Friday, August 24, 2007

Groans, Grimaces, and Glutes Tightened

The Occasional Cat arrives at our back step unheralded and ready for snacks. He is a white fellow with some black and subtly striped blotches, and he talks as you stroke his head. You immediately notice his large front feet which sport six toes each, so we have just always called him Six. We know that he was abondoned by a troubled neighbor who moved away hurriedly. He has been fed by another neighbor but has mostly been on his own for the eight years that we can remember him coming around.
A few nights ago, the Occasional Cat arrived at the back porch and came in for a snack. He was so thin, but we attributed it to Summer Weight Loss -- common in cats in our past. We fed him and I picked him up to pet him. I felt something scratchy on his backside but attributed it to a sand bur or a cheat and didn't look to see what it was.
Two nights later, Six arrived again looking for loving and snacks. When I picked him up, I got scratched again; and he got testy with me and growled. So I decided that the bur had to be pulled out of his fur. Imagine my shock when I lifted his tail and found the eye and snelled line wrap of a fishhook protruding from his rectum. Yes, a fishhook was lodged inside the backside of this little cat; and there was no way for me to remove it.
I showed the situation to Jerry who was equally as horrified. We couldn't stop looking, and we couldn't stop tensing up our own backsides in total sympathy.
We put in a call to our neighbor who has been caring for Six for all of these years, and he came over and got the cat. He had the same reaction when he saw the hook -- grimace, subtle tightening of the gluteus muscles, and a groan. He took Six and promised to call the vet the next morning.
The next day, our neighbor was home from work calling the cat. He had let him out, had stopped by the vet's office to get an appointment, and had come home to find the cat and take him in. But, of course, the cat was nowhere to be found.
Two nights later, Occasional Cat showed up again -- this time he was rather cranky and bit me as I held him. I called the neighbor who was packing to leave on vacation for a week. He gave me permission to take Six to the vet while he was gone.
The next morning, I was greeted by the same groans, grimaces, and glute tightening at the vet's office. As we had been, everyone there was puzzled by how in the world this cat had managed to get a fishhook lodged way inside his little bum. After all of the little jokes about Captain Hook, Cat Fishing, and Bottom Fishing, they scheduled him for surgery. The fishhook was successfully removed later that afternoon.
When I picked Six up this morning, I learned that HE was a SHE and that HER name had actually been Sassy. They gave me the fishhook which is as long and wide as my thumb. Sassy isn't so sassy at the moment, but the pain medication and the antibiotics are doing their job. The vet's assistant said that case was one for their books -- only to be outdone by the dog who ate a pair of pantyhose which had to be surgically removed. I couldn't even go there.

1 comment:

b+ (Retire In Style Blog) said...

Oh my gosh!!! I laughed and laughed. Thank you some much.

b