My poor cat (Not for squeamish, maybe NSFW)

[xyster]

My girlfriend has had a cat at her parent's house for a couple years. She had it spayed and fully vaccinated, but we haven't really lived in a pet-friendly place until now. We spent saturday afternoon getting a nice litter box, litter, toys, a bag of Iams food ($$$, but worth it) and getting the apartment a little more kitty-friendly.

On sunday, we went over to pick her up, only to find a fresh, deep 2" slash across her belly. We rushed her to the emergency vet, who stitched her up. No idea who/what cut her, and prolly will never know. She'll be an inside cat from now on, though. Though I suppose it's a small price for a beloved pet, it took until about 1am and cost me ~$500.

She's in the bathroom right now because they put a drain in, and she's dripping bloody fluid on the ground (white carpets). Besides being pissed as hell about being locked up, and having to wear one of those cone collars, she seems fine. She's playing and eating normally. Anyways, here are some pics of the poor cat:



I know she looks half-dead in the second pic, but she's actually in the middle of rolling around on her back purring and batting the air.

[lee.]

Sorry to hear about the cat. Cats are great pets and their loud pur some find it to be pretty soothing. If you turn the cat to indoor only make sure to regulate it's diet. Cats burn tons on energy outside thus fueling their need to eat so much.

[Bronze MFP]

I had to wear a cone collar once, i feel her pain

[Nismo_Freak]

I had to wear a cone collar once, i feel her pain

The hell for? Did you have a problem with licking yourself as a child?

[skydragoness]

Sorry to hear about the cat. Cats are great pets and their loud pur some find it to be pretty soothing. If you turn the cat to indoor only make sure to regulate it's diet. Cats burn tons on energy outside thus fueling their need to eat so much.

Most definitely. I used to work at a pet food store (just sold lots of food and supplies), go with a 'indoor' formula and definitely don't go with Iams. (Cat food is more expensive than dog because it's much much higher in protein. Contrary to popular belief dogs are omnivores.)

wow that really sucks. doesn't seem like a cat-inflicted wound at all. where did you guys find her slashed-up like that again?

[xyster]

What's wrong with Iams? And what cat food do you recommend?

[Bronze MFP]

The hell for? Did you have a problem with licking yourself as a child?

It was more for the protection of the other children,

All jokes aside, i feel really bad for your cat xyster. will they be able to remove the drain tube eventually? I hope she makes a quick recovery.

[xyster]

yeah, drain tube comes out on wednesday. She should make a full, quick recovery. The cut was deep...well into the abdominal fat wall, but not into the abdomen itself (all according to the vet). It was serious, but not really life threatening in itself.

[skydragoness]

I'm glad you asked! I always like to share the knowledge i gained from working in the pet food industry.

The thing with Iams, is that it's not the 'worst' food on the market, but for what your'e getting for the price it is not the 'best.' It's full of a lot of corn and grain, that makes them poop a whoooole lot ... esp. in dogs. There isn't 'one' best food I can recommend, and since I don't know what's available in the Georgia market, I can advise on finding something that lists its meat sources in the first 3 ingredients and doesn't use artificial flavors/colors or by-products. If they can't even tell you what kind of meat they use it's good to stay away from it.

Dunno what's avalaible in your area, but here's some brands i'd try out after kitty recovers (which will be a while i guess) in order of cost: Professional/Premium Edge (same company), Felidae, Healthwise, Wellness, California Natural.

Oh i'd def. stay away from Science Diet, it's made exactly the same as Iams but costs twice as much.

[skydragoness]

yeah, drain tube comes out on wednesday. She should make a full, quick recovery. The cut was deep...well into the abdominal fat wall, but not into the abdomen itself (all according to the vet). It was serious, but not really life threatening in itself.

I have to admit, that's a mysterious wound.

[Graphfixz]

sorry, but I am not a pet lover so spending $500 on a cat?

[xyster]

hmmm, oops. We were debating between Iams and Purina One...I thought we got Iams, but I guess not. Purina One lists "poultry by-products" as it's first ingredient, and had a higher protein percentage than Iams, so we bought that instead. It's an "indoor blend".

I also intend to get some potted catnip or alfalfa plants once she's up and around. I've been told indoor cats need a small amount of fresh greens in their diet.

[skydragoness]

Hohohoho! Catnip rocks!I'm not a cat owner/person so the ones I got to play with were the ones up for adoption in the store (we didn't sell animals). They would go ape$hit for it. We have these catnip 'cigars' called 'el gato loco' hahaha. Purina One is similar to Iams, I think its cheaper though, so a better buy in the sense. Check out some of those brands I mentioned later. Some of them are around the Iams price's if not a few dollars more. Personally I think feeding animals a home-prepared diet is the best (like it was done before the advent of bagged pet food) but there are definitely some options out there. They'll live longer and have less medical problems if they are getting fed a pure diet. More money for food is better than expensive vet bills IMO.

[thekage]

sorry, but I am not a pet lover so spending $500 on a cat?

Yeah. Call me cold blooded if you want, but 500 bucks for a cat.. wow. You must hella love that cat.

[xyster]

Yeah. Call me cold blooded if you want, but 500 bucks for a cat.. wow. You must hella love that cat.

Eh, well, I love the cat, maybe not $500 of love, but what I think isn't important. It's really my girlfriend's cat, and she definitely loves it that much. If I didn't pay, she was going to, and she can't really afford it right now.

[UK-SRi]

Poor thing. Why would anyone want to do that??

Our tom cat got harvest mites on his face and was scratching badly, the cone collar made him really fed up, we thought he might need prozac!!! I just hope yours takes to it better.

Mike

[bobotech]

Awww!! The poor cat!!

I hope he gets well fast. It sucks when our pets get sick.

I'm glad that he came home back to you with that deep gash.

about 3 years ago, one of my cats got a huge gash on the side of him but amazingly enough, it didn't bleed or anyting. It just looked like the top layer of skin separated for about an inch. We didnt' even have to bring him to the doctor. After about a month, he was fine and the wound closed up on his own.

As for speinding 500 bux, if you aren't a cat lover then you woudn't understand. If you love dogs and not cats, just picture xyster's animal as a dog and then maybe you would understand spending 500 dollars on him. to a lot of people, 500 dollars is nothing to spend on an animal.

And for the record, I'm more of a cat guy than a dog guy.

[bobotech]

Poor thing. Why would anyone want to do that??

Our tom cat got harvest mites on his face and was scratching badly, the cone collar made him really fed up, we thought he might need prozac!!! I just hope yours takes to it better.

Mike

What are harvest mites? (i'm google lazy this morning)

[skydragoness]

When you think about it $500 is not that much for surgery and stitching a wound. At least in my area there are some vets that would charge twice as much. As far as it 'being just a cat' the wound was not life threatening as xyster stated, so to have the cat put to sleep for something so easily fixed is cruel. And I'm not even a cat person myself. Ha, if it was a puppy maybe thekage and graphfix would think differently

[Graphfixz]

My Wife is the pet lover in our family. She can not see a dog, cat or anything on the street without making me stop and putting it in the car.

You would be surprised how many dogs, cats and other animals I have had in my backyard.

It makes no sense to me and the things you do for love!!! bleh!

[skydragoness]

My Wife is the pet lover in our family. She can not see a dog, cat or anything on the street without making me stop and putting it in the car.

You would be surprised how many dogs, cats and other animals I have had in my backyard.

It makes no sense to me and the things you do for love!!! bleh!

Haha. Your'e one of those 'i hate everything that walks on all fours' people. I have to admit i'm not a 'animal fanatic' like i used to be, i'm pretty realistic about things. Although if i did see some dog w/ a broken leg limping on the side of the road I'd take him to a local rescue place at least, even the spca where they will put him down is a better fate than getting hit by a car. i'm more disgusted w/ the people who have unfixed animals and let them breed and spread the problem.

[Florida240sx]

Few years ago, When coming home my cat was laying by my garage door, and had almost the exact same thing happen. Just it was horizontal...Was too late to save my cat.

[JimmyMethod]

Sorry to hear about your kitty, but glad it's doing ok.

[thekage]

Ha, if it was a puppy maybe thekage and graphfix would think differently

Not likely. I don't hate animals. Im just cheap.

[wickedpelf]

damn dude thats awful someone would hurt ur cat like that...there are some ****ed up people in the world...but im glad it going to be ok...someone killed my dog a few years ago...it sucks...

[GEO]

my cat says hello to your cat!

[Jesda]

I generally hate cats because they never seem to realize that I could just eat them, but I feel really bad for yours.

[bobotech]

I generally hate cats because they never seem to realize that I could just eat them,.

Peanut would beg to differ.

[Dano]

Sorry to hear about your cat, I hope she has a speedy recovery... make sure to spoil her with lots of attention and toys

-Dan

[HashiriyaS14]

Wow, that's a really serious wound....glad to see you got the cat some care.

As for cat food, I tend to prefer Max Cat (due in part to the fact that my cat is a finicky pain in the arse and won't each much else).

Here's my (well, technically my girlfriend's) phatazz cat:

Oh, and it's name is "Kouki"