Last week the clowder started to hiss at Taylor. Taylor has been with us since she was 2 weeks old. She is now almost a year old. They all got along great, but when the hissing started, that was my first clue. I missed it.

Then Taylor started to hide during the day. She would crouch down under the second computer desk in the living room. I missed that sign as well, well, I misread it. We were hitting triple digits in the temperature outside, and under the desk is cool tile. I thought she was just staying cool as she is a long haired kitty.

Then she started peeing out of the litter pan. I guess I needed a piano to fall on my head, but this sign I did not miss. I took her into the vet and he examined her. No UTI, but he did find a tear in her tail. Looks like she got it caught on a sharp piece of wire and it got infected. The cats were hissing at her because she was ill and their scent changes when they are not feeling well.

Taylor has been stitched back together and medicated. She is still hiding, but the clowder only hissed at her a few hours after she came home from the vet. I stopped that fairly quickly with pure vanilla extract.

If I hadn’t been so busy, I wouldn’t have missed the first sign that something was amiss. Thankfully, the problem was corrected and Taylor will be okay. We missed the wound because of all her long hair. Even when she shared lap time with Mike, he didn’t notice the tear in her tail.