Hobkin’s tummy has been iffy this week. He sicked up his dinner on Wednesday and exhibited troubled tummy symptoms on Thursday. Last night, he sort of coughed-gagged before dinner, so we dosed him with his anti-nausea med, Metoclopramide, before feeding him.
Dinner gobbled, Hobkin crawled up beside me and was out, skunkie snores and all-four-paws-in-the-air out, and fosteronfilm and I put on a DVD to watch. Hobkin woke up in the middle of it to hop down to use the litter box. I kept an eye on him to make sure he wasn’t going to sick up–I continue to be VERY thankful that our little one is obliging enough to sick up in his area and not on me, the carpet, or the furniture–and noticed that he was staggering as he exited his bathroom. He couldn’t seem to walk a straight line, wobbling and stumbling drunkenly. He headed back to me and the couch, but he couldn’t seem to make it, flopping instead on the floor in “flat skunk” mode. So I went and picked him up and set him on the couch beside me, whereupon he rolled onto his back and began snoring again.
Now, I freely admit that I’m an overprotective skunk mommy, and the staggering, wobbling, and stumbling were worrisome. Skunks are prone to seizures, a concern perpetually at the back of my mind, so I checked him over:
– Rigid limbs? Nope, limp as a rag skunk.
– Irregular breathing patterns? No, he’s snoring regularly.
– Body or muscle twisting, spasming, shaking, or thrashing? Nope, see above re: rag skunk.
– Pupil dilation? Hard to tell since his eyes are burgundy-black. But probably not.
– Any prior odd activity like drooling, uncontrollable bodily fluids, trembling? Nope, nope, and nope. Plus he got up to use the bathroom on his own.
– Any post seizure activity like temporary blindness, disorientation, pacing, restlessness? Nope again. After his bathroom break, he knew he was coming back to the couch and where the couch was, but he just sort of ran out of pep halfway.
Okay, probably not a seizure. But as I was looking him over, I also noticed how extremely out of it he was. I could pull back his lips and rub his gums (no excess salivation or tongue twitches, check) without waking him. Normally the fastest way to get him up and scampering away in a huff is to try to mess with his teeth or gums. Very unusual.
It was like he was . . . drugged!
Scrambling to get his anti-nausea medicine bottle revealed there, on the side, the warning sticker: “MEDICATION MAY CAUSE DROWSINESS OR DIZZINESS.”
Ah hah!
Yep, our skunk was drugged. We’ve never observed this degree of side effect before, but it’s also possible that he wasn’t actually sicking up before dinner, that he just had fur in his throat (since it is shedding season), and without symptoms to mitigate, the side effects were more pronounced.
So, after reassuring myself as to the cause of Hobkin’s extreme sleepies, I took advantage of it and used a q-tip to brush his teeth and gums. La!
Writing Stuff
New Words:
– 355 on the Fox Princess novel. Didn’t get as much writing done yesterday as I wanted. Still, progress is progress.
|
|
|
5,350 / 40,000
(13.4%) |
You and your rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle. 😉
Ha. Metaclopramide producing drowsiness? I wish. The one time I had it, it produced GUT-WRENCHING PAIN! The kind of pain where you just lie there on a gurney in the hospital moaning while the ER nurses leave you outside Radiology and forget about you and your belly full of barium and Reglan. The kind of pain where you can feel your insides burning from radiation and you’re not allowed to throw up. Pain, I tell you, PAIN!!
Of course, it may be entirely different if you’re not full of barium.
Sleeo tight Skunkie! Sweet dreams~