There's been a tomcat running around here for some time. A few weeks ago we saw him out during the day which was very strange. I managed to find him later that night and discovered why--he'd been attacked by a dog.
I managed to catch him for the night and fed and watered him. Got one picture and posted it on
a local Facebook page for people to post lost and found pets. The poor boy was in pain, but all things compared he was relatively sweet.
He got loose the next day and I really hoped that he would be going back to his home, which at that time we believed was the neighbors house. Unfortunately, that was not the case.
Until two days ago, I thought he was dead. It made me sad, to think that if he hadn't gotten away from me I maybe could have done more to help him. That's when he reappeared around the house again.
Wednesday, I found him in the cornfield but I could not catch him. There was another tomcat (that
is the neighbor's cat) attacking him. I scared it off before it hurt him, but he hobbled off.
If nothing else, he seemed to be doing better than before. He was applying pressure to his back leg that had bite wounds the last time I had seen him. He was still limping pretty badly, but it wasn't hanging limp like before. It gave me hope that he would survive.
I found him in the van yesterday. He had jumped in on his own and I spent a lot of time talking to him and getting him to come to me on his own before I put him in a carrier and gave him food and water. He was a sweetie, purring and nuzzling me. He'd talk if spoken to. His leg was muddy, but he cleaned it off and the top of his toes that he had been walking/dragging was raw and down to tendons. It looked bad and I knew he needed help.
We finally got to leave this afternoon and headed to the humane society down the road. I was hoping he was micro-chipped, but he was not. There were no pets that fit his description lost. They took him to the back and came back to tell me he was very sick and would have to be put down.
It was devastating.
Sure, it wasn't my cat, but have you ever lost a beloved pet? The mere thought of him belonging to someone out there that loved him and lost him hurts.
I didn't want him to be alone. They told me he was already in isolation and had to be kept away from other cats and, since I had been around him, I couldn't be let through the room because I could infect the other animals.
Yes, it sucks. He was suffering, I know, but I wanted to know if there was anything I could do. Would a vet be able to help him more? Possibly, but he would probably not survive his wound or the severe upper respiratory infection he had, and they would probably advise putting him down as well.
I cried. Sure, it's not my cat and I told them that, but I've lost a cat before and if anything had happened to him like that I wouldn't want him to be taken to a shelter and put down. But, what if there wasn't any other choice? Would you ever find them?
I keep thinking it's some sort of double standard. If I rushed a homeless person I didn't know that was injuries to the ER, they'd help him until they couldn't help him anymore. He could be someone's loved one, but you wouldn't know if he never woke up and was able to say.
This is why people carry identification and pets shouldn't just wear collars that can be lost, but be micro-chipped as well! They don't have the ability to tell someone, "Hey, I'm lost and my owner is John Doe and lives in Smallville. Can you tell him where I am?" like people do.
Surely, a lot of my problem is that it's been one week since Rose was hit. I didn't realize that until after we got home. I just wanted to help him and wasn't thinking about much else. They told me I did the right thing, but I just wish it had a better outcome.
