Living With Illness
With the introduction of Limpy into my life two months ago, my life shifted.
From Day 1 of Limpy into my daily routine, my schedule has revolved around the poor dear. I ever check that he is OK. I fret about him. I spend time with him. “You’re such a good boy! And sooooo handsome!”
His tail wags with pleasure.
Since his ‘incident’ a few days ago, he has been living in my office. I suspect he will remain an indoor cat. While I had thought he was getting better, and still think so, he looks ever worse. The dime-sized hole in the skin of his neck has…to my great alarm…suddenly increased to a hole several inches wide. Like a long oval.
I get faint looking at this. Yet, I have had cats with vastly worse wounds which fully healed.
However…however…and this is important…there is a distinct contrast between how Limpy looks and how Limpy acts.
Yes, he looks…terrible.
But, he acts…happy. Yes, happy.
Why do I think the latter? He is scarfing food down. This is a good sign. He is grooming himself. This is a very good sign. He purrs and curls his toes when I gently rub his back. This is a good sign.
So, if I watch his behavior rather than his appearance, I smile. Hey! This is a happy cat!
But his body indicates…oh…oh dear. And my eyes fill with tears.
Last night I discovered that his left ear was clogged up. Geez. It did not appear to be ear mites (which leave a distinctive trace). So I, very gently, and with some water, cleaned the outer part of the ear. Limpy alternated between obvious protest and appreciation (nugging his head against my hand). Today, I did some more cleaning and…while I might be crazy…Limpy indicated happiness with such attention.
Then (caution: grossness ensues) I realized that he had…worms. Geez. The boy is a friggin’ mess! All this reminds me of when I took in Gray, who basically had every known feline malady. Today though, she’s resplendent with health.
Tomorrow, I will give Limpy a worm pill. I keep these on hand.
Once a day, I haul Limpy onto my desk and, with immense gentleness, wash his neck with a soft very wet toothbrush, warm water, and a clean towel. He seems to like this, and will nudge against my hand.
Limpy is now on medication from the vet. The vet will reopen Tuesday, and I will call in to explain about the larger skin opening and to ascertain if anything can be done.
Right now, it is a little after 11PM. Limpy is sound asleep on a thick towel next to my feet. He has made it clear that he prefers being Ross adjacent than, say, ten-feet away from Ross in his cardboard house.
And this is quite fine with Ross.
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Ross, you’re a good man. Each of the cats who encounter you are incredibly lucky, and their stories plus accompanying photos are lovely. I’m crossing my fingers here as it does sound like Limpy has a way to go. Whatever the outcome, he struck lucky when he made his way to you.
Colin
Grooming and appetite are excellent signs of progress. I suspect not only will Limpy be an indoor cat because you think it best but I think he may have come to the conclusion that he likes it that way too.
The expansion may have had to do with the size of the abscess and possibly dead tissue from compromised blood supply due to the size. Flush with peroxide to make sure all infection is gone. If it foams, not all gone yet. When it stops foaming it’s clean.
Now that he’s grooming you’ll have to keep an eye out he doesn’t mess with that open wound. Especially as it starts to heal and itch.
Yep. Sounds very like Limpy’s feral days are over and he has chosen your personal space as his new abode. I’m sure he’s glad you have come to the same conclusion. Probably wondering what took you so long.
Totally agree with what she says, with one caveat. Limpy may be overcleaning the site, and causing some expansion of the hole. It may be a good idea to cover it with a loose, cotton dressing. For holes on the neck, I often use a clean bandana, folded from corner to corner and then several more times. For most cats, it fits well wrapped around the neck twice, and tie the little ends together. It is folded on the bias so there is some give, it is cotton, so breathes, and it keeps the cat from licking too much. I have also used newborn onesies or dresses on cats when the wound is lower on the chest.
Dear Ross, you are a gentle soul and it looks like the e poor dear will grow to be a close companion.
Being a crazy cat lady myself, seems like he chose you.
Just rescued a cat out of horrid circumstances due to the fact that the owner was evicted from his apartment. Not only is this cat still very suspicious being around humans in general, I think the only reason this person got her , was because he intended to illegally breed scotish fold cats for profit.
In Austria this illegal, because their cute folded ears go in hand with a mutation causing severe bone and joint malformations. Hope she will settle in soon.
All the best for Limpy 🍀
Bless you Lis. I wish people would get non-purebred animals – there seem to be so many ailments in purebred ones. So sad. There are so many ‘mongrels’ who are so awesome and have the best quirks. I’m sure your new little girl will soon realize how safe and loved she is. 🙂
Ah, what a resilient cat! Limpy makes sure that Ross stays safe while the human is on anticoagulants.
Bless you Ross. Limpy know safety and love now. 🙂
Well with amount of “goo” that came out of that abscess I am not surprised that the area is growing larger. Goodness!! Poor fellow. Please let us know what the vet says. How old does the vet suspect Limpy is?
Limpy is a good soul, and so are you, Ross. I’m glad you found each other.