Of Rabbitte's Recovery
I first noticed Rabbitte wasn't around for breakfast Friday morning, and didn't think much of it - I normally wake to all three cats mewing for food, but its not that weird for one of them to have gone for a morning wander. When he didn't reappear all day I had several trips out into the back garden and around the house to look for him, and finally at about 10.30 pm I was getting *incredibly* panicky and went outside searching and calling him rather frantically. Thats when he began mewling in response, and I found him, in a pool of mud and blood, hiding behind an old piece of kitchen counter by the back door. I've no idea if he was there all day and I should have just searched harder earlier, or if he had only recently dragged himself back that far.
Once I had him safe indoors it was obvious he was in a terrible state, and couldn't walk at all on his hind legs - he was just dragging them along. Several endless hours with google and phone revield that only one late night vet would be willing to treat him and bill me - the only other one in the area wanted cash up front and cash wasn't something I had. The vet that was willing to see him had just gone into an emergency surgery that was schedualed to last until 3am, so I was advised to ring back at 2.
It all got so complicated that I decided there was nothing for it, but to wait until the mainstream day-time vets opened at 8am, and I went to bed.
Yesterday morning I then got him straight down to our local vet who turned out to be lovely, and very genle with him. Her first thought was that he'd been shot with a pellet gun, as his wounds were too far apart for an animal attack, but once she had him under general anastetic and examined properly found out that he had in fact been mauled by an extrordinarlily large dog - something like a pit bull as few other breeds have that large a bite. The deep punchure wounds down the side of his spine along with the paralysis of his hind quarters meant that she wasn't sure she could save him. she told me that if only his legs were paralysed he would have a chance as he wasn't fully grown and otherwise in top health he might have a chance at regaining damaged nerve tissue, but if his blader was also paralysed he wouldn't make it.
As it turned out, despite several deep punctures right along the side of his spine, there was no damage to the main spinal colum, so it was just swelling and shock that had temporarily paralysed him. He has multiple deep punctures in several places all over his tiny body, but by some fluke no damge to anything irreprable. It's really astounding, given how many injuries he has and how deep they are, if any of them had been just a tiny bit over, he could have had several different types of organ damage, but he doesn't. He will make a full recovery, and it could have been so mcuh worse.
Meanwhile, my bank account will have a much longer slower recovery. So far the vets bills sit at almost £400 and will grow over the next 2 weeks as he will need regular check ups until the stictches come out. *Weeps* things were bad before that, as Conors first rent is due next week. *Wail* I'll be living on beans on toast and not going out at all until Christmas, if not afterwards, now.
For last night he was supposed to be on 'total bed rest' which for a cat apparently means in one small room with no furniture he could try to climb up on, and kept very warm, with extra heating on. Without being able to organise that, I settled for putting him on Conors bed, and filling Conors hot water bottle for him. he didn't try to move all night, but just curled up with his head nestled in the neck of the teady-bear hot water bottle cover, and slept all night. he seemed quite content and purred in a very happy sounding way whenever I went in to check on him and give him a little cuddle. Thismorning he'd been moving around very painfully and stiffly, but making some effort to use his back legs, and even made an effort to eat a bite of breakfast. He actually doesn't seem distressed at all any more. Now that he's happier in himslef its almost possible to laugh at the poor little mite. He looks just like an extra from a zombie movie - a tiny black kitten half taken up with big shaved patches of stark white skin and giant black stitches - and the fact that he's walking around with a perfect zombie walk too just completes the effect. Anyone wanting to make an indi film about zombie kittens, you know where to find me!
Meanwhile, Theresa come over last night, with her guide dog Ricky. I was a bit worried about having a big dog in the house with my poor little kitten just home from the vets after being mauled by a dog - but the cats seem to be getting used to Ricky and Ricky to the cats, and I was very glad to see that even when we accidentally let Ricky into the hall when Rabbitte was there, he showed no fear, but just ignored him and kept plodding into the kitchen. That was a huge relief.
Now its Sunday morning - Theresa and Ricky have left, and I'm here checking my facebook and other internet routine stuff, and its starting to hit me as I read the media reports - or for the most part, lack there of, that I *REALLY* wanted to be on the Hardest Hit march, and link up with the occupy LSX group afterwards, which had been my plan for the day. Still, its not poor little Rabbittes fault he was attacked, and its not my fault, its not as if I had any choice other than to spend the day getting him to vets and then waiting to hear back from them after his surgery. There will be other marches and demonstrations. I do wich I could have been at the Hardest Hit rally though. It was an important one.
Oh, and while we were at the vet we met another perfectly black cat with black whiskers - and had a good laugh. The cats name was 'Sirius' (because he is a black cat, get it?) But the poor receptionist obviously never read Harry Potter, and kept calling him Sigh-Rus instead of Si-ree-us. I was talking to Sirius' owner for a little while and I showed Rabbitte and said 'look, thats what you will look like when you are older' - as Sirius was twice Rabbittes size, or more. To my shock I later discovered that Sirius was three whole months younger that Rabbitte. I'll have to have a talk with the little guy about growing a bit some time soon. The vet did comment on him being 'incredibly small' as well. I was being slightly defensive about not having brought him in for chipping or neutering yet, and explained that he's only just stopped feeding from his mother, and she agreed that, since he only weighs 2 kilos, it was the right thing for his mother to baby him longer than 'normal'. But other than his tiny size she felt that he was in underlying perfect health, and should therefore make a speedy recovery.
Once I had him safe indoors it was obvious he was in a terrible state, and couldn't walk at all on his hind legs - he was just dragging them along. Several endless hours with google and phone revield that only one late night vet would be willing to treat him and bill me - the only other one in the area wanted cash up front and cash wasn't something I had. The vet that was willing to see him had just gone into an emergency surgery that was schedualed to last until 3am, so I was advised to ring back at 2.
It all got so complicated that I decided there was nothing for it, but to wait until the mainstream day-time vets opened at 8am, and I went to bed.
Yesterday morning I then got him straight down to our local vet who turned out to be lovely, and very genle with him. Her first thought was that he'd been shot with a pellet gun, as his wounds were too far apart for an animal attack, but once she had him under general anastetic and examined properly found out that he had in fact been mauled by an extrordinarlily large dog - something like a pit bull as few other breeds have that large a bite. The deep punchure wounds down the side of his spine along with the paralysis of his hind quarters meant that she wasn't sure she could save him. she told me that if only his legs were paralysed he would have a chance as he wasn't fully grown and otherwise in top health he might have a chance at regaining damaged nerve tissue, but if his blader was also paralysed he wouldn't make it.
As it turned out, despite several deep punctures right along the side of his spine, there was no damage to the main spinal colum, so it was just swelling and shock that had temporarily paralysed him. He has multiple deep punctures in several places all over his tiny body, but by some fluke no damge to anything irreprable. It's really astounding, given how many injuries he has and how deep they are, if any of them had been just a tiny bit over, he could have had several different types of organ damage, but he doesn't. He will make a full recovery, and it could have been so mcuh worse.
Meanwhile, my bank account will have a much longer slower recovery. So far the vets bills sit at almost £400 and will grow over the next 2 weeks as he will need regular check ups until the stictches come out. *Weeps* things were bad before that, as Conors first rent is due next week. *Wail* I'll be living on beans on toast and not going out at all until Christmas, if not afterwards, now.
For last night he was supposed to be on 'total bed rest' which for a cat apparently means in one small room with no furniture he could try to climb up on, and kept very warm, with extra heating on. Without being able to organise that, I settled for putting him on Conors bed, and filling Conors hot water bottle for him. he didn't try to move all night, but just curled up with his head nestled in the neck of the teady-bear hot water bottle cover, and slept all night. he seemed quite content and purred in a very happy sounding way whenever I went in to check on him and give him a little cuddle. Thismorning he'd been moving around very painfully and stiffly, but making some effort to use his back legs, and even made an effort to eat a bite of breakfast. He actually doesn't seem distressed at all any more. Now that he's happier in himslef its almost possible to laugh at the poor little mite. He looks just like an extra from a zombie movie - a tiny black kitten half taken up with big shaved patches of stark white skin and giant black stitches - and the fact that he's walking around with a perfect zombie walk too just completes the effect. Anyone wanting to make an indi film about zombie kittens, you know where to find me!
Meanwhile, Theresa come over last night, with her guide dog Ricky. I was a bit worried about having a big dog in the house with my poor little kitten just home from the vets after being mauled by a dog - but the cats seem to be getting used to Ricky and Ricky to the cats, and I was very glad to see that even when we accidentally let Ricky into the hall when Rabbitte was there, he showed no fear, but just ignored him and kept plodding into the kitchen. That was a huge relief.
Now its Sunday morning - Theresa and Ricky have left, and I'm here checking my facebook and other internet routine stuff, and its starting to hit me as I read the media reports - or for the most part, lack there of, that I *REALLY* wanted to be on the Hardest Hit march, and link up with the occupy LSX group afterwards, which had been my plan for the day. Still, its not poor little Rabbittes fault he was attacked, and its not my fault, its not as if I had any choice other than to spend the day getting him to vets and then waiting to hear back from them after his surgery. There will be other marches and demonstrations. I do wich I could have been at the Hardest Hit rally though. It was an important one.
Oh, and while we were at the vet we met another perfectly black cat with black whiskers - and had a good laugh. The cats name was 'Sirius' (because he is a black cat, get it?) But the poor receptionist obviously never read Harry Potter, and kept calling him Sigh-Rus instead of Si-ree-us. I was talking to Sirius' owner for a little while and I showed Rabbitte and said 'look, thats what you will look like when you are older' - as Sirius was twice Rabbittes size, or more. To my shock I later discovered that Sirius was three whole months younger that Rabbitte. I'll have to have a talk with the little guy about growing a bit some time soon. The vet did comment on him being 'incredibly small' as well. I was being slightly defensive about not having brought him in for chipping or neutering yet, and explained that he's only just stopped feeding from his mother, and she agreed that, since he only weighs 2 kilos, it was the right thing for his mother to baby him longer than 'normal'. But other than his tiny size she felt that he was in underlying perfect health, and should therefore make a speedy recovery.