I saw something upsetting on my walk today but I don't really know if I should be upset. It was a kitty, a black adult cat sitting on the sidewalk licking himself. I stopped to say hi (because I have a soft spot for the kitties) and noticed that one leg had almost no fur on it. Wierd. Then he sat up to rub up against me and there was a long strip of no fur on his back. I COULD SEE HIS SPINE. Each vertebra, and yellowish cartiledge between. I...don't know how that's possible. He didn't seem in pain, in fact as I was gaping in horror at his spine he turned around and started licking the area. Eyes were clear and alert, was rubbing up against me all friendly-like...but it also didn't seem right to be able to see a cat's spine. Shouldn't there be skin over the area? I must have spent 15 minutes standing on the sidewalk, glancing at the empty house that the kitty clearly belonged to. Should I knock on the door and ask about the medical status of the cat? Why, there's no way to look at the cat and NOT notice the missing swatch of fur and visible spine where that fur ought to be? I felt like I needed to do something...but then I couldn't think of anything to do. It's way too friendly to be a stray but also not wearing county tags so it's probably not registered as all cats and dogs are supposed to be in this county. So there's a distinct possibility that it's not getting vet care (liscensing is tied to rabies vaccinations, vets have to report to Animal Control who then contact the owner) buuuuuuuut maybe the owners are up to date on shots and liscensing but choose to not have their outdoor cats wear collars...and i'm now being super judgy over a cat on a sidewalk but i'm still aghast over Visible Spine. Dunno. I wrote down the address because I can't stop thinking about that kitty. Should I do something? At least the kitty is evidently well fed, clean, and not afraid of humans, and it's not like the county shelter would be a more pleasant place than a springtime sidewalk. Ack. I want to help the kitty but I don't know how!

Erin, it took us a week to trap our feral. He'd had a traumatic amputation of his left hind foot, and the wound was open. When he stood from hunkering over his food bowl (DH was feeding him at his work site), the leg skin moved up like a pant leg and exposed the bone ends.

He was eating enormous amounts of food with his body attempting to heal, but there was no way that injury was going to resolve on its own. We finally managed to trap and transport him to the vet, who did a surgical amputation and close. It took him a few days to recover from the shock, and much longer to socialize, but he's had a lovely long life for eleven years since then.

The cat is probably in good shape otherwise, but s/he is not going to resolve this injury without medical help. It sounds at this point as simple as closing the muscle sheath and skin over the wound, disinfectants, and some supervision and ABX. As mobile as you describe the cat being, the prognosis is proably good. If the wound goes untreated, chances are very high for infection, which I doubt the animal could fight off, especially if there's no intervention and medical closure of the wound.

In your place, I'd go armed with a carrier. If there's someone home at the house, talk to them about the cat. If no one's there but the cat's still there, pop it in the carrier and take it to the vet, if you're prepared to pay the bill and adopt the cat. If you don't feel like you can or want to take that on, and that's certainly a valid decision, I'd take another route to work for a week or so.

Whatever you decide, good luck.

Thanks, y'all.

erin, holy crap. I'd have nightmares about that. Good luck with your decision. Poor wee beastie.

Pouring rain here. I wonder if we have inside work for four people all day long... we'll see.

erin_o, I would add that if you cannot take on the cat and the bills, it might be good to report this to animal control and/or turn the cat in to the humane society. That kind of injury - any attached humans either do not comprehend the legal and ethical responsibility of providing basic veterinary care to their pets, or they are ignoring it. (Unless the house and cat were recently abandoned, and the cat has been feasting off someone else's outdoor feeding station when that someone has not been alert to new cats with injuries.)

It may seem drastic but with the cat in the hands of animal control or the humane society, the worst case scenario is a quick, painless passing. With no care, the best case scenario seems kind of the exact opposite of quick and painless.

Oh, dear. That poor cat! Yes, I think the humane society/animal control is the way to go there.

Smonster, I'm sorry about Rosie. Much sympathy~ma to L.

Smonster, I'm sorry to hear about Rosie. ~ma to L.

Erin, good luck figure out what to do about the poor kitty. I have no animal advice at all.

I'm meeting Mom today for shopping and lunch, and then I'm going to my local library to volunteer at their used bookstore. They sort the new donations once a month. Ack new people, wish me luck! Also, I convinced TCG that immediately after driving home from work on Friday, he should get right back in the car and drive us to an Amanda Palmer concert an hour and a half away. Because he's awesome like that!

And since he is so awesome, can I have some interview ~ma for TCG today? He has a job interview in a town about 20 minutes closer to the house than his current job and one step up from his current position.

Is it possible that the cat is being treated? Being well-fed, clean, calm and not in obvious pain makes me think maybe he's ALREADY been rescued and is on the mend.

Mind you, I'd also be freaking out at the sight of the poor little guy.

Strix - did you give DH the jacket? What was his response? Inquiring minds and all that.

My elder cat is snoring up a storm. She doesn't normally snore. I keep looking around cause my brain just won't compute that the noise is coming from her.

My old Koogie cat had an open sore on his side for a couple of years. We took him to the vet a couple of times for it, put the collar on him and everything, but after treatment the thing would keep reopening. It didn't heal up until we moved, and it was apparently an allergic reaction to something in the old house. Not as drastic as visible bone, granted, but Koogie managed it all with lich-cat aplomb. That's the incident where we decided that he was actually dead and couldn't be bothered to fall over just yet.

I HAVE given DH the jacket, and he looks awesome in it! I told him I need to take pix and post, because...well, BECAUSE.

Guys, I WANT to type more, because I Have Stuff to talk about, and I want to communicate about Your Stuff, but it is taking me forever to type, so forgive laconicness. My right hand has pretty much been numb for 3 weeks and my constant right arm pain and stomach excruciating pain attacks are 99% pos...GALLBLADDER attacks! Of which I have had 4 multihour attacks since this summer.

So...I pretty much am going to have an organ sucked out soon. Which is DELIGHTFUL on top of everything else, since I haven't even, yanno, started therapy yet. And can't work. And we're broke. And am phasing off Xanax and Ambien.

Life challenges, let me show you them

So, I am terse in my keyboard responses, but know in my head, I am all full of feels and sympathy y'all.

Poor doggies and kitty and people = a lot more words in ma head.