Jack spent a relatively quiet night with us - his first at home. He is very dopey and seems to forget what he is doing half way through doing it. He is fine and purring loudly once snuggled up. His legs are still all over the place and he has problems with the stairs.
He is off to the vet again this morning.
Monday, 12 April 2010
Sunday, 11 April 2010
Jack has spent most of the day sleeping, and wandering around looking very groggy. He has also eaten quite a lot, which must be a good sign. He still looks drunk as he can't use his legs properly, but we hope that that is just the drugs. We will know more tomorrow when he visits the vet again.
So tonight is a big night... His first night home. I expect that we will be checking him throughout the night, but for the first time since the initial incident, I am actually beginning to feel more positive.
So tonight is a big night... His first night home. I expect that we will be checking him throughout the night, but for the first time since the initial incident, I am actually beginning to feel more positive.
Jack's Back!
He made a massive improvement overnight and was up and moving around, so again, we have been able to bring him home. I drove carefully and slowly all the way home, and the best noise in the world has been his somewhat mournful meoooow from his box - meaning that he is alive and complaining - rather than slumped and in trouble.
He is now wandering around the house looking rather drunk. He is a bit mal-coordinated. His front legs are the worst, and he will turn and leave one leg behind. He is also having a bit of trouble jumping up and coming down the stairs. This may just be the drugs, as I assume that he has a fairly heavy dose inside him, but we do have to expect some long-term damage. He has the human equivalent of a heavy calibre bullet stuck in his head. It is a miracle that he is alive at all. There may be some sort of brain damage causing some problems.
As for now... He is home. He purrs and curls up in my arms, so things could be worse!
He is now wandering around the house looking rather drunk. He is a bit mal-coordinated. His front legs are the worst, and he will turn and leave one leg behind. He is also having a bit of trouble jumping up and coming down the stairs. This may just be the drugs, as I assume that he has a fairly heavy dose inside him, but we do have to expect some long-term damage. He has the human equivalent of a heavy calibre bullet stuck in his head. It is a miracle that he is alive at all. There may be some sort of brain damage causing some problems.
As for now... He is home. He purrs and curls up in my arms, so things could be worse!
Day 3 - Sunday 11th April
I have caught up with time. Again no news, so we hope that Jack is still with us. We are going in to see him later this morning.
The situation so far otherwise is that we have informed the Police and they have informed the RSPCA. The police were extremely nice, but I know that there is so little that they can do.
If you want to be disgusted try putting "cat" and "air gun" into Google. It is frightening how depraved some individuals are. How can such activities continue to happen. Anyone who thinks that there shouldn't be controls on air-guns should come and meet Jack while they can. Air-guns are dangerous weapons Fact! I am not arguing for a ban, but at present, just about anyone can walk into a shop and buy a lethal weapon, capable of killing or maiming helpless animals, or even people. Who can tell me that the current situation is correct?
I am angry beyond belief.
Jack... Be strong.
The situation so far otherwise is that we have informed the Police and they have informed the RSPCA. The police were extremely nice, but I know that there is so little that they can do.
If you want to be disgusted try putting "cat" and "air gun" into Google. It is frightening how depraved some individuals are. How can such activities continue to happen. Anyone who thinks that there shouldn't be controls on air-guns should come and meet Jack while they can. Air-guns are dangerous weapons Fact! I am not arguing for a ban, but at present, just about anyone can walk into a shop and buy a lethal weapon, capable of killing or maiming helpless animals, or even people. Who can tell me that the current situation is correct?
I am angry beyond belief.
Jack... Be strong.
Day 2 - Saturday 10th April
There was no call from the vets by morning time, so we hoped that no news is good news. I rang the vets at about 9am and was greeted with good news. Jack was alive, and considering... remarkably well. He had pulled out his medicine tubes in the night. He was sitting up, being affectionate and moving around.
We decided that the best place for him was at home in his normal surroundings, where he would be less stressed. I was delighted and promptly burst into tears! Jack was alive! He was fighting!
I went in and saw the x-rays. The pellet is quite clear. An air-gun pellet is very distinctive with its waisted middle. There was no doubt that some sick individual had taken a shot at Jack. I collected him and his inevitable pills and took him home by car. He meowed a lot on the way home, pawed my fingers through the cage door and seemed OK for most of the trip, but then went silent. I checked him and found him slumped on the floor unresponsive and breathing very heavily. He wasn't well. I skidded around and roared back to the vets. I sincerely apologise to those visitors on the roads who I flashed and used my horn on to get them out of the way.
I ran in to the vet saying that I was probably being over cautious and that he was probably just sleeping with the drugs. The vet took one look and said that I wasn't... Jack was in a bad way.
I left him there and spent the day on a park bench 100m from the surgery door with my phone in my hand in case they called.
No news was good news... After several hours I went in and checked on him. He was stable. Not up, but not down. I held his head in my hands and scratched under his chin. I think that he recognised me. He meowed a bit. I just hope that I gave him a small bit of comfort. I left him there.
We managed to go back and see him later on at around 4.30pm. He hadn't changed. He was very despondent, and hardly looked at us. He was lying down facing away from us, and wouldn't turn around. He lets out the occasional mournful meow.
We hope that he makes it through another night.
We decided that the best place for him was at home in his normal surroundings, where he would be less stressed. I was delighted and promptly burst into tears! Jack was alive! He was fighting!
I went in and saw the x-rays. The pellet is quite clear. An air-gun pellet is very distinctive with its waisted middle. There was no doubt that some sick individual had taken a shot at Jack. I collected him and his inevitable pills and took him home by car. He meowed a lot on the way home, pawed my fingers through the cage door and seemed OK for most of the trip, but then went silent. I checked him and found him slumped on the floor unresponsive and breathing very heavily. He wasn't well. I skidded around and roared back to the vets. I sincerely apologise to those visitors on the roads who I flashed and used my horn on to get them out of the way.
I ran in to the vet saying that I was probably being over cautious and that he was probably just sleeping with the drugs. The vet took one look and said that I wasn't... Jack was in a bad way.
I left him there and spent the day on a park bench 100m from the surgery door with my phone in my hand in case they called.
No news was good news... After several hours I went in and checked on him. He was stable. Not up, but not down. I held his head in my hands and scratched under his chin. I think that he recognised me. He meowed a bit. I just hope that I gave him a small bit of comfort. I left him there.
We managed to go back and see him later on at around 4.30pm. He hadn't changed. He was very despondent, and hardly looked at us. He was lying down facing away from us, and wouldn't turn around. He lets out the occasional mournful meow.
We hope that he makes it through another night.
Day 1 - Friday 9th April
I am starting this mainly as a means of keeping some people updated on Jack's condition, as the news spreads. I am sure that people will understand that it is quite painful at the moment constantly repeating the same sad story. We do, however, greatly appreciate your comments and support. I will try to update this two or three times a day with any news on Jack. I think that writing this will also be a bit cathartic for me as well.
Who is Jack? Jack is our 7 1/2 month old kitten. He is quite large for his age, very boisterous and perhaps just a bit thick! On his second outing into the big wide world (a few weeks ago) he got stuck up a tree. He has gone on to do that about four times now. We have now formed a system where I climb up the tree, Jack climbs onto my shoulder, and I climb back down with him wrapped around my neck. Is this teaching him not to climb trees that he can't get down from - or just that I will always rescue him?
What happened? Last Friday Jack went out at around 9am and was still out by lunchtime, which is unusual. I was beginning to worry a bit as we have had bad luck in the past with two cats being killed, supposedly by cars in the last year and a half (it was almost 18 months to the day since our first cat was killed). Jack then suddenly appeared at about 2pm, crawling through his cat-flap, clearly distressed and injured. He was covered in cobwebs, and bleeding from the nose. He could hardly move and then slumped on the floor.
We rushed him to the vet, thinking that he must have been trapped somewhere, or had fallen off a beam in a barn or something. One of the first things the vet said was that she would check for air-gun shots. I was amazed and said that that would not be possible, he couldn't have been shot. We live in a lovely rural area and have got to know most of our neighbours quite well. Everyone has been delightful and friendly since we first arrived here. We left Jack with the vets and went home.
At around 5pm the vet rang us to say that Jack had been shot with an air-gun. I felt sick. He is a 7 month old kitten with dopey big black eyes.
The pellet is apparently clearly visible on the x-ray, embedded in his head. The vets were doing what they could for him and feared trying to remove the pellet in case the process did more damage.
We slept badly that night.
Who is Jack? Jack is our 7 1/2 month old kitten. He is quite large for his age, very boisterous and perhaps just a bit thick! On his second outing into the big wide world (a few weeks ago) he got stuck up a tree. He has gone on to do that about four times now. We have now formed a system where I climb up the tree, Jack climbs onto my shoulder, and I climb back down with him wrapped around my neck. Is this teaching him not to climb trees that he can't get down from - or just that I will always rescue him?
What happened? Last Friday Jack went out at around 9am and was still out by lunchtime, which is unusual. I was beginning to worry a bit as we have had bad luck in the past with two cats being killed, supposedly by cars in the last year and a half (it was almost 18 months to the day since our first cat was killed). Jack then suddenly appeared at about 2pm, crawling through his cat-flap, clearly distressed and injured. He was covered in cobwebs, and bleeding from the nose. He could hardly move and then slumped on the floor.
We rushed him to the vet, thinking that he must have been trapped somewhere, or had fallen off a beam in a barn or something. One of the first things the vet said was that she would check for air-gun shots. I was amazed and said that that would not be possible, he couldn't have been shot. We live in a lovely rural area and have got to know most of our neighbours quite well. Everyone has been delightful and friendly since we first arrived here. We left Jack with the vets and went home.
At around 5pm the vet rang us to say that Jack had been shot with an air-gun. I felt sick. He is a 7 month old kitten with dopey big black eyes.
The pellet is apparently clearly visible on the x-ray, embedded in his head. The vets were doing what they could for him and feared trying to remove the pellet in case the process did more damage.
We slept badly that night.
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