THE FAMILY CAT.
The
cat Shadow
had a good day last Friday: well, right up until his last trip out to
beat the bounds he did. He went out quite late in the evening, was
gone longer than usual and when he returned was bleeding badly from
his right front paw. Maureen bathed the paw in a mild saline solution
and we settled him for the night.
By morning the paw had swollen considerably and the state of his left front leg was also questionable. We booked to have him seen at the local veterinary practice, Medina Veterinary Group, which (praise be) is open on Saturday mornings.
There followed the short journey in the car with him (wrapped in a towel - he'd have fought to escape a box) in my arms: the long, long wait (he could not have been more patient) to see the vet: the examination (he only swore once): the X-rays (he has a broken and partially crushed bone in his right leg and a dislocated bone in the left one): the summing up: the paying up (i.e. the timely reminder that a veterinary practice is not a department of the NHS) and the trip back home.
Vet. Mr. Tommy Blaehr was precise and practical. It looked as though Shadow had been run over by a vehicle of some kind: he was in very good nick for his age (22/23ish) but would be better not subjected to an operation: he had now been given a two week antibiotic injection (his last trip to the vet was 11 years ago) and a dose of liquid pain killer. We (that will be nurse Mo) would need to administer the pain killer for the next few days.
Cats, counselled the vet, have a propensity for self-healing. Given a satisfactory first week (eating, drinking, resting) Shadow could be close to recovery between four and six weeks time.
Mr. Blaehr would like to check him over during the first week and if all was well that would be that.
THE MIRACLE CAT.
Check-up day. We took him back for his check-up today - Wednesday - and (wrapped in a towel in my arms) he patiently waited in the car, his head moving like a Wimbledon spectator as the rush hour traffic filed past, until the vet was free to see him.
He then paraded across the surgery floor placing all four paws firmly down in proud cat marching order. (I knew he could do it. He jumped up onto my desk this morning.)
Mr. Blaehr called in a colleague to see the miracle cat walking and said: "You have to see this. Two front legs broken last Friday night. Now look at him."
Elated, we came home with him in his towel and a final word of veterinarian advice: "Try not letting him jump off any walls for a while."
Try to stop him, I thought.
He said nothing, but I reckon he thought a lot.
By morning the paw had swollen considerably and the state of his left front leg was also questionable. We booked to have him seen at the local veterinary practice, Medina Veterinary Group, which (praise be) is open on Saturday mornings.
There followed the short journey in the car with him (wrapped in a towel - he'd have fought to escape a box) in my arms: the long, long wait (he could not have been more patient) to see the vet: the examination (he only swore once): the X-rays (he has a broken and partially crushed bone in his right leg and a dislocated bone in the left one): the summing up: the paying up (i.e. the timely reminder that a veterinary practice is not a department of the NHS) and the trip back home.
Vet. Mr. Tommy Blaehr was precise and practical. It looked as though Shadow had been run over by a vehicle of some kind: he was in very good nick for his age (22/23ish) but would be better not subjected to an operation: he had now been given a two week antibiotic injection (his last trip to the vet was 11 years ago) and a dose of liquid pain killer. We (that will be nurse Mo) would need to administer the pain killer for the next few days.
Cats, counselled the vet, have a propensity for self-healing. Given a satisfactory first week (eating, drinking, resting) Shadow could be close to recovery between four and six weeks time.
Mr. Blaehr would like to check him over during the first week and if all was well that would be that.
THE MIRACLE CAT.
Check-up day. We took him back for his check-up today - Wednesday - and (wrapped in a towel in my arms) he patiently waited in the car, his head moving like a Wimbledon spectator as the rush hour traffic filed past, until the vet was free to see him.
He then paraded across the surgery floor placing all four paws firmly down in proud cat marching order. (I knew he could do it. He jumped up onto my desk this morning.)
Mr. Blaehr called in a colleague to see the miracle cat walking and said: "You have to see this. Two front legs broken last Friday night. Now look at him."
Elated, we came home with him in his towel and a final word of veterinarian advice: "Try not letting him jump off any walls for a while."
Try to stop him, I thought.
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