poor lampshade cat!

[lph]

Instead of waking us this morning with the usual demanding yowls for BREAKFAST! NOW! Lyra was huddled looking apathetic and uncomfortable on the couch when I came up this morning. Could barely touch her without her shrieking, and she could just limp down from the couch and in for an uninterested breakfast

I was so sure that she'd been hit by a car but the vet was very clear that he could not find any signs of inner damage or bleeding. She had multiple cuts and sores all over her abdomen, though, which gaped and must have been very painful. General anesthetic, antibiotics, painkillers, a lot of shaving and 14 stitches later she's wobbling around at home with a lampshade on her head looking very depressed... We're thrilled that it wasn't life-threatening of course - but how does a large, agile, athletic cat get all cut up like this? Looks like she fell off a roof onto a pile of barbed wire, but she has no cuts on her paws or pads, they're all from the elbow and up, mostly on the chest. Very strange! And this is a pretty squeaky-clean suburban neighbourhood with tidy little gardens. No cuts on the nose, ears or face, as if she'd been in a fight. Somehow this happened between 4 am, when my dh came home and found her happily snoring on the heated floor in the bathroom, and 8.30 am when I found her. Poor puddy-tat.

[colby]

Maybe got stuck going through something, like a hole in a fence? Poor kitty.

[bmccasland]

LPH - hope kitty is feeling better soon. Obviously was not listening to the "Pink Panther" theme (which is currently playing on the Jazz radio station I have on) while out on an early morning prowl. It does sound like your kitty got into something, and unless you speak cat , you'll probably never know.

I came back from braving the shopping mall crowd, to no Herald on the couch..... As I'm not sure if he's gone off somewhere to peacefully go to sleep, forever, I start panicing. Look everywhere, and finally find him, under a dresser that's in a closet - he got in but couldn't quiet get out, the old arthritic joints wouldn't let him bend enough to pull himself out. So now he's back on his heating pad on the couch where he belongs.

[Kerry1976]

Poor little kitty. I hope she heals fully and soon! Cats have a knack for finding trouble even when it is impossible to find.

[PamNY]

Hope she's better soon. Cats are so talented at things of this nature; you'll probably never know what happened, but it will make a great story (after all is well, of course).

[lph]

Today she's her usual rambunctious self Full of stitches and shaved spots, and very annoyed at the lampshade, but hungry, playful and talking again. SO relieved

She is going to drive us up the wall until she's let out again sometime next week.

Aw, poor Herald! You'd think they had enough sense to not squeeze in where they can't get out. Do you have younger cats as well?

[Catrin]

Glad to hear kitty is feeling better after her mysterious adventure and that Herald is over his little adventure as well. Herald doesn't know that he gives you a small heart attack every time he disappears... Do you have other kitties?

[nancielle]

Glad to hear Lyra is doing better. And that Herald is back on the couch where he belongs.

My own Houdini cat (Hunter, aka Brat Cat 1.0) had given me a scare back in September. One night he just seemed to vanish. I knew he was in the house when I took Chloe for her last walk but come bed time, Chloe was accounted for as was Ghost but no Hunter. I looked all through the apartment. Looked in closets, under furniture. Nada. Drove me crazy. Even woke up in the middle of the night and checked again. Still nothing. Then early the next morning, I was getting myself and Chloe ready for a charity walk we were doing when I heard a very annoyed meow coming from our back landing (I live on the second floor in my building). There he sat, demanding to come in. Couldn't figure out how he had gotten out. Until...
as I was setting up Ghost in his room (the cats are kept separated when I leave the house...they're still working out their issues) and he was staring out the window. Normally he comes running when he hears food hitting his bowl (or any bowl for that matter) but he was mesmerized by something out the window. When I checked, there was Houdini cat hanging from the very slim window casing outside. I normally open that window from the top since it's a floor to ceiling window and I had been warned about cats knocking screens out of windows. Unbeknownst to me, the screen had dropped just enough for a very sneaky cat to get out of. But there is no ledge for him to rest on so it would be a two-story drop. After recovering from my near heart attack, I opened the window from the bottom to pull my escape artist back in. He was quite unhappy that his foray into the great outdoors had been thwarted. He still periodically checks the window (climbs the curtains) but with temps in the 20's, he's got a long wait before the window is opened again.

[bmccasland]

Aw, poor Herald! You'd think they had enough sense to not squeeze in where they can't get out. Do you have younger cats as well?

and that Herald is over his little adventure as well. Herald doesn't know that he gives you a small heart attack every time he disappears... Do you have other kitties?

LPH - Glad to hear your kitty is feeling much better, despite the indignity of having to wear a lamp shade.

Yes, I have a younger cat, Calypso, she's 3, and a piglette. The local squirrels are keeping her entertained, with the safety of glass between the two of them. Bonnie is my other senior citizen, at 17 (she's 6 mo older than Herald). Bonnie has hyperthyroid disease - so making sure she gets enough to eat, and Calypso doesn't eat too much is a real trick. Herald is doing better on a soft diet - hasn't thrown up in 2 weeks - but he's getting to be a "hard stick" to give sub-Q fluids. Complained bitterly last night, and I couldn't get the line in.

[WindingRoad]

Maybe she got in a fight with another cat? or a dog possibly?

[Dogmama]

That's why I don't let my cat outside. He's 17 and would be coyote breakfast in two seconds flat. Even as a younger guy, I don't think he was particularly macho. I got him from the Humane Society and he looked like he'd recently been in several cat fights - and lost.

My vet is firmly against letting cats outside. I know it's tough when they try to escape - but now my guy isn't even interested. Hey, he's got a good deal inside - why blow it?