This BITES!
Ok. So, you all know i'm a zookeeper. and my job (obviously) has a few potential perils attached to it, just by virtue of my "clientele". You corporate folks probably deal on occasion with catty females and males who are in possession of shiny, crest-white strip bright smiles and well-manicured nails. I, on the other hand, deal with catty females and males who are, well...cats. their teeth are bright white from chewing through bones and carcasses, their nails/claws sharp from shredding logs, boat ropes and ply-wood shelves. I have no problem with the latter - its their nature. Unfortunately, both these types of males and females share a certain unpredictability. and oh, happy friday! i can now count myself in with the likes of Jack Hannah, Jeff Corwin, Steve Irwin and a myriad other silly people who like to work with things that could kill or potentially wound us.
Yup, I got bit. and yup, i screamed like a woman (hell, i have to act like one SOMETIMES, for pete's sake!). and yup, it hurt (and still hurts) like a sonofobitch. after spending 5 hours in the emergency room, being drug tested (yup - worker's comp coverage, baby), x-rayed and given an IV drip with an anti-biotic, i'm still sore and frustrated. the doctor said no work until wednesday and oh, by the way, you're off your feet for the next 3 days. and i mean OFF your feet. (apparently, he had the impression that i don't like to sit still! can you imagine???)
Here's the part that really (pardon the pun) Bites. The cat that got me was Fabian the Fishing Cat (Felis viverrina), a 30 lb. adult male fishing cat. This is the very same cat who, not 6 months ago had the human equivalent of a torn ACL - yes, cats tear ligaments, too. Our vet basically reconstructed one for him and this cat was on pain killers and antibiotics and vitamins and all sorts of stuff he wouldn't normally eat for a long time. I was his primary care giver -and yes, i lost a few nights of sleep going out to check his progress at 2 AM or worrying that he'd chewed his bandages off. Fabian is a really neat cat - very clever, lots of personality, very active...he THINKS. its a bit frightening sometimes. i was happy to figure out new ways to get his meds into him and to help out with all his vet procedures. i made very sure that he was as comfortable and that his life was as interesting as possible while he was recovering. and how am i repaid? well...he bit me. hard. through my boot. punctured through the top and bottom of my right foot, almost at the ball of my foot. Crunched the tendon and may have done a bit of nerve damage, but i won't know until the swelling is gone. didn't break any bone, thank goodness (it was well within his capabilities) but still...that's gratitude for ya, eh?
To clarify, I know he was just acting like a cat - there was no malice on Fabian's part to "get me" or anything. Its just a bit ironic, considering all the cats i go in with, that he would be the one to bite me. Apparently my right boot smelled particularly enticing to him when i went to clean his enclosure yesterday. This may be due to the fact that i had stepped in a most foul puddle in the Bongo (and antelope) yard and most of the ickiness had gone down into my boot. I really didn't think it made a difference, being as Bongo are not a prey item for fishing cats. well, it must have just smelled really neat. or maybe he was hungry. or maybe an armadillo had been digging outside his pen had him all worked up before i even got there to clean. who knows. but suffice to say, apparently, my right boot was THE thing to get and this fact was totally lost on me from the onset. I went into the enclosure and he ran up to me, as he usually does. this is because he expects treats. i mean, i'm a keeper...and that means i have food. keeper = has the goodies. so, he ran up to me. I had my rake and pickup bucket in front of my legs (which is how i always enter a cat enclosure to be sure there's something between me and the cat) and since he came up very close, i tried to push him away with the rake. This usually makes him back away and then he follows at a distance. Friday, however, he managed to get around the rake and in the space of a breath, had wrapped both paws around my right ankle. Well. Needless to say, i panicked a bit and raised my foot to shake him off. His response was to bite my foot. HARD. So, i screamed and shook my foot hard. he held on and when he opened his mouth to get a better grip with his teeth, my foot slipped out of the boot. he took his prize and ran away with it. I borrowed the intern's (who was with me but had her back to me when he grabbed me and only turned when i screamed, the poor thing...) boot and went back in to get mine back. to no avail. he was NOT giving up the boot and was now chewing on it, growling and tearing at it. Hmmm. I gave up and decided to call for assistance, since by then i realized he'd actually punctured the skin and i was bleeding into the borrowed boot. bah. now, mind you, this all happened in the space of like a minute. very very weird. it makes me shake a bit to think it over because i did everything the way i'm supposed to. unfortunately, so did the cat. he acted like the wild animal he is. unpredictable, strong, fast and a bit scary. ok, a lot scary. wow.
so, now i'm on crutches (which i HATE) and a pain killer (a generic percoset - which i also HATE...how the hell can people use that stuff as a recreational drug?? ick!!!) and an antibiotic. and for the record, Rafe has been absolutely WONDERFUL (sorry to dispel the bastard-curmudgeon myth, dearie) - he's taking very good care of me, helping change bandages, changing ice packs, propping pillows under my foot, carrying me upstairs, bringing food and drink and generally doting on me. scoring monstrous amounts of "good boyfriend" points. know what, i think he likes me! heh. ;)
anyway, here's my whine (if you've read this far, ok... my continued whine): my foot hurts. its throbby and swollen and sore. i hate being made to sit still. at least i can surf and game. and read. harry potter 5...w00t! now, if i can just keep my house cats from stomping on my foot...all's well.
sometimes, life bites. oftentimes, animals do, too. did i mention, i love my job? i still do...:)
what's a fishing cat, you ask?? well...here's a link with a pic and just a pic for good measure:
http://www.sfzoo.org/cgi-bin/animals.py?ID=44
http://www.tyger.org/efbc/2000-5-28/sassyteeth.jpg
Yup, I got bit. and yup, i screamed like a woman (hell, i have to act like one SOMETIMES, for pete's sake!). and yup, it hurt (and still hurts) like a sonofobitch. after spending 5 hours in the emergency room, being drug tested (yup - worker's comp coverage, baby), x-rayed and given an IV drip with an anti-biotic, i'm still sore and frustrated. the doctor said no work until wednesday and oh, by the way, you're off your feet for the next 3 days. and i mean OFF your feet. (apparently, he had the impression that i don't like to sit still! can you imagine???)
Here's the part that really (pardon the pun) Bites. The cat that got me was Fabian the Fishing Cat (Felis viverrina), a 30 lb. adult male fishing cat. This is the very same cat who, not 6 months ago had the human equivalent of a torn ACL - yes, cats tear ligaments, too. Our vet basically reconstructed one for him and this cat was on pain killers and antibiotics and vitamins and all sorts of stuff he wouldn't normally eat for a long time. I was his primary care giver -and yes, i lost a few nights of sleep going out to check his progress at 2 AM or worrying that he'd chewed his bandages off. Fabian is a really neat cat - very clever, lots of personality, very active...he THINKS. its a bit frightening sometimes. i was happy to figure out new ways to get his meds into him and to help out with all his vet procedures. i made very sure that he was as comfortable and that his life was as interesting as possible while he was recovering. and how am i repaid? well...he bit me. hard. through my boot. punctured through the top and bottom of my right foot, almost at the ball of my foot. Crunched the tendon and may have done a bit of nerve damage, but i won't know until the swelling is gone. didn't break any bone, thank goodness (it was well within his capabilities) but still...that's gratitude for ya, eh?
To clarify, I know he was just acting like a cat - there was no malice on Fabian's part to "get me" or anything. Its just a bit ironic, considering all the cats i go in with, that he would be the one to bite me. Apparently my right boot smelled particularly enticing to him when i went to clean his enclosure yesterday. This may be due to the fact that i had stepped in a most foul puddle in the Bongo (and antelope) yard and most of the ickiness had gone down into my boot. I really didn't think it made a difference, being as Bongo are not a prey item for fishing cats. well, it must have just smelled really neat. or maybe he was hungry. or maybe an armadillo had been digging outside his pen had him all worked up before i even got there to clean. who knows. but suffice to say, apparently, my right boot was THE thing to get and this fact was totally lost on me from the onset. I went into the enclosure and he ran up to me, as he usually does. this is because he expects treats. i mean, i'm a keeper...and that means i have food. keeper = has the goodies. so, he ran up to me. I had my rake and pickup bucket in front of my legs (which is how i always enter a cat enclosure to be sure there's something between me and the cat) and since he came up very close, i tried to push him away with the rake. This usually makes him back away and then he follows at a distance. Friday, however, he managed to get around the rake and in the space of a breath, had wrapped both paws around my right ankle. Well. Needless to say, i panicked a bit and raised my foot to shake him off. His response was to bite my foot. HARD. So, i screamed and shook my foot hard. he held on and when he opened his mouth to get a better grip with his teeth, my foot slipped out of the boot. he took his prize and ran away with it. I borrowed the intern's (who was with me but had her back to me when he grabbed me and only turned when i screamed, the poor thing...) boot and went back in to get mine back. to no avail. he was NOT giving up the boot and was now chewing on it, growling and tearing at it. Hmmm. I gave up and decided to call for assistance, since by then i realized he'd actually punctured the skin and i was bleeding into the borrowed boot. bah. now, mind you, this all happened in the space of like a minute. very very weird. it makes me shake a bit to think it over because i did everything the way i'm supposed to. unfortunately, so did the cat. he acted like the wild animal he is. unpredictable, strong, fast and a bit scary. ok, a lot scary. wow.
so, now i'm on crutches (which i HATE) and a pain killer (a generic percoset - which i also HATE...how the hell can people use that stuff as a recreational drug?? ick!!!) and an antibiotic. and for the record, Rafe has been absolutely WONDERFUL (sorry to dispel the bastard-curmudgeon myth, dearie) - he's taking very good care of me, helping change bandages, changing ice packs, propping pillows under my foot, carrying me upstairs, bringing food and drink and generally doting on me. scoring monstrous amounts of "good boyfriend" points. know what, i think he likes me! heh. ;)
anyway, here's my whine (if you've read this far, ok... my continued whine): my foot hurts. its throbby and swollen and sore. i hate being made to sit still. at least i can surf and game. and read. harry potter 5...w00t! now, if i can just keep my house cats from stomping on my foot...all's well.
sometimes, life bites. oftentimes, animals do, too. did i mention, i love my job? i still do...:)
what's a fishing cat, you ask?? well...here's a link with a pic and just a pic for good measure:
http://www.sfzoo.org/cgi-bin/animals.py?ID=44
http://www.tyger.org/efbc/2000-5-28/sassyteeth.jpg
