The Perm-a-Whistle Kitty, part II

In my last post, I explained how my Lollygagger’s kitty was beaten up by my elephantine cat named Murray.

It’s sad and unfortunate, but the poor kitten was attacked again. No, Murray has become her friend in the past few weeks since he attacked her. He seems remorseful, if a cat could ever be so. No, this time it was my dog. Maura is an Akita, who is small for her breed at roughly 80 lbs.

The Lollygagger’s daddy enjoys spoiling everyone in the family, including the pets. He’s not really as knowledgeable of animals as he should be, but he spent roughly half his life traveling the world while in the Army. He never had time for pets or a place to put them, so his experience with pets is limited. As such, the concept of tossing bits of chicken to a cat in front of a dog is lacking in the area of common sense.

I know you can see what’s coming. It’s sad, but true. The poor Little Princess was attacked. That tiny bit of chicken was claimed by the bigger one of the two, who won the race to snatch it up at all cost.

At all cost…

The cost was steep. The Little Princess paid handsomely for even thinking she could come close enough to have a sniff. The attack was loud, frightening, and bloody. I had never heard the Little Princess utter a sound until that moment. She was screaming for her life. I still tear up when I think about it. It was awful.

The Little Princess dashed to my room up stairs and hid under my king size bed, refusing to allow me to examine her injuries. I couldn’t reach her and she was not willing to be coxed out. The bed is so heavy, it took a few movers to get it there in the first place. Moving it was not on option. Hours passed, she still lived. The night turned to morning, she still lived.

Late in the afternoon the next day, she came out for the food and water I cleverly placed in a cat cage. I managed to lock her in and made my way down the mountain to the emergency vet clinic.
This clinic must have a standing fee for everyone with a cat. Another $255.00 later, and my free cat is pumped with pain killer, antibiotics, and a single staple in her nose. Really it’s more like the tear duct of the eye, but, stapled just the same.

Now, she has a permanent whistle in her nose. The wound still weeps all these months later. She still won’t purr, although she will meow now and then. She refuses to bathe anything more than her face and paws, which leaves her back knotted and nasty. She will not allow anyone to touch her but me, and will only allow me to brush her so long as I only brush her head.

Here are the lessons learned:

1) Never believe your gentle giant of a dog won’t put up a fight for a tasty bit of chicken.
2) Never have the impression your free pet will remain that way.
3) Never believe you understand an animal enough to touch it while it’s suffering.
4) Never give up, your pet will learn to trust again. Even if it’s only able to trust you.