The Shadow
Sometime last year I got at text from Tom. He was freaking out over a cat in Animal Care and Control. He was contacted by the woman who bred out kitties Grumpus and Mason. She had somehow found out about this mess that was being called a Persian. in her photo she was adorable and clearly not a Persian. Grumpus and Mason are both Devon Rex, a breed of cat that I can snuggle and don't affect my cat allergies. This cat looked very similar to Grumpus. Tom began the battle to rescue her, and I could do a whole post on that ordeal. When we finally were able to get her, Tom and I were in shock at the state of her. We knew she was older (probably 14) and had medical issues but we were unprepared for what we saw. She was completely bald on her underside. Her belly was distended and deformed from birthing too many kittens. She had lost all her feeler whiskers and had a horrible rash all over her body. Tom started to cry as she purred in his arms.
Even after several months we still refer to her as Zombie kitty because she really does look more like some zombie opossum that has dug herself out of a grave. We have been doing our best to get her back on her feet and she has made dramatic improvement, although my coworkers think we are crazy. She gets a bath once a week to help her skin, and insulin shots morning and night. She get special diabetic food and we have steps all over the house so she can get onto couches and beds... of course she also has her own room because being abandoned in the mission for god knows how long she is weary of other cats and has yet to warm to Grumpus or Mason. She has only recently started to sleep in our room with us at night. I think the cold temperatures is waring down her dislike of the younger cats.
Last night however she was very content sleeping on my head. around 2am, she decided to walk over by my face presumably to suffocate me in my sleep. But my pillow was partially off the bed and like an indian jones film when she stepped out too far she began to descend off the bed. Shadow Cannot jump onto a couch and if on her back is like a trapped turtle. she is a feeble old cat. So she panicked and tried to stop her self from falling. she grabbed with her claws at what was in reach, yes, that is right, she grabbed my face. My already oversized lips to be exact. Remember how I said her body was distended and malformed from too many kittens, she is not a thin cat. I picture in my head my lips being stretched in a cartoon like manor before her weight and gravity cause things to tear, yes tear, and she fell to the floor.
I'm sure I screamed. I ran to the bathroom. The amount of blood was overwhelming. I'm sure even a person with normal lips has a lot of blood pumping through them but It seemed my Angelina Jolie sized ones were pumping out even more. I could never be a doctor. The shock of waking up with a jolt of adrenaline had put my body into a panicked state then seeing all the blood took a similar but different effect. I had to sit down to keep from fainting. I closed the bathroom door. Tom asked if i was ok and I just answered the simple truth, "no." Then I threw up as I imagined huge scars and children staring at my shredded face. Mason voiced his concern and cried at the bathroom door. I had only ever heard him do this when he was separated from his brother.
Once I was able to pull myself together and get myself cleaned up I was able to get a better idea of the damage done. I was two tears in the top lip and a puncture wound to the lower lip. I rinsed my mouth with water... wishing I was brave enough to brush or Listerin the horrible bile from my mouth but knowing the agony I stuck to water.
Luckily I had a brilliant idea and used new skin, a liquid bandage, to seal the wounds. Amazingly it's tacky attributes allowed me to push all the bits back into place and I only looked like I had been punched not shredded.
This morning when I woke up I was shocked at how quickly my lips had repaired themselves. They are still discolored and look a mess but amazingly I don't think I will come away with scars. My Top lip still has a huge bump where I had to put things back together but I think it may eventually go away. Fingers crossed.
Tom went to bed hours ago, but I'm scared to go to sleep. I'm scared of my Shadow.
Even after several months we still refer to her as Zombie kitty because she really does look more like some zombie opossum that has dug herself out of a grave. We have been doing our best to get her back on her feet and she has made dramatic improvement, although my coworkers think we are crazy. She gets a bath once a week to help her skin, and insulin shots morning and night. She get special diabetic food and we have steps all over the house so she can get onto couches and beds... of course she also has her own room because being abandoned in the mission for god knows how long she is weary of other cats and has yet to warm to Grumpus or Mason. She has only recently started to sleep in our room with us at night. I think the cold temperatures is waring down her dislike of the younger cats.
Last night however she was very content sleeping on my head. around 2am, she decided to walk over by my face presumably to suffocate me in my sleep. But my pillow was partially off the bed and like an indian jones film when she stepped out too far she began to descend off the bed. Shadow Cannot jump onto a couch and if on her back is like a trapped turtle. she is a feeble old cat. So she panicked and tried to stop her self from falling. she grabbed with her claws at what was in reach, yes, that is right, she grabbed my face. My already oversized lips to be exact. Remember how I said her body was distended and malformed from too many kittens, she is not a thin cat. I picture in my head my lips being stretched in a cartoon like manor before her weight and gravity cause things to tear, yes tear, and she fell to the floor.
I'm sure I screamed. I ran to the bathroom. The amount of blood was overwhelming. I'm sure even a person with normal lips has a lot of blood pumping through them but It seemed my Angelina Jolie sized ones were pumping out even more. I could never be a doctor. The shock of waking up with a jolt of adrenaline had put my body into a panicked state then seeing all the blood took a similar but different effect. I had to sit down to keep from fainting. I closed the bathroom door. Tom asked if i was ok and I just answered the simple truth, "no." Then I threw up as I imagined huge scars and children staring at my shredded face. Mason voiced his concern and cried at the bathroom door. I had only ever heard him do this when he was separated from his brother.
Once I was able to pull myself together and get myself cleaned up I was able to get a better idea of the damage done. I was two tears in the top lip and a puncture wound to the lower lip. I rinsed my mouth with water... wishing I was brave enough to brush or Listerin the horrible bile from my mouth but knowing the agony I stuck to water.
Luckily I had a brilliant idea and used new skin, a liquid bandage, to seal the wounds. Amazingly it's tacky attributes allowed me to push all the bits back into place and I only looked like I had been punched not shredded.
This morning when I woke up I was shocked at how quickly my lips had repaired themselves. They are still discolored and look a mess but amazingly I don't think I will come away with scars. My Top lip still has a huge bump where I had to put things back together but I think it may eventually go away. Fingers crossed.
Tom went to bed hours ago, but I'm scared to go to sleep. I'm scared of my Shadow.