- May 19, 2011
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Updates further down the thread.
I don't think there's much we can do about this, though we are trying.
In the neighbourhood we've moved to in the last year, a cat regularly visits us like domesticated cats tend to do. In the last few weeks this cat has picked up two injuries about 1-2 weeks apart.
The first injury looked more worrying to begin with as it looked like one of the cat's claws had been torn off (a bloody mess at the end of the paw including what looked like exposed bone, but since I'm not a vet I could be mistaken). The first time I saw it I was worried as it was extremely fresh at that point (the blood was a bright colour so it must have happened that day) , however as the cat was walking fine (albeit with a slight limp), the injury was very noticeable, and the cat's temperament was normal and it was eating (sometimes this cat sneaked past me when I'm going outside and helps itself to our cat's food - I've since grown wise to this), I figured that its owner would notice soon enough and take them to the vet. A day or two later, the injury is still there evidently untreated (and also I'm pretty sure a vet would have told the owner to keep the cat indoors until the injury site has healed up a bit more), and I thought "maybe they'll notice it at the weekend?". Cat was still walking around OK.
The second injury happened a week or two later I think (though its possible I may not have noticed it when my attention was taken by the first injury). The cat is missing a portion of fur from its tail, but this injury is more worrying because it's pretty obvious that the cat is no longer able to control the tail from the injury site onwards. As I'm pretty sure this can mean necrotic tissue and subsequent infections, after at least a week had passed, when I saw my chance I lured the cat into a cat carrier and took it to the vet. I also rang the RSCPA and logged the case so that the charity could help fund the treatment should the cat be a stray.
It turned out the cat was microchipped and that it was registered with another local vet. The owner apparently came to pick it up, saying their vet would treat it, and after I saw the cat looking exactly the same a day or two later (though it is still evidently active and has an appetite), I rang our vet and the owner's vet. Our vet quickly didn't want to say any more citing confidentiality and it seemed pretty clear from the owner's vet's reaction that they had not seen the cat at any time recently.
It's been a couple of weeks since the tail injury and while we're slightly less worried that the cat seems to be in good spirits and the injury sites don't seem to have worsened then maybe the cat won't get hit with a serious infection. My wife is going to pursue this a bit further with the RSPCA but I don't think there's much more we can do about it. It just makes me think that the cat's owner is probably one of those people who thinks pets are disposable/replaceable rather than getting them the treatment they need.
I don't think there's much we can do about this, though we are trying.
In the neighbourhood we've moved to in the last year, a cat regularly visits us like domesticated cats tend to do. In the last few weeks this cat has picked up two injuries about 1-2 weeks apart.
The first injury looked more worrying to begin with as it looked like one of the cat's claws had been torn off (a bloody mess at the end of the paw including what looked like exposed bone, but since I'm not a vet I could be mistaken). The first time I saw it I was worried as it was extremely fresh at that point (the blood was a bright colour so it must have happened that day) , however as the cat was walking fine (albeit with a slight limp), the injury was very noticeable, and the cat's temperament was normal and it was eating (sometimes this cat sneaked past me when I'm going outside and helps itself to our cat's food - I've since grown wise to this), I figured that its owner would notice soon enough and take them to the vet. A day or two later, the injury is still there evidently untreated (and also I'm pretty sure a vet would have told the owner to keep the cat indoors until the injury site has healed up a bit more), and I thought "maybe they'll notice it at the weekend?". Cat was still walking around OK.
The second injury happened a week or two later I think (though its possible I may not have noticed it when my attention was taken by the first injury). The cat is missing a portion of fur from its tail, but this injury is more worrying because it's pretty obvious that the cat is no longer able to control the tail from the injury site onwards. As I'm pretty sure this can mean necrotic tissue and subsequent infections, after at least a week had passed, when I saw my chance I lured the cat into a cat carrier and took it to the vet. I also rang the RSCPA and logged the case so that the charity could help fund the treatment should the cat be a stray.
It turned out the cat was microchipped and that it was registered with another local vet. The owner apparently came to pick it up, saying their vet would treat it, and after I saw the cat looking exactly the same a day or two later (though it is still evidently active and has an appetite), I rang our vet and the owner's vet. Our vet quickly didn't want to say any more citing confidentiality and it seemed pretty clear from the owner's vet's reaction that they had not seen the cat at any time recently.
It's been a couple of weeks since the tail injury and while we're slightly less worried that the cat seems to be in good spirits and the injury sites don't seem to have worsened then maybe the cat won't get hit with a serious infection. My wife is going to pursue this a bit further with the RSPCA but I don't think there's much more we can do about it. It just makes me think that the cat's owner is probably one of those people who thinks pets are disposable/replaceable rather than getting them the treatment they need.
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