
“He
wouldn’t co-operate with the neck so we had to take from his front legs. That is why he has the bandages.”
We
waited, Felix kept up a continuous complaint and eventually we were ushered
back in.
“He is
very anaemic and his potassium levels are very low. It could be the fleas or it could be an
infection or parasite they have given him.
We will give him a flea treatment, drops for the potassium, steroids and
antibiotics for the infection. Bring
him back in a week and keep him in the house.”
“We have
another cat, Teddy, he should get a flea treatment too?”
“Definitely,
but we shall have to weigh him first, bring him in tomorrow.”
We left
with much lighter hearts, and bank balance.
At
teatime I opened the door to a tearful Miss Doozer
“I’m so sorry. I came out of a meeting and went straight
into the ladies for a cry … What are you still doing here?!”
to Felix who had
wandered out of the living room.
He is taking
his medication inside a sardine, which he loves, and it is working.
He had a few, increasingly short fits on the
Thursday and nothing since.
He is much
less wobbly, jumping up on things almost like he used to, his coat looks
thicker and he’s put on weight.
We still
get unearthly yowling in the middle of the night.
Fester thinks “It’s ‘cause he’s woken up on
his own and there’s no one there”
and insists on shouting his name whilst still
lying in bed until it stops.
Marginally
better, I suppose, than throwing him at my head when he pulls his beard but
still not what you want from a bed partner in the wee small hours.
Last night I went down and brought Felix up to
our bed because it’s not fair on the neighbours.
There was
no need for Thunderthighs to come on his return visit to the vets.
This time the blood tests were just for iron
and potassium and both were back up to almost safe normal levels.
The waiting room was again regaled with
continuous yowling, as was I on the drive there and back.
The gorgeous eastern European male vet said
“Stop the potassium drops on Monday.
I
will prescribe some more anti-biotics and steroids. Bring him back in a fortnight. Keep him in the house.”
We’re
going away for four nights in North Northumberland tomorrow and Miss Doozer
will be doing the medicating. She’s very
good at it. And it will be a long easier
with Felix than it was with Matilda back in 2012.
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