On Saturday, amidst the madness of DH (who is still living here until we
figure out how to do all this so I am not left homeless) and his
half-brother Jason tearing apart my waterbed frame and installing my
"new" plain ol' bed properly, I went to the store with my M-i-L to get
groceries.  DH called me on my cell phone (which is never on, and I
didn't realize it even was) to tell me something was wrong with Cosmo.

We rushed home, and DH had isolated Cosmo in his room.  He was tilting
his head noticeably to one side, and stumbling when he walked.  I was
afraid he had thrown a clot (common in CRF cats), but I felt his rear
legs, and they were warm, not cold.  I checked my emergency cat care
book, and the symptoms matched Meniere's disease (or an ear problem in
general), so I elected to watch him carefully over the rest of the
weekend, and take him to the vet on Monday.

He has had a problem with wax buildup that I have been unable to get on
top of (Internet has the same, but his has cleared significantly).  I
really don't think the blue stuff the vet keeps giving me is helping all
that much.  At any rate, Cosmo was not getting any worse, and his
appetite etc. were fine.  I put him back downstairs with an extra
litterbox by the couch and extra water in the living room (the couch is
his preferred spot), and blocked off the stairs with a card table.

My M-i-L took us to the vet Monday.  (Just what I need right now;
another vet bill.  I still owe them close to $200 from previous visits

peek in Cosmo's ears, and couldn't diagnose the problem 100%, but said
it was either (a) the wax buildup getting really bad (b) an ear
infection, or (c) Meniere's.  In case it is an infection, he gave me
antibiotics for Cosmo, and I also need to put the blue stuff in his ears
two days in a row to loosen up the wax.

Cosmo also had some mats I hadn't yet gotten, and claws that needed
trimming (Cosmo is NOT one of the easier cats to mess with.  He is the
inventor of the word Catitude, I swear).  Chad was gently taking some of
the mats out here and there, and then after Cosmo got some fluids (he
was slightly dehydrated, as I told them I also suspected), Alice took
the shears.  Remind me never to let Alice near the shears again; she's a
demon with them!  Cosmo looks like a half-sheared sheep.  lol!  But he
is now more comfortable in all ways.

He's still tilting and shaky on his feet :-(  But he is eating fine,
acting fine otherwise, and even groomed himself a bit.  If he hasn't
improved in a day or two, it's probably Meniere's, and I don't think
anything can be done for that :-(

At least it isn't life-threatening.   I worry about my handsome fella.

Ginger-lyn