The Pet and The Vet

If you have pets you'll know that at some point you will incur costs at the vet.  I can't complain when it comes to Smoke.  He's 8 years old now and basically has just had routine maintaince so to speak and nothing really serious or costly.   A couple of weeks ago I noticed a wound on his neck.  It was a long cut, very deep but seemed clean so I put peroxide on it and some polysporin and off he went.  A few days later I checked it and it seemed bigger and a bit bloody so I did the cleaning again.  Then I went away for a couple of days and forgot about it.  The next time I looked it was an open wound, no longer just on his neck but up by his ear.  Very strange! This picture does not due it justice.

Off to the vet.  They weren't convinced it was a wound from a fight, they seemed to think it might be from metal or a stick since it was so deep.  Who knows.  It was deep enough that he had to have a full surgery, complete with anesthetic and a tube down his throat.  He came away with 14 stitches, and a lovely blue fabric cone.  He prefers red but there wasn't a choice. It is hard to get a picture of the long line of stitches so this is the best I could do. 

Here he is looking his best after surgery:

Now once he was home, we realized he had lost his voice somewhat.  That beautiful meow was no more than a faded croak.  Gypsy hid from him and hissed for the first 3 days, and Jake was quite stressed and seemed concerned and protected.  Go figure - he usually doesn't like Smoke.  The poor cat hallucinated for about an hour, chasing imaginary things on the floor and onto the wall, but then konked out.

He is an outdoor cat, and he is now confined to the house or a room until his stitches come out in 14 days.  He is not a happy camper. On day 4  he got his voice back and now we have to endure the howls and have to watch him throw himself at the window. Its quite pathetic, yet sad.  Chris is always in and out one of the doors so the inevitable happened last night around 8pm.  Smoke made a bee-line out the door as Chris was coming in.  I figured we wouldn't see him again for a few days and instantly worried that his fabric cone would get all wet and get caught on something.  I went out with the flashlight in my bare feet and in the rain.  I think the rain was the only saving grace.  He hadn't run too far, and being a dumb male cat, just sat there as I walked over and collected him. Whew!!!    But he hasn't shut up since.   Aarrgg!!  7 more days of this.