My cat Fuzzy had a close call last week.....

My cat Fuzzy is now about 8 years old, 10kg housecat but formerly he had been abandoned and on his own for some time when he was about one year old. During that time is when he lost his tail. After he was retamed and came to live with me, he has been a exemplary member of the family. He has had a few scrapes including blowing out his cruciate ligaments three years ago and having them reconstructed ($600) with a somewhat long recovery rehabilitation. He is a pretty tough cat.

The other night he went out as usual for his pee before bed. I didn't hear any cat fight or other noise of that kind. When I let him in, he came in in terrible condition, his front right leg useless being dragged with a terrible thumping noise. He was in terrible pain, and pieces of hair hanging off him all over end to end. He had a bad bite in his right shoulder on top and then underneath on the leg portion. He was mentally badly shaken. He was not bleeding profusely and his leg didn't seem to be broken so I put him to bed. He was very very upset and clinging to me. The next day I could ascertain the number of injuries and he was bitten all over or scratched. He didn't eat for two days.

That was about 10 days ago and he is a lot better now and only slightly limping but still he is terrified to go outside. My co-workers think he may have been attacked by a coyote, the North American wild dog variety that is famous for killing and eating housecats. We have been seeing them moving into our area for the last couple years. I think my Fuzzy had a very very close call.

 

VMTaurus:
Thank you for your concern. Glad to meet another cat lover....they are such good companions. My Fuzzy once saved our lives several years ago when my mom was still alive. We had a furnace malfunction and the cellar was filling with toxic gas/smoke. He came upstairs and woke me up, refusing to stop howling until I went to investigate. I had to air the house for hours. My mom was an invalid with severe lung problems. He became our hero.

 

Custard:
Normally he stays inside and the vet wants me to keep him in 100% of the time. Unfortunately he is a very clean cat and prefers to go outside to relieve himself instead of using a box. He never soils in the house. This attack happened when he was out just before bed. Now he is not trying very hard to go out but we shall see as he gets bored during the summer. Thanks for the well wishes.

 

Paulina:
Yes, he may have nine lines but he has had such an eventful life already I have no idea how many are left. He was abandoned as a young cat and went through a lot of problems including the injuries to his tail that ended up in most of his tail falling off (before I got him). But he is not a complainer and now he looks cute with his short tail. He is now doing well but still has some limping but daily getting better.

 

Sriniketan:
As you are in the States, you know what a problem coyotes are. They are very very smart. My friend in Colorado when I was telling her about the attack related that she saw an article and pictures of how coyotes are in cities and they have gone even into the subways where they go into cars to look for food. The picture she saw showed a coyote riding on the subway. They will get off the cars at later stops. I was amazed.