I know, several days have passed since this event, but I was at first too exhausted to write about it and then I was just plain busy. So here we go.
Recap: Sam and I are staying at the house of my in-laws while we wait for my green card. Dan's mom & stepdad are currently out of the country, so I am currently housemates with Dan's brother, sister, and Yuki the house cat. Yuki is male, twice Sam's size, and sure doesn't like having another cat in his house. We have all been making every effort to keep the cats in different rooms so they never have to see each other, but that doesn't always work. The room I was staying in downstairs has a glass door, and the cats would often yowl at each other through that door.
Last Monday I was out running along Dallas Road. (Week 7 of the Couch to 10k program, I logged almost 6 miles between running and walking). I was about 10 minutes away from home when my phone gave me the you-have-a-new-email buzz, and someone tried phoning me. This is not unusual so I ignored it. When I got back to the house, I walked into the room Sam & I were staying in and at the same moment read Thor's email "there was a cat fight..." as Sam came from under the bed, paw dripping with blood. I guess Yuki had made his way into the room we were staying in and they had it out.Yuki won.
I immediately put her on the bed (luckily there were two towels and a hoodie to put down on top) for her to take comfort in my presence and start cleaning herself. There was a lot of blood. I like a lot. I have never had problems with a pet before, Sam is the only pet I've had in my adult life, so I didn't really know what to do. I started texting with Dan, sending him photos of the paw that wouldn't stop bleeding, sent him a 37 second video. He said to take her to the vet. Well, I had to shower first because I wasn't going anywhere all sweaty and gross. Sam had started shaking, probably from shock.
At this point, I was still in nurse mode, so was fairly calm. Thor was home and offered any possible assistance. He came with us to the vet hospital.
We were put into an exam room right away. Sam had been all wrapped up in her bloody towel, but as soon as the door was closed she looked for a way to get up high (her favorite place) or at least a place to hide. She settled on behind the laptop in the room. The vet tech came in and checked Sam's vitals. She was mostly fine (she did just see a vet in September prior to our border attempt), but the tech took her away so they could clean up the paw & get a better look at it.
Away.
They took my kitty away.
Waiting, waiting. Of course I didn't bring any knitting. And we didn't know how long we would be or both of us I think would have brought something to occupy our minds with. Thor found Halloween candy. Looked to see if there were any games in the laptop (!) (There weren't).
Later we were told that Sam was "not cooperating" (no, really?) and they had to sedate her to look at her paw. What they found was quite a large laceration where her paw pads met, hence all the bleeding. She required some very tiny stitches, a bandage, the Cone, and some antibiotics.
When we got her home, that's when I started falling apart. Thor made me dinner and gracefully helped me get through the evening. Sam & I moved back upstairs, to where the mattress is on the floor (and therefore more easily accessible to an injured kitty). It's a part of the house Yuki isn't really interested in, and (most importantly) the cats can't see each other through any window here.
When we went to bed, Sam was mad at me. Mad for having the cone on, mad about the bandage, mad about the car ride, the vet, the fight, all of it. The room was cold. I was upset and stressed out, which didn't help either of us get much sleep that night.
On Tuesday morning the vet said the bandage could come off. I took the cone off too, knowing there was no way Sam would stand having it on for an entire week. She would have spent that entire week trying to get it off and probably further injuring herself in the process. I was going to help Sam remove the bandage but she was determined to do it herself.
I have to give her a twice-daily antibiotic pill for ten days. I figured the easiest way would be to crush the pill into almost a powder and mix it in with the canned cat food. Normally she gets this once a day as her 5:15pm treat, but at the moment she gets it 12 hours apart. She loves this getting served thing.
She didn't use her litter box for about a day and a half after the vet visit, which worried me some, but when she went poo I was SO happy I told the Internet (via Twitter). She was eating and drinking water right away, so I had no real concerns about her internally.
I haven't actually seen the wound or the stitches. She won't let me. I have caught her a few times trying to pull at them, but we're at day six now so I'm not too worried. The stitches will dissolve and fall off. My sister's husband, who is quite knowledgeable about animals, figures she probably didn't really need stitches. Well, I wasn't taking any chances. This cat has come with me from Korea, and is about to go another 3,200 miles east.
So things are much better now. I'm sure Sam will be much happier when we are in our own home and she can rub her own smells over everything with no threat from other animals, but in the mean time she is getting lots of loving and extra food.
Recap: Sam and I are staying at the house of my in-laws while we wait for my green card. Dan's mom & stepdad are currently out of the country, so I am currently housemates with Dan's brother, sister, and Yuki the house cat. Yuki is male, twice Sam's size, and sure doesn't like having another cat in his house. We have all been making every effort to keep the cats in different rooms so they never have to see each other, but that doesn't always work. The room I was staying in downstairs has a glass door, and the cats would often yowl at each other through that door.
Last Monday I was out running along Dallas Road. (Week 7 of the Couch to 10k program, I logged almost 6 miles between running and walking). I was about 10 minutes away from home when my phone gave me the you-have-a-new-email buzz, and someone tried phoning me. This is not unusual so I ignored it. When I got back to the house, I walked into the room Sam & I were staying in and at the same moment read Thor's email "there was a cat fight..." as Sam came from under the bed, paw dripping with blood. I guess Yuki had made his way into the room we were staying in and they had it out.Yuki won.
I immediately put her on the bed (luckily there were two towels and a hoodie to put down on top) for her to take comfort in my presence and start cleaning herself. There was a lot of blood. I like a lot. I have never had problems with a pet before, Sam is the only pet I've had in my adult life, so I didn't really know what to do. I started texting with Dan, sending him photos of the paw that wouldn't stop bleeding, sent him a 37 second video. He said to take her to the vet. Well, I had to shower first because I wasn't going anywhere all sweaty and gross. Sam had started shaking, probably from shock.
At this point, I was still in nurse mode, so was fairly calm. Thor was home and offered any possible assistance. He came with us to the vet hospital.
We were put into an exam room right away. Sam had been all wrapped up in her bloody towel, but as soon as the door was closed she looked for a way to get up high (her favorite place) or at least a place to hide. She settled on behind the laptop in the room. The vet tech came in and checked Sam's vitals. She was mostly fine (she did just see a vet in September prior to our border attempt), but the tech took her away so they could clean up the paw & get a better look at it.
Away.
They took my kitty away.
Waiting, waiting. Of course I didn't bring any knitting. And we didn't know how long we would be or both of us I think would have brought something to occupy our minds with. Thor found Halloween candy. Looked to see if there were any games in the laptop (!) (There weren't).
Later we were told that Sam was "not cooperating" (no, really?) and they had to sedate her to look at her paw. What they found was quite a large laceration where her paw pads met, hence all the bleeding. She required some very tiny stitches, a bandage, the Cone, and some antibiotics.
When we got her home, that's when I started falling apart. Thor made me dinner and gracefully helped me get through the evening. Sam & I moved back upstairs, to where the mattress is on the floor (and therefore more easily accessible to an injured kitty). It's a part of the house Yuki isn't really interested in, and (most importantly) the cats can't see each other through any window here.
When we went to bed, Sam was mad at me. Mad for having the cone on, mad about the bandage, mad about the car ride, the vet, the fight, all of it. The room was cold. I was upset and stressed out, which didn't help either of us get much sleep that night.
 |
| Mad kitty |
On Tuesday morning the vet said the bandage could come off. I took the cone off too, knowing there was no way Sam would stand having it on for an entire week. She would have spent that entire week trying to get it off and probably further injuring herself in the process. I was going to help Sam remove the bandage but she was determined to do it herself.
I have to give her a twice-daily antibiotic pill for ten days. I figured the easiest way would be to crush the pill into almost a powder and mix it in with the canned cat food. Normally she gets this once a day as her 5:15pm treat, but at the moment she gets it 12 hours apart. She loves this getting served thing.
She didn't use her litter box for about a day and a half after the vet visit, which worried me some, but when she went poo I was SO happy I told the Internet (via Twitter). She was eating and drinking water right away, so I had no real concerns about her internally.
I haven't actually seen the wound or the stitches. She won't let me. I have caught her a few times trying to pull at them, but we're at day six now so I'm not too worried. The stitches will dissolve and fall off. My sister's husband, who is quite knowledgeable about animals, figures she probably didn't really need stitches. Well, I wasn't taking any chances. This cat has come with me from Korea, and is about to go another 3,200 miles east.
I am very glad she's doing well! Here's hoping you can settle her in her own home very soon!!
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