tigertoy

This isn't a very good picture, but it's important, because unless something amazing happens, it's the last one I'll ever take of one of my best tiger friends.

This is Jafar. I don't know exactly how old he is, but he's pretty old, and he's had cancer twice, but until a few weeks ago, he was doing pretty well. He would almost always come up to the fence, chuffing excitedly, when I came by. Then something went wrong in his spine, and he pretty suddenly started wobbling badly on his back legs. The vet examined him, and can't identify any problem other than arthritis. He was on medication that helped him some for a while, but then he started getting worse. As recently as last week, even though he could only walk a couple of wobbly steps before he fell over, he still seemed to have his spirit, and he was getting around his cage. This week, he can't even take those couple of steps; he can stand up, but when he tries to walk he falls over. He can move, but only dragging his hindquarters. And he seems to be suffering. The vet will be visiting him this week, and unless he suddenly gets better, he'll be put to sleep.

I am devastated.

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From:

robin-june.livejournal.com

The hind-end paralysis also happens with geriatric male pet rats. It's frequently attributed to some sort of swelling that compressed the spine, and sometimes (though rarely) resolves with anti-inflammatories.