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Original poster

Something shocking happened to my cat - not traumatic to read but can you shed light?

87 replies

hereidrawtheline · 08/03/2009 10:10

Yesterday my boy cat Yang had been out for about 30 mins or so. DH walked into the kitchen and he was sat there on the floor with blood pouring out of his eyes (the sockets) and nose. To say we were shocked is putting it mildly.

Yang is 9, he is white, with long very fluffy hair. He is sweetest cat ever, lovely natured, he is actually our constant puppy.

Anyway we rushed him to the out of hours emergency vets. Yang is insured and we have made so many claims for him while his sister Yin has never had a claim!

While sat there in the waiting room we noticed a small bloody little hole on the top of his head between his ears. Very precise and not a lot of mess around it.

Vet looked him over and was shocked at the injuries. He said the wound on the head was the cause of the bleeding in the eyes/nose, that he had a very severe impact there on the head that caused brain trauma. He was shocked he was hit hard enough to cause that bleeding but he still managed to be ok, his pupils were normal, he was walking and responding normal etc. Vet wanted to keep him in for observation til Monday but we wanted to take him home, Yang has been in hospital for a month before and it was so traumatic for him. We are 10 mins away from this vet and promised to take him back there if he deteriorated at all. The vet said he had a very very lucky escape.

He was given an anti-inflammatory injection and an anti-biotic and we have to take him back on Monday to our regular vet. He might need a skull xray but they couldnt have given him one yesterday anyway because of the head wound he couldnt have had anaesthetic.

The vet said it "could" be an air rifle but it didnt look like a classic air rifle wound. And it "could" be a car but didnt look like that either as his paws etc were fine so didnt looked as though he had been dragged. He said it "could" be a person, i.e. who hit him with a shovel or something but the wound is so small and precise. He really has no idea what could have caused it. I would pay good money to know.

We are keeping the cats in til Yang is fully recovered but even afterwards I am afraid to let him out again. He has had such bad luck and I am afraid one of these days he will get killed and not make it home and we will not know what happened to him or be able to help him. I am just so grateful he made it home yesterday with such a bad head wound.

OP posts:
mananny · 08/03/2009 16:59

I'm a cat lover too and this made me well up I think that the cruel idiots who use air guns on animals ought to be the recipient of a pellet or 5 in their butt cheeks. Not that I'm advocating shooting what are most likely stupid teenagers.

bella29 · 08/03/2009 17:16

Disagree, mananny.

I would definitely advocate shooting the person who did this

Hangingbellyofbabylon · 08/03/2009 17:19

Oh, poor little puss. I hope he makes a full-recovery, he sounds like such a lovely boy. xx

mananny · 08/03/2009 17:27

I had to take my charge's grandmother's cat to be put down a couple of weeks ago. The poor cat had cancer that had metastacized to her lungs, and was so poorly so quickly. The grandmother couldn't bear to take her in herself so asked if I could do it. I did it as it was the right thing to do, to ease the cat's suffering. But I cried like a baby and held the poor cat til she was gone, as I couldn't bear to let the cat die alone.

Why do animals have this affect on (most) people? I well up watching the flipping ASPCA commercials. Kittens all shivery and teeny, and dogs with wide eyes.... pass the kleenex someone please.

Original poster
hereidrawtheline · 08/03/2009 18:22

Hi all. Well a lot has happened since I last posted.

We called the police. The receptionist who answered seemed to want to get me off the phone and said there was no point filing a report if we couldnt prove it was an air rifle. I said can I speak to a police officer anyway she was really winding me up. She was missing the point that something or more likely someone hit him in the head point blank and has caused him brain damage.

So she reluctantly put me through to a police officer who said I did exactly the right thing in phoning up. She was appalled. She took all the details, I have an incident number, I have to phone back tomorrow after we take him back to the vets to give them an update on his condition. She said she was going to look into what laws had been broken and phone me back but she said it sounded like an air rifle attack and that most likely the pellet will still be in his skull.

She phoned back and said unfortunately it is not a criminal offence anymore - in 2006 the law was changed. It used to say that if your animal was attacked then your personal property had been attacked so it would be criminal. Now they are no longer considered property, so it isnt criminal! So they arent protected in their own right which is a bit mind boggling. Unless anything changes or they get any leads it will not progress further but has been referred to animal welfare now. They in turn phoned us up later and said they would be knocking on doors tonight to see if anyone heard or saw anything. But I am still to phone the police up tomorrow after we have been to the vet.

Then Yang started vomiting a fair amount - he had just eaten wet food & it was all wet food & his hair. I phoned the vet who he saw last night and he said as long as its a one off its ok but if it continues into the night to bring him back in so we are keeping a close eye him. At the moment he is lying at my feet licking his paws. He isnt looking too bad. I managed to get some dry crusty blood out of the corner of his eye. I hadnt done too much cleaning him before because I have been very aware that his head must be killing him right now and I didnt want to make it worse just to tidy him up more than was necessary. But now he is not so bloody looking which is a relief.

He is now on his back with his feet straight up in the air, his normal happy position, belly open, so trusting to the whole world! Seems at least yesterday that trust was misplaced.

Not as bad but years ago when he was a baby he was sat on the wall in front of our old flat happily watching the world go by and some teenagers walked by and had some drinks in cups with straws and one sucked a load up into his straw and blew it all out again into Yang's face. DH and I have always been so upset about that, its just such a senselessly degrading thing to do and he is such a sweet cat he would never understand anyone being mean.

OP posts:
foxinsocks · 08/03/2009 18:26

oh gawd, how awful, poor puss

edam · 08/03/2009 18:37

Am shocked at police officer saying it's no crime. Surely it counts as cruelty to animals? It can't be legal to go around shooting at cats!

Poor puss, hope he continues to improve.

Original poster
hereidrawtheline · 08/03/2009 18:47

edam I am with you on that. I said to her the same, that animal abuse is a crime isnt it? I mean if you beat an animal to death that is illegal isnt it. So shooting one... surely but it isnt a criminal offence. It is just an offence under the animal protection act so therefore not to be dealt with by police unless the criminal pretty much falls in their lap. Doesnt make too much sense to me to be honest. I am going to question them more about it when I phone up tomorrow after we take him to the vet. I want to really understand this. I mean, you know I know a lot of "worse" things happen in the world but at the end of the day this is still really shit and my cat doesnt deserve it. DH just said anyway it is endemic of a deeper problem when people do this kind of thing and that is the truth. What kind of person enjoys shooting a cat? I dont get it.

OP posts:
Disenchanted3 · 08/03/2009 18:51

My husbands cat was killed by an air rifle,

he was shot 3 times and dragged himself home and died

It was on the front page of our local paper.

sorry about Yang.

Original poster
hereidrawtheline · 08/03/2009 19:21

Disenchanted I am so sorry. That is the saddest thing. What happened? Did you call the police? Did the person who did it get caught? How was your husband? When was this?

OP posts:
noddyholder · 08/03/2009 19:28

Oh that is heartbreaking dp has come in from work and is so angry for you.We are huge animal lovers \I think I would be uncontrollable if I got near these cruel idiots He sounds like my cat big white fluffy baby who lies on his back happily

milou2 · 08/03/2009 19:31

I hope Yang has a relatively comfortable night.

bella29 · 08/03/2009 19:42

OP - when you say it's been referred to animal welfare, does that mean the RSPCA are involved? If not, then they should be.

Hope he's okay - try to keep him warm & quiet if you can.

All the best xxx

Original poster
hereidrawtheline · 08/03/2009 19:57

I know I probably sound really uninformed but I am not sure if the RSPCA are involved - that particular phone call was with DH & the animal protection officer. He said it was an offence under animal welfare law, like civil law not criminal law. But that police would enforce it. I will give them the 3rd degree tomorrow about who exactly is dealing with what and also I will call the RSPCA and report it myself in case they havent already done that.

He is asleep right now. It isnt hard keeping him quiet he really just wants to lie there and be cuddled & eat every now and then. His sister (Yin) is such a nightmare though. Every time he comes home from the vet she hisses at him something awful and growls. I understand why she is doing it I just wish she would let it rest. And they are not being allowed out now for his health and also til the dust has settled and we have time to think what to do so she is pacing the house mewing. I do feel for her very much but it isnt torture! She has a whole house after all, not just a room!

OP posts:
noddyholder · 09/03/2009 10:20

how is he today?

bella29 · 09/03/2009 10:53

Thinking of poor Yang x

OrmIrian · 09/03/2009 10:57

Oh poor mog How terrible. Vile vicious thing to do!

I hope you get on OK with the vet. How is he?

Original poster
hereidrawtheline · 09/03/2009 12:30

Thanks He is ok. Still sleepy a lot but not so much I am very worried about it. Did I say I managed to get the crusty blood off his eye last night? So he looks less beaten up now.

I called vet to make his appointment and they said they really want to see him ASAP as they are worried he will go downhill if there is a pellet in his skull. So DH is leaving work around 1 which is the earliest he can get away and coming straight here to collect all of us and we are taking Yang to the vets to be fully assessed. I will post a full report when I get home, and also I have to phone the police and RSPCA when I get home too.

OP posts:
SheSellsSeashellsByTheSeashore · 09/03/2009 12:38

Glad he seems to be doing well. Keeping my fingers crossed for you

@ whoever did this. I'd also strongly advocate shooting them in the backide

edam · 09/03/2009 12:43

Hope you get good news at the vet.

bella29 · 09/03/2009 12:47

Very best of luck, HIDTL.

x

wabbit · 09/03/2009 13:17

Oh poor pusskin
Just wanted to say that from your description it does sound like an air gun to me - my cat Hilary came home one day with just such a hole in her head (but without the bleeding), unfortunately I think it was my eldest brother and his friend who shot at her

Original poster
hereidrawtheline · 09/03/2009 13:19

oh no wabbit!! Did you confront him? What did he say? Was she ok?

OP posts:
OrmIrian · 09/03/2009 13:19

Keep us posted.

wabbit · 09/03/2009 14:59

He was confronted by the whole family about the shooting of a robin and then my cat, he was on a bit of a wild spree at the time and felt like the whole world was against him - he was recovering from a breakdown and had been withdrawn from his public school because of stress.

He's still screwed-up at 45. But would now never be cruel to an animal.