We’ve got drama

TJ ate two feet of string, Derek was bitten by another cat, and then last night, well, I hardly know how to explain what happened last night.  It was almost comical and freakish, and it had to be seen to be believed (and I didn’t stop to take photos).  We have a toy mouse which affixes to the top of the guest bedroom door, and hangs down on a long length of string.  The mouse has a chip inside which makes it squeak, and the squeak combined with the grey fur make this toy the most-beloved in our entire house.

Last night a few of the cats were in the guest bedroom with the door closed, swatting at the squeaky mouse.  I tried to open the door to get into the bedroom, but it would only open a few inches.  I thought maybe a toy (or a cat) was behind the door and blocking my way, and I noticed Tie sitting next to the door, under a small table.  I gave the door another push and it didn’t budge, but Tie made a whimpering sound.  It was then I realized (I hope I can describe this properly), that the mouse-on-string toy was stretched all the way across the back of the door, past the door opening, under the small table made from petrified tree branches, and around one of the branches.  At the end of the string was the grey mouse, and one of Tie’s claws was embedded in it.  His entire arm was stretched out and sort of hyperextended around a couple of the branches, so every time I’d tried to push on the door to open it, I’d inadvertently used the laws of physics to yank on the poor little guy’s leg.  I ran and grabbed some scissors to cut the string, and as soon as I did that, Tie hobbled off down the hallway with the mouse still hanging from his foot.  I caught up with him, surprised that the mouse was still hooked on his nail, and on closer inspection I found that the string from the toy was tied around one of Tie’s toes, in a knot.  I had to hold him still and carefully cut the string again, making sure not to cut skin, so he could finally be free of that cursed grey mouse.  How he managed to tie the string around his toe after he’d already stretched his paw out through the table legs is a mystery.

At this point, I thought the excitement for the evening was over, but it was just beginning.  I don’t know exactly what sort of damage Tie’s toe incurred, but he was in pain.  He hobbled, he cried, he yowled, and in his most incredible performance to date, he threw himself into a litterbox and rolled back and forth on his back while screaming.  I’m mocking him now, because in retrospect I realize he was acting like a little kid who’s been injured, but not injured all that badly.  I’m sure Tie probably had pain like I might have when I strain/sprain my ankle, and I know the pain is horrendous.  I try to be a grown-up about it, however, and Tie was having none of that.  He let me examine his leg and everything moved properly, and I didn’t even see any swelling, but the theatrics were so extreme that we were considering taking him to the emergency clinic.  He was panting heavily, but his gums were pink, and he was willing to eat snacks I offered him, so I decided to just give him a half-dose of torbugesic (based on his weight), and to sit him down in a quiet spot to rest.  After about five minutes he was very calm and quiet, and dozed off.  The other cats were very concerned about Tie, so Scampi cuddled with him for a couple of hours, and Frank came by and offered a relaxing head lick.  After a few hours he was barely limping, and today he seems perfectly fine—no limp, and he’s running, kneading, etc.  The only thing I’ve seen him hesitate to do is use a scratching post, so I think his toe might be a bit sore.  If that continues we’ll take him into the vet, but as far as I can tell there’s still no swelling, and he’s not fussing over the injury.

I know I’m a horrible person for laughing at my cat’s pain, but Tie is the biggest drama queen about everything.  If we pick him up and remove him from a place we don’t want him to be (for example, the kitchen table), he literally kicks and whines and has a little kitty tantrum over it.  I know he was definitely hurting last night, but he certainly didn’t follow the rule about animals hiding their injuries or sneaking off to find solitude when they’re sick.  I’m sure if I’d offered him a spotlight and a microphone he would have limped to center stage and performed his entire act to wild applause.

So, TJ seems fine, Derek’s bite wound never became infected, and Tie seems none the worse for wear today.  Enough!

I’ve been pretty lousy about posting stories and photos of Carlo and Bunny.  All the other pets have been demanding, work has been demanding, and the pet food recall has taken up huge chunks of space here.  Both little kittens are doing very well, although Carlo is still tiny and Bunny refuses to eat solid food.  I could cry about the slow weaning… it takes Bunny literally 25 minutes+ (I’ve timed it) to drink enough bottle formula to feel satisfied, and all she’s eating from the bottle is canned cat food run through a blender with some water added!  She certainly likes the taste of what I’m feeding, she’s just too much of a delicate flower to feed herself.  Carlo still eats from the bottle a little bit, but he can also feed himself a bit as well.  They’re both really cute.  Here’s one photo that Flippy took a couple of days ago, and I’ll try to have others really soon.

bunny_carlo_shoe

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 05/02 at 10:36 PM

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  1. What a funny story about poor Tie! On the rare occasions that I have to spray him with Adams, Finnovar does this hilarious fake cough, sounds like he’s a consumptive asthmatic. It’s so obviously fake, though, that it never fooled even paranoid me for a second. He finally did it once in front of my brother and we laughed for at least 10 minutes. If the fake cough doesn’t get you, the squink-eye he gives you to see if he’s making an appropriately pitiful impression will.

    Posted by Helly  on  05/03  at  05:21 AM

  2. He probably dislocated his shoulder with the hyperextension, which doesn’t feel good at all. He may have broken the toe, but there’s little to be done about that. The pain medication was probably the kindest thing (after freeing him!) that you could have done last night, and he should be back to normal very soon. I didn’t find it funny, because I think I broke Spider’s toe once stepping on her. Now all of the cats get out of the way when I’m carrying the laundry basket- particularly on stairs.

    Posted by Georg  on  05/03  at  08:46 AM

  3. Good grief.  I know all about dramatic cats.  Poor little guy, though.  I keep coming back to see if there was any string poopage.

    The kittens are looking very cute.

    Hang in there.

    Posted by Von Krankipantzen  on  05/03  at  09:15 AM

  4. You want drama? Come see Bonnie purrform. I nefur touched her, I swear, but she runs an hisses an acts like I’s tryin to kill her. Poor Tie. He shouldn’t lif up to his name like that! An now, their favoritest toy is goned! I’s sure he’ll be fine.

    Posted by Victor Tabbycat  on  05/03  at  12:32 PM

  5. Thank goodness I’m not the only owner who has cats with an uncanny ability to get toy string wrapped around their toes.  I always feel embarrassed, but not anymore!

    Posted by cheshire  on  05/03  at  03:12 PM

  6. Mom is thinking she is glad she has dogs who are just stubborn and demanding. Well, okay, we do act all hurt if she won’t do what we want but then she never does what we want.

    We hope Tie’s toe is all better soon.

    Posted by Roxie, Sammy & Andy  on  05/03  at  05:23 PM

  7. Georg, I promise I didn’t find the event funny when it was happening—it was scary!  It was only after Tie had settled down, and seemed to be fine, that I realized how flamboyant he’d been.  He was definitely not the sort of cat who gets hurt and then runs and hides until the discomfort goes away. 

    Today he seems perfectly fine—I can touch his entire foot, squeeze his toes, bend all his joints, etc., and he doesn’t mind.  There’s no swelling.  He’s jumping and running normally, and eating normally (which he was doing last night, even while yelling).  He’s been extra-affectionate towards me, though… I think he’s sucking up to me and thinking, “Where do you keep those good pills?”

    Posted by Leigh-Ann  on  05/03  at  06:27 PM

  8. That’s a very big relief!

    Posted by Georg  on  05/04  at  06:16 AM

  9. I think the sensation of pain intensifies after the string (or um… clamp :wink,winksmile is removed.

    Kinky kitty. wink

    Posted by SemaviLady  on  05/04  at  08:12 AM

  10. For the record, Bunny is looking absolutely adorable and very unusual with the pastel torty points.

    Posted by Georg  on  05/04  at  09:58 AM

  11. Wow, you’ve been busy lately! Glad to hear everyone is on the mend.

    Looks like Bunny’s coming out with some dilue calico points...she’s going to be a beautiful girl when she grows up!

    Posted by Helena  on  05/04  at  12:18 PM

  12. Erm, dilute calico points. Sorry, typing too fast for the brain to keep up. smile

    Posted by Helena  on  05/04  at  12:19 PM

  13. Aw...I’m sure Tie would claim compelte justification for his behavior conisdering his harrowing experience. rasberry

    Drama kitties are so amusing though!

    I think you did everything just right, and honestly - my household might not have caught on to the door to kitty connection in time and might have caused more injury, so I have to say that you are very observant! (But then I have guys in my household who slam doors closed and shove them flying open without thought)

    Posted by prajantr  on  05/04  at  03:43 PM

  14. Actually, what has happened is something called reperfusion. A 2 dollar medical word.

    I kidded about clamps but please do realize that this is a potentially very serious issue. It is not purely theatrics.

    When circulation has been cut off to an area, whether it be something that Tie did to his toe (limb reperfusion), or in a human, something like stroke or heart attack - the restoration of blood flow to the area does result in massive inflammation and increased sensation of pain (understatement) is part of it. The reason being is that while the area was cordoned off from circulation, tissue breakdown can occur due to lack of nutrient and oxygen. Breakdown of ferritin (which stores iron in cells) can result in free iron in the isolated area that upon being reintroduced to oxygen, will ‘rust’ and this is deadly. (and why this type of trauma is more often fatal in men, they tend to have higher levels of stored iron compared to premenopausal women and some organs like the heart, store lots of iron, which is part of why heart attacks are so deadly)

    When it involves organs (such as the heart) in humans, if the blockage itself didn’t kill the victim—when circulation is restored, sometimes the damage to the tissues can result in fatal consequences.

    Bloat in dogs is another case where even if the dog is saved and circulation restored to the twisted off areas, reperfusion damage is sometimes extensive enough to prevent the animal from recovering. :(

    Anyway, if you’ve ever had a rubberband wrapped around a finger too long, and pulled it off, your finger will normally be pretty sensitive and painful for a while.

    As to cat theatrics, the cats I’ve had in the past were generally neutered quite late, and never bred. My last barn cat had been an early neuter (4 months) and was a rather reactive critter.

    After having spent some time going over materials about pediatric spay and neuter in dogs, I’ve learned that there is no dispute over the fact that the lack of sex hormones during the development of many puppies, results in a much higher predisposition for sensitized temperaments. Pups that are sensitive to touch, that startle more easily, are more reactive than their unneutered or late neutered peers. And which dogs also tend to have more noise phobias, including that of storms and fireworks and which may also be more aggressive. Dogs which also had predisposition for more endocrine and orthopedic issues. All of this has lead to policy changes in the service dog community (age at which guide and CCI puppies would be neutered) because the results of early neutering caused so many problems in dogs.

    I asked Professor Serpell of U of Penn what he thought about pediatric neutering and our proposed bill in California (AB 1634). He replied, “The legislation appears to be ill-considered and premature considering how little we know about the long-term impact of pediatric spay/neuter on the health and behavior of dogs and cats. At 4 months of age, dogs and cats are also too immature for us to be able to predict reliably their adult temperament and physical soundness. The legislation as written could therefore have a significantly adverse effect on our future ability to select the best animals for breeding purposes.”

    gah, people are going to run and hide when I read their blogs now! rasberry rolleyes

    Posted by SemaviLady  on  05/04  at  06:03 PM

  15. I have no problem with people who actively educate themselves and choose to not have their pets spayed/neutered young, or not neutered at all.  I don’t necessarily feel that those folks should be required to have a “breeder’s license”, but maybe they should be required to have some sort of certificate from their vet which shows that their pet is under veterinary care.  The people who are irresponsible with their animals and allow them to breed indiscriminately and who don’t spay/neuter because of laziness are invariably the type of folks who’ve never taken their pet to a vet.  I know that it can be difficult to find a vet who disagrees with early spaying/neutering, but on the other hand, most vets will respect owner’s decisions about their pet’s medical care as long as the owner seems involved and actively responsible.

    I don’t know what my feelings are on the proposal in California.  I personally know far too many educated, intelligent, contributing members of society who haven’t spayed/neutered their animals out of sheer laziness, and those animals always end up being kept outdoors part of the day, and they always end up escaping from their yards.  Always!  People who don’t spay/neuter because they just can’t be bothered to tear themselves away from the TV long enough to make the appointment do end up contributing to the unwanted animal problem, and there should be consequences for them.  It seems that the only way to fairly impose consequences, and to avoid abandonment of unwanted newborn animals, is to impose a penalty before the pet impregnates or gets impregnated.  Money seems to be the only thing that makes people sit up and pay attention.

    Early spay and neuter by shelters and rescue groups may not be the medical ideal, but it absolutely prevents any of those animals from procreating.  That’s a step in the right direction, and even if it’s not a perfect solution, we’ve got to do something.  Just expecting people to look after their pets properly doesn’t work—it seems like a majority of people can’t even look after their own children properly.

    One last thing… I know you were talking about dogs, but there’s evidence which shows that once a male cat starts to spray it can be difficult if not impossible to get him to stop.  Spraying can be avoided if the male cat is neutered before he reaches sexual maturity.  With so many cats being abandoned in shelters because of undesirable habits, like spraying, I think this has to be taken into consideration when early spay and neuter is being discussed.  Female cats can spray as well (I know a poor one woman who owns three spayed female cats who all spray!), and I’m not sure if early spaying of female cats could also help this be avoided.  It may turn out that when we discuss spay and neutering issues, we have to separate dogs and cats completely.

    Posted by Leigh-Ann  on  05/04  at  06:57 PM
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