Please hope my cat will be ok.

[SciFiScream]

My beautiful black cat has been hit by a car. Please send lots of healing thoughts his way.

We got him to the vet within an hour of his accident. He has a fractured jaw and a dislocated hip. First X-rays show no internal injury around his chest but vet says not out of woods yet.

We've to wait until tomorrow and hope for no other internal injury developing or a head injury developing.

He's young and fit. He was meowing and trying to move. That's good right?

He's on fluids and methadone right now.

We've got insurance. If he doesn't have any further injuries he's likely to need 2 operations.

So - what next? How do I stop him crossing that bloody road in future?

He wears a quick release hi vis collar but that's not enough.

I love that cat. He's my tiny black Panther.

He’s not home. 😢 his hip dislocated again on the way home. As soon as I had him out of the carrier we had to take him back to the vet. He’s going to need the operation after all. 😢😢😢

Oh what a shame - hopefully the operation will do the trick and he will be home and recuperating soon

Ooos but a temporary set back. Do you have any idea of when the surgery will be done?

Oh bugger. I expect they’ll want him done before lockdown.

I had a cat who was knocked down. She had to get a steel pin put in her hip. Anyway she was young at the time but I lived near a busy road. She eventually died of old age so think that she must have gotten smarter avoiding traffic after the accident. Hope your kitty makes a good recovery.

Oh, what a shame that he had to go back. It does sound like he is doing really well though having just read through from your first post. Hopefully he will be scared of the road now and stay well clear.

Oh, poor Gibbs. Hopefully the op will be straightforward. Keeping fingers crossed.

Gibbs is in having his operation right now.

I spent ages yesterday researching it. I messaged the Supervet. 🤦🏼‍♀️ I asked a friend who is a vet nurse about it. I even asked to speak to the orthopaedic surgeon at the vets first! She called me yesterday. It is absolutely the right thing to do.

He won't have stitches (don't know how that works) and so he won't need a collar.

When we get him home we've to encourage him to walk about to strengthen all his muscles and start the development of the false joint.

I'm going to sleep downstairs with him tomorrow when I get him home.

I can't believe I'm worrying as much as I am. Im a dope but a dope who clearly adores her cat!

Cats are the favourite members of the family. Good luck to him.

The surgeon just called. Gibbs is in recovery and waking up. The operation went really well.

So pleased he’s come through from the op. Your love for him is obvious from your posts. Please do consider cat proofing your garden or a catio. I’m sorry to say he may not make it the next time, and even if a car was doing 30mph a little cat is unlikely to survive the impact.

Very glad Gibbs has got through his operation. My friends' black cat was run over too but he has made an incredible recovery. When he was on cage rest, someone (the vet or friend) suggested draping throws over the top or side of the cage so it was more like a little tent with only the front open. I think it was to help him feel more secure. Once he started recovering, they found it really hard to keep him in the cage as he is a real outside explorer cat. However the vet was very firm with them that they needed to stick to the 6 weeks cage rest.

It's interesting my vet said cage rest, but the orthopaedic surgeon has said keep him inside but let him walk around as often as you can!

I'm going to keep the cage handy anyway and pop him in there when I need to be sure he can't escape or if he's getting a bit over confident as he heals.

I had thought about giving him a blanket for privacy to use the litter tray

Gibbs is a real outside cat. He has a massive territory that he keeps. They are both incredible hunters. They'd be great mousers on a farm.

Ziva is staying close today. They aren't allowed on the table, but the bed on the table doesn't count right?

Bed on table is sanctioned. He’ll have to rely on Zia to keep their territory while he’s out of action.

Bit of a random update but there is a point.

Neighbours had someone working on ladders in their garden today. Ziva growled at them while sitting next to me. She's always been a bit funny about the sound of ladders.

Gibbs has always been terrified of the sound of ladders and crawls low to the ground and hides for hours whenever he hears them.

I think something happened to them in the past that has made them scared of ladders. I can't work out what. They were handed to the rescue as tiny kittens in an orange bucket. Apparently they'd been found beside the body of their mum. They were too small to be away from her. I don't know if I believe the story the person who handed them to the rescue told the rescue. But anyhoo

The point is I'm hoping Gibbs will be scared if the road and stay away from it. I'll be keeping him in for 6-8 weeks and after that we'll need to see. I don't know if after having so much freedom I'll be able to confine him to home or a catio

If they both have the sense, intelligence and memory to always be scared of ladders...let's hope Gibbs will have the same about the road!

So he's home. He's very wobbly but surgeon said not to cage him and let him walk around. He's desperate to get outside but finding it quite easy to keep him in just now.

My new worry is that his sister Ziva is terrified of him. Hissing and growling. I hope he starts smelling like home again soon so that she can relax.

You can see the wire under his chin on the first photo.

Delighted he is home! My other cat also hissed and glared at our returner. Not such as issue as my boy was caged.

Perhaps try swapping scents by rubbing them both with the same cloth and applying a lot of Dreamies.

I'm so happy he's home. Charlie had his chin wire too. Kept getting caught in his blanket but didn't bother him at all. They're tough little cookies. In a few weeks he'll be a new man ❤️

You could try to ‘wipe’ him with a piece of your clothing - it’s the ‘vet smell’ she’s reacting too.

Lovely to know he’s home and looking so good!

Oh, poor little Frankenstein's Kitty! Glad he's starting on the road to recovery.