My granddaughter, soon to turn 5, loves cats. For her birthday last year, I picked up a little trinket cat at Tractor Supply and gave it to her. It is black with white feet so I told her that it looked like it had mittens on it's feet. She immediately named it Mitten Kitty. On the shelf of honored relics that my granddaughter keeps, Mitten Kitty stands guard over the hockey puck that she got when I took her to her first hockey game. That game was also the first time that she got he face painted. Back story out of the way.
I came home from work for lunch yesterday and my wife asked if I saw a cat out beside the house. I had not, but I found her when I went to the upstairs of the garage shortly thereafter. It was a small cat, almost a kitten still, and was skin and bones with a hurt leg. It was black with white feet so it was a true to life "Mitten Kitty".
It was afraid of me at first but when I put down a towel with food on it, it came right up to me and ate everything. I saw a sore on the injured leg and could tell that there was a break. With a little more food, I was able to wrap her in a towel, put her in a carrier and off to the vet we go. Mind you, this is not my cat and I had no ideas of who might be the owner but there was no way that I could let this little creature suffer this way.
surprisingly, she had been chipped and was registered to a person at the apartment complex half a block away. The person had gotten her from the local shelter, THEN found out she was allergic and put her outside. As the vet found, she'd not seen the cat, who is now 4 months old, for 3 weeks. The original owner is financially unable or unwilling to provide for Mitten Kitty's treatment so they relinquished ownership to yours truly.
Yesterday, some predator almost got one of our chickens that gets out of the run. I am assuming that it got a hold of Mitten Kitty too. So Mitten Kitty has a spiral fracture of the femur which is not an easy thing to fix. The vet said that she was shaken so violently that her leg was pretty much amputated and only held to her body with the muscle and skin. I look at this little creature who was brought into a home, then cast out like she was, only to be attacked in such a violent manner. She then trusted that my wife and I were willing to help and take care of her.
Now, comes the expensive part. The options are to euthanize her which the vet will not do. She told me that they will keep her themselves because she is so gentle and loving. Amputate the leg which, to me, is the last resort. Or have an orthopedic vet put a small plate in to hold the femur together. The vet is sending x-rays to a local vet who does orthopedic surgery as well as to the UT veterinary college. I should have an idea of costs later today but it won't be cheap. It is a lot for a cat but there is an attachment and my wife who has said "No more animals ever" is the one who wants her the most. With everything going on in the world, a bright spot is relished.
TLDR... A hurt cat showed up. I have a soft spot for animals in need. I am paying money...
A couple of years ago a dog got into one of our runs and killed 20 laying hens. Loose dogs are not tolerated on our property. Passing through get shooed away in no uncertain terms. Harassing our livestock??? Well, state law says what it says.