Curse the fiend !

You’d think that the House of Chaos had seen its final share of horrors this year, and we would finally be able to sit back and take a breather… and then…

Last Saturday evening a neighbour remarked: “Don’t you guys have a white-and-orange cat ?” The way he asked it stopped our hearts. Then he continued: “My brother told me there’s one who had an accident, he got hit by a car…”
That immediately set Grumpy Man and me grabbing flashlights and scouring the field opposite our house, frantically calling for Bean Sidhe, whilst the neighbour went to look for his brother and get more details. He called us back: “people of a few houses further had seen it happen and took him in.”
Of course, I made a dash for said house, rang, and got invited in by a nice young couple… to find in the living room a shopping basket filled with a very subdued and sorry Bean Sidhe.

Their doubt whether this kitty would belong to me was lifted immediately when it plaintively meowed to me, and lifted his head for scritches. They have seen him often in the street, begging food from neighbours (we actually have neighbours who buy cat food to give to him, he’s THAT good at begging – even though some of them know he’s ours) and wondered whether he was a stray or not. After making sure the poor wounded kitty was comfortable they had asked their neighbours, they had tried knocking on doors or ringing doorbells… Grumpy Man was out working and I was fast asleep… so nobody could tell them who this lovely animal belonged to.

Eyebrows were raised when I told them we had six of them little tigers running around. Hands were raised in gentle refusal when I proposed to pay for the vet costs. “The vet did it for free.” I immediately knew which vet they were talking of – the Man In White ! Sweet goodbyes were said and best wishes for recovery uttered when I took Bean Sidhe back to the House of Chaos.

Where he was gently installed in a more cozy and comfortable bed: a soft pet’s bed with towels for insulation. The other feline denizens went over for a little bit of nosey-nosey, but he growled when they came near his backside. He had good reason to, as the Man In White was later to confirm to me.

The story: On Friday evening these nice people saw a car speeding up the street from behind the bend (you are only allowed 30 km/hour in our street due to 2 schools and a sportshall, and there’s a bend in the street prior to our row of houses so you don’t see what’s on the street behind it when you approach that bend). Bean Sidhe had this annoying habit to install his august self in the middle of the street and await the reactions of the drivers – who usually stop or give him time to get away. But this one didn’t. This one didn’t even slow down. Our poor kitty was bashed in the head, scooped up (whew ! not crushed under the wheels !!), slammed with his back against the car and got slammed again in his backside for good measure before landing on the street again. The onlookers, seeing that he wouldn’t get up, immediately came over, scooped him up, and brought him to the police station just a street away. They in turn took them to the Man In White (who couldn’t tell them who owned this cat – he doesn’t have our number/address for one thing).

Our local police officers often take wounded animals to him: they know him because he takes care of their own dogs, he’s located nearby, and he’s always ready to help any animal. Most often though, and sadly, he has to put them down due to too horrible injuries. So he’s always overjoyed when he can save one. Like this time.

The injuries: a sore head, a very sore spine with a spectacular bruise, and some intestines hanging from the anus (pushed out by the force of the final slam). The MIW deftly inserted them back where they belonged, gave Bannikins a painkiller and another shot for the shock. It’s been freezing outside, without those sweet good people he would have died within the hour.

The aftermath: all the time during Sunday and Monday Bean Sidhe would just lie there, wouldn’t eat, wouldn’t even drink. I dribbled some water in his mouth with a special bottle, and changed the towels when he soiled them. I bought a big bouquet of flowers for the nice people and washed the towels they had lend us. Monday evening we went back to see the MIW. He ran a finger across Bean Sidhe’s spine and -wonder of wonders- his skin/muscles reacted: no lesion, no paralysis. He prescribed some more cortisones, and a food supplement: vitamins, minerals and proteins all in one pill (which Bannikins loves to gobble up). He said we could only wait, it would take at least 10 days for the kitty to heal.

So now it’s Wednesday. Bean Sidhe did manage to produce some doo-doo’s yesterday, proving that his intestines had recovered and were working normally. He has started to eat again. He walked around a bit today, wobbly and gingerly, and went over to the foodbowls in order to have a good munch. He’s slowly turning into his old self again: complaining bitterly about the service and trying to get as much attention as possible. But he still needs to sleep a lot. To sleep and get better.

And the driver ? I’m not the swiftest person to curse someone, mindful of the Witches’ law that everything you do returns thricefold, but this I must pronounce with the most heartfelt feelings of disgust: I hope you get what you deserve.

You didn’t slow down for a cat.

It could have been a child.

Picture below:

*sigh* All the comforts of home… a cozy nest, a litter box, food at the paw, a bowl of water… but where are the scritches and cuddlings ?!

There’s more fun places to be: the Friday Ark for instance, and the Carnival of the Cats or Weekend Cat Blogging or the Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos…

 

Update: Visited the MIW again this morning (Dec 4)… the swelling of the bruises has lessened enough that he could perform a more thorough check of Bannikin’s chest, back and pelvis: no broken bones, no joints out of kilter. Phew !!

The only injury that’s left and must still heal: the Cruciate Ligaments on his left knee seem to be torn, which is why he can’t walk normally but has to drag his left hind leg along and that’s also why the leg is still swollen. Packing it in plaster would only result in a permanent stiff leg so the MIW has advised us to let him be, given that Bean Sidhe is by nature quite lazy, and to return next week for a follow-up shot of anabolic steroids (first shot was given the night of the accident and lasts for 14 days…) which would speed up the healing.

So, for at least one more week, Ban-Ban is still confined to the House (not that he terribly minds, mind you, it’s freezing dead birds out of the sky right now and as I’m typing this we’re having a nice little snow storm) and has to rely on the helpful service of his new friend the litter box. He can’t leave the House due to having to negotiate two steps up and down if he does so – which he cannot with that bad knee.

And one strange occurence: Isegrim, Freya and Hrimnir had this bad habit of streaking out of the House and onto the street with high speed whenever one opened the front door. They do so no longer. Ever since Bannikin’s accident. Coincidence ?