Wednesday, May 02, 2007 , late evening

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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