Crooked Cat

After suffering a serious respiratory illness, Midnight, aka "Wheezer" now views life at a somewhat cockeyed angle. The illness probably resulted from a secondary bacterial infection stemming from a chronic viral respiratory condition. He had a tendency to sneeze and sniffle from the very beginning, but I couldn't afford vet bills for what seemed to be a mild chronic condition, so I just ignored it. It didn't seem to bother him, and I figured it would get better. I even thought it might be allergies.

When he got the secondary infection, we thought he was going to die. He lost his equilibrium, couldn't walk, and would fall to the floor in a splayed fashion every time he sneezed. The vet eliminated feline leukemia as a possibility. After a few weeks of antibiotics he was able to walk, but his abilities had been much reduced. He was disoriented and lacked balance, although the vet said there was no evidence of hearing loss. The vet was willing to do as much testing as I wanted to pay for in an attempt to identify the virus, but couldn't offer a cure. We opted for a 6 week round of antibiotics, and hoping for the best.

Today Midnight is a very contented cat. He is warm and affectionate, and seems quite happy. He still sneezes, wheezes and coughs, but he doesn't appear troubled by his disability. His balance has continued to improve over time; he'll attempt a jump after viewing things with his angled stare. I guess, in the end, there's nothing wrong with seeing the world from a crooked point of view.