Tigger is one of the original fierce and mighty barn kittens, and she is also one of the two cats we non-cat people really do like. Tiggs has been on a roll lately and seems bent on using up some of her ‘9 lives’.
Five weeks ago out of the blue, Tigger had an abrasion with a huge lump on her left jaw, possibly the ‘gift’ of a passing car? My Loving Spouse put on his ‘farm vet hat’ and palpitated the injury to assist in the healing. In a day or two, the little striped cat was back to normal, catching mice and laying under the sun on the farm.
Three weeks ago, we noticed that Tigger was looking very, very skinny. With Tigger in mind, My Loving Spouse (Glory Farm Vet) declared all barn cats needed to be wormed. Eeeewwww! I procured the worming medicine and we served the five up a special treat…tuna and worm medicine.
Except….we couldn’t find Tigger…anywhere. She wasn’t seen all day or night, which is a very rare thing. There was no sign of the little striped cat and we thought she’d gone off somewhere to die. I was actually quite distressed and did not relish telling Number One Son and Number One Wife about her, as they are very fond of the little fur ball.
I was beyond delighted the next morning, to see that Tigger was back, looking hungrier and skinnier than ever. I snagged the barn cat and brought her inside to get some worming medicine into her, except all the tuna was gone. My Loving Spouse was talked into sharing some of his herring with the feline, this time dosed with worming sauce, honestly even without the worming medicine…herring is a bit disgusting. Should you like herring, it was wasted on her. A cocktail of milk and medicine was whipped up, which she happily lapped down.
In two days, Tigger was looking and acting better! Her coat became shiny and she started to fill out. We were relieved to have the little barn cat back where she belongs!
Our most prominent cat lover, Number One Wife was here for the weekend and noticed a new large lump on Tigger’s other jaw! It seemed to be growing and was very hard. Last night the cat seemed to be getting worse, so My Loving Spouse (Glory Farm Vet) and Number One Wife went into the surgery/workshop to lance the lump. I weakly offered my help and was glad the help was declined. The lancing did seem to help the little cat, but both humans came back in reeling from the smell!
Early the next morning, the Glory Farm Vet was concerned as the little cat had a fever and it was rising, so Tigger went where barn cats rarely go… to the real vet. She was whisked into surgery, the injury cleaned, drained and sent home into the arms of Number One Wife. Set to rest and recover, she’s settling in nicely where all barn cats aspire to be someday…..inside, on my side of the bed.
So glad Tigger is feeling better!
Lancing the abscess on the cat’s face really wasn’t that difficult, she was wrapped in a large cloth and frankly sick enough to have little fight left in her. Having got the thing draining I decided she would need antibiotics, l called “Our Friend the Farmer” who said let me look in my fridge but l am hauling hay right now. The following morning he called to say he had some that he had used on cows, considering that might be overkill and not wanting to kill the cat went down to the vet in town. I explained to said vet that l had lanced the abscess myself she asked if l needed any patching up before she worked on the cat!
That final picture just made my day. So glad she’s OK. They just have no idea what they put their humans through!
The farm “vet” might remember Smokey – half cat, half mountain lion. In those days there was no such thing as worm paste and a good old tablet the size of a sixpence was the only remedy. Crushing and mixing it, even with a freshly caught mouse was no good and so it was always left to muggings here to force said tablet down his throat. I still have the scars to prove it!