Amputated

"Hey honey, just want you to know to be careful with the cat's tail, I think it got hurt."

Our cat loves attention and loves rubbing up on our legs and especially loves to get in our way. This is exactly what happened when Tom was trying to shoo Stasa and the cat out of our bedroom so he could close the door. Only the door caught the cat's tail and she instinctively ran, causing more damage to her tail.

I got Tom's text when I landed in Dulles around midnight and immediately texted back, but assumed that her tail had been stepped on or pulled by Stasa. I saw her when I got home and immediately realized it was worse than that when I saw the blood. So I took her up to the bathroom and cleaned the wound with hydrogen peroxide and tried to see how bad it was, but with all of the matted fur it was near impossible.

Tom made an appointment at the vet in the morning and Stasa, kitty and I headed out to see what, if anything, could be done for her tail. The vet checked her over and told me the possibilities. She'd have to put the cat under to clip and clean the tail to see how much damage there was. I was told that it might just be an abrasion or could need just a couple of stitches if there was a flap of skin to pull over. And then the worst case scenario was amputating part of the tail, but I really didn't think that was going to happen. I signed all of the paperwork, bade the cat goodbye and then left to go home.

The vet called about an hour later to say that the wound was much worse and that she had to amputate part of the cat's tail, but that the cat was doing okay and waking up. So now our poor cat is a little lighter in the rear. We're supposed to go back on Sunday to have the bandage removed and her stitches checked. She's been spending the day doped up and passed out on her favorite chair.