Cat Update - Good News and Bad News

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Originally uploaded by Taking5

It has been a while since I posted an update on the cats. That's not because it has been uneventful; on the contrary there have been many events, most of them sad.

First, Brucie. Brucie was this beautiful brown Siamese-Birman type cat who used to live in the road next to us but moved down a road or two some time back. He used to be a fierce, aggressive cat who actually attacked cats he felt were invading his territory. He was sterilised after injuring a cat belonging to someone living nearby; the owner of the injured animal took him for sterilisation thereafter. But over time, he was relatively friendly and came by for feeding regularly. Over time, however, his condition deteriorated somewhat. Then came the ear injury, which he recovered from. But thereafter he had another jaw injury and couldn't eat. He disappeared for a day or two, by the time we got to him and took him to a vet the prognosis was poor. So we put him down.

Then our dear Casey cat felll ill. She was not eating and was a little feverish. She was taken to the vet but there her true nature emerged as she gave the vet and assistants a hell of a time. She resented the subcutaneous drip, and the antibiotic jab. She ran around the vet's clinic and hid behind his computer. We brought her home after that but she still wasn't eating or drinking so back to the vet she went. This time she stayed for two nights. She came home with a collar around her neck, her long sharp claws clipped and a bandage over her paw when the intravenous saline drip had been inserted. The vet was labelling her a "psychotic, semi-feral cat". That's our Casey for you. Oh, and apparently she jumped and hissed everytime any one passed her cage. What to do? Our sweetie is used to a peaceful, quiet environment where she is an absolute Princess. Not a place where people grab her and poke sharp needles into her, full of antiseptic smells and worst of all, Other Animals. Anyway, she recovered and is fine now but those were a stressful few days (especially for the vet).

The next incident (and this is the good news, the only good news) was the advent of Smudge. Smudge was found on the roadside, by my father. We brought him home and cleaned him up. It is such a pleasure having a kitten around - playful, mischievous little things that they are! Smudge got on well with his big "uncles". They loved playing with him, and he for his part loved wrestling with them, a small little David to these surprisingly gentle Goliaths. I put him up for adoption (via facebook) and was so fortunate that a nice lady fell in love with his adorable little photo. She came by and within the hour had made her decision. She brought Smudge home, took him to the vet and made a monumentous discovery - Smudge was a she! Well, well, well. But Smudge has made a happy home with her.


Finally, Sootie. This is indeed the saddest story of all. We had been looking after Sootie for some time now, probably for slightly more than 3 years. The neighbours a few doors down also loved him, especially the two daughters of the house. Friendly and affectionate, Sootie loved showing us the white flash on his belly. Then one morning, I opened the gate to drive out. As is my normal practice, I did a cat scan (a scan for cats) to ensure that I didn't reverse over an unwitting animal. I saw Sootie lying against the gate. I went to check what he was doing and realised that he was unnaturally still. We picked him up a little and realised that blood was flowing from his mouth. He must have been hit by a car, or run over, but there were no visible wounds. His fur was still beautifully soft and lustrous, his body still a little warm. But that was the end for him. It's been about 6 weeks, but we still miss him very much. That's why his is the first photo at the top of this post.

Back to cats

Now that I have finished all these French posts, I can go back to blogging about my daily life and more importantly, my cats!

I did not mention it earlier but whilst I was in France I got a sad SMS from my mother: "Patches died". This was the day after I messaged her to check on the cats and she had replied "all ok". So this message was a little unexpected.

Patches is one of our "street cats" i.e. he lives somewhere on the street and we feed him at night. He's been around awhile, and I suspect could have fathered one of the pirate kittens, Smee (they both have slightly shorter "munchkin"-like legs), prior to his being neutered. He tried coming to our house but Paddy chased him off and so he is fed on the pavement opposite our house.

One day my father (the chief feeder) said that he hadn't seen Patches around for a week. Now the thing about the street cats is that they come and go frequently - if they disappear, it is very difficult for us to find them. So we could only wait for Patches to reappear which he did, a day or two later, on our doorstep. His appearance was shocking - completely bedraggled, very thin, and could hardly walk. We put him in one of the cages, fed him (he was really hungry) and monitored him. The next day, we took him out of the cage so he could eat and walk around a bit. Then, despite his weak state, he staggered outside and refused to come back. As the days passed this pattern continued. He came regularly for food but left after he had eaten. He seemed to improve. The other cats did not like his appearance on our doorstep and avoided the house when he was around.

Whilst I was in France, these little journeys of his proved his undoing. It rained torrents one day and poor Patches was caught in it. He came back soaked to the skin. My parents dried him off, put him in a towel and tried to warm him up. But by the morning, he had passed away. Poor Patches. He was a spunky and independent cat, and when we got to know him better, an affectionate one. We will miss him.


It has generally not been a good time for our cats. Sootie has been urinating blood. It is a result of feeding him cheap cat food - what can we do when we feed 15 cats in total - but false economy now as the vet bills are racking up. At our first visit, we got some antibiotics for him. 3 weeks after our initial visit, the problem is still there. Brought him for a second vet visit and found he's now dehydrated. He needs to be infused with about 220ml of saline, for 3 days in a row. He refuses the healthy prescription diet supplied by the vet and so we need to decide whether to give him the food which he is used to, even tho' its not so good for him. As the picture shows, he is very well behaved at the vet - terrified, poor boy.

Mickey's got problems eating, and of course his worm problem hasn't gone away either. Another vet visit, but at least the inflamation in his mouth is going away and his appetite is back (in a big way). Mollie, on the other hand has been limping for a few days now. Whiteboy1 (another stray) had an abcess on his cheek, likely caused by a wound infected from a fight. Fortunately it has burst and we cleaned it and threw antiseptic powder on it.

And of course, Dinky has gotten fleas from somewhere! Sigh. It never rains but paws.