poor Gus :-(
The good news: I saw Gus this morning for the first time since November 10--and I only know the exact date because I had tried letting him in my apartment because it was super cold outside and took a couple of pictures when he sat just inside my patio door. I was alerted to his presence when Hana pounced at my bedroom window screen at 5 a.m.
The bad news: he's wounded. D:
When I first caught sight of him I thought he'd been in a car accident, because he didn't look quite right. One of his back hips was cocked in an odd way so I thought he might be broken, but he seemed to be moving around too well to have a broken pelvis or something. Eventually I figured out that the bottom portion of his right back leg is injured and he's holding it up so it doesn't touch the ground--I think I saw punctures, so I'm guessing he got bit. And I guess he's been keeping his foot up off the ground long enough that his hip is torqued funny.
I got super upset over this, because if I had managed to keep him inside when we last saw him, he'd still be fine. Yes, there were tears involved in this reaction. :-p I dithered over the fact that he obviously needs to see a vet and how to try to catch him and where to take him (and OMG how much would it cost?!) for approximately as long as he decided to hang out on my patio. As soon as I opened the screen to make the doorway of the cat carrier accessible to him, he decided to wander off to wherever he goes after my place. I wasn't about to try to chase him down because that wasn't going to end well.
I have since realized that there was no earthly way he could have stayed with the girls (did I even post about that encounter? I'm not sure I did--it ended when Hana decided to jump him, and not in the friendly way), so there's nothing further I could have done about that part of the situation.* Sure, I could have gotten a humane trap and tried to take him to the animal shelter sooner, but what would they do with a cat who won't allow himself to be touched?
I vacillate between thinking that letting him go is allowing him to live out the rest of his days (however numerous they may be) in the way that satisfies him and thinking that I should be willing to do way more for him than I am realizing I'm actually willing to do because I've been feeding him off and on for months. But food isn't a promise... I feed the birds, and that's just for the entertainment of my cats. I'd like to be able to take Gus to get attention, but I have to admit I'm not willing to pay for it. I think that means I'd have to take him to the animal shelter, and that actually wouldn't have been feasible for me this morning--I was flying solo at the library for almost an hour, the shelter begins accepting strays not accompanied by law enforcement at the same time the library opened, and having an injured cat shut up in a carrier from 5 a.m. until at least 9 a.m. seems cruel. Especially when the cat is unaccustomed to a carrier at all.
But then it feels like this logic is just me rationalizing... oy, it's been a long day.
And it's supposed to get cold tonight/tomorrow. Poor Gus.
Maybe I'll see him again in the morning? If I do, I'll definitely try putting the carrier out sooner in hopes he accepts the invitation. But at the same time I'm afraid that if I do take him to be checked out, they'll have to euthanize... which would be better that way than dying of infection in the cold, but I hate the idea that it would get to that point. And yet something was bound to happen to him eventually, living outside as he does. *sigh* I am so very conflicted over this cat.
I console myself with the thought that he looked like he was doing okay other than the wonky leg. And if Hana pouncing at my screen is any indication, he managed to get up to my windowsill despite the leg. I am very impressed by that. So maybe he'll pull through on his own? That's probably too much to hope for. But I'm rooting for him.
*Even if he and Hana could get along, I'm already at the two-cat limit allowed by my apartment management, and two pets is the typical limit anywhere around here that allows pets at all (many places don't).
This entry was originally posted at https://ancalime8301.dreamwidth.org/1751684.html. Comment wherever you prefer.
The bad news: he's wounded. D:
When I first caught sight of him I thought he'd been in a car accident, because he didn't look quite right. One of his back hips was cocked in an odd way so I thought he might be broken, but he seemed to be moving around too well to have a broken pelvis or something. Eventually I figured out that the bottom portion of his right back leg is injured and he's holding it up so it doesn't touch the ground--I think I saw punctures, so I'm guessing he got bit. And I guess he's been keeping his foot up off the ground long enough that his hip is torqued funny.
I got super upset over this, because if I had managed to keep him inside when we last saw him, he'd still be fine. Yes, there were tears involved in this reaction. :-p I dithered over the fact that he obviously needs to see a vet and how to try to catch him and where to take him (and OMG how much would it cost?!) for approximately as long as he decided to hang out on my patio. As soon as I opened the screen to make the doorway of the cat carrier accessible to him, he decided to wander off to wherever he goes after my place. I wasn't about to try to chase him down because that wasn't going to end well.
I have since realized that there was no earthly way he could have stayed with the girls (did I even post about that encounter? I'm not sure I did--it ended when Hana decided to jump him, and not in the friendly way), so there's nothing further I could have done about that part of the situation.* Sure, I could have gotten a humane trap and tried to take him to the animal shelter sooner, but what would they do with a cat who won't allow himself to be touched?
I vacillate between thinking that letting him go is allowing him to live out the rest of his days (however numerous they may be) in the way that satisfies him and thinking that I should be willing to do way more for him than I am realizing I'm actually willing to do because I've been feeding him off and on for months. But food isn't a promise... I feed the birds, and that's just for the entertainment of my cats. I'd like to be able to take Gus to get attention, but I have to admit I'm not willing to pay for it. I think that means I'd have to take him to the animal shelter, and that actually wouldn't have been feasible for me this morning--I was flying solo at the library for almost an hour, the shelter begins accepting strays not accompanied by law enforcement at the same time the library opened, and having an injured cat shut up in a carrier from 5 a.m. until at least 9 a.m. seems cruel. Especially when the cat is unaccustomed to a carrier at all.
But then it feels like this logic is just me rationalizing... oy, it's been a long day.
And it's supposed to get cold tonight/tomorrow. Poor Gus.
Maybe I'll see him again in the morning? If I do, I'll definitely try putting the carrier out sooner in hopes he accepts the invitation. But at the same time I'm afraid that if I do take him to be checked out, they'll have to euthanize... which would be better that way than dying of infection in the cold, but I hate the idea that it would get to that point. And yet something was bound to happen to him eventually, living outside as he does. *sigh* I am so very conflicted over this cat.
I console myself with the thought that he looked like he was doing okay other than the wonky leg. And if Hana pouncing at my screen is any indication, he managed to get up to my windowsill despite the leg. I am very impressed by that. So maybe he'll pull through on his own? That's probably too much to hope for. But I'm rooting for him.
*Even if he and Hana could get along, I'm already at the two-cat limit allowed by my apartment management, and two pets is the typical limit anywhere around here that allows pets at all (many places don't).
This entry was originally posted at https://ancalime8301.dreamwidth.org/1751684.html. Comment wherever you prefer.