The last week has been spent trying to capture a Persian cat that had taken up residence under our RV. I am not a fan of Persians. They are too hairy for me and their little pushed in faces are fugly.
The temperature has hit triple digits every day over the last 5 days. At night, it got down to 80..oh joy. Now, if you put on a big heavy sweater and sat under that RV for 24 hours you might get an understanding of how this feline was suffering.
He was scared and he smelled bad..real bad.
Twice a day, I would crawl under the RV and bring him food and refill his water dish. The day it hit 110, he wouldn't eat. He could barely lift his head. Now I was scared.
I had developed a bit of a bond with him in the preceding days. He would let me touch him whilst he ate. When I talked to him he would come to me, but I couldn't get him to come out from under the damn RV. Even with wonderful treats like chicken breast, he simply would not venture out from under the vehicle.
Monday, when he wouldn't eat I figured I had to do something to get him in the house. My back was killing me and being an old broad, it wasn't easy getting my big carcass under that fucking vehicle. But I did it anyway.
So, Monday around noon, when it was already 107, I decided to snatch him up. I could tell he hadn't drank anything or eaten anything. His meow was so weak it was tugging at my heart strings.
I begged and pleaded with 'Sweety' to come to me. I laid on that hot dirt for over 20 minutes talking to him and inching forward towards him. Finally I got to him and he didn't move a muscle. His eyes were half open. So I grabbed him by the neck. He didn't even offer resistance.
I got him into the house and he ran under the bed. I was now smelly myself, full of sweat and dirt.
It took a couple of days but he warmed up to me and spent more time on top of the bed than under it. I called our trusty vet, Dr. Anderson, and made an appointment for them to put him under and clip him. His coat was so matted down and he weighed virtually nothing. I have a kitten that weighs more than Sweety. You remember Spanky don't you? Of course you do.
So he went to the vets. They called me around 2pm yesterday and told me what they had to do. They had to shave him completely, his coat was that matted. Then Dr. Clark, Dr. Anderson's wife, told me she didn't want me to be shocked when I came to get him. I said I expected them to shave him down to his skin, I knew how matted he was after being neglected for gawd knows how long.
She then told me about the stitches. I gasped..wtf? She explained that his coat was the worst she had ever seen and it was all the way to his skin in most places. It was viturally impossible for them to shave him all the way to his skin without knicking him, but he would heal and his coat would grow back. She also said he was horribly emaciated and needed to eat kitten food.
The only good news was that he was nuetered and between 4 and 5 years old.
The only original fur left on him was his feet and his face. From his ears to his tail he was naked and hairless. Or, almost hairless..check out this mornings picture:
If you click it, you can see stitches. poor lil guy. Unless one of you dear, wonderful readers would like to have him. I will deliver him to you! Come on..you know you want him, right? ;)
Persians are not very active felines and they like nice quiet environs..which our humble abode ain't. All the other felines just walk up and stare at him. He is funny looking with that huge head of fur and that skinny little naked, hairless body.
I love my vet's. They should of charged me $300 bucks for all the work they did, but they only charged me half of that. Dr Anderson and his wife Dr. Clark are good people. I am just glad I had a credit card that could accommodate paying them for their efforts.
Now, which of you wants to adopt this little guy? Remember..free delivery!
Oh, and have a very happy fourth ya'all. ;)
