The vet said yesterday, “Just ice his leg.” She was talking about Ripley my barn kitty who at 4 weeks old was placed inside a paper bag and tossed out of a speeding car like garbage. He landed in our shrubs where our dog found him.
That was years ago and after he survived the initial injuries and trauma, he has grown into a lovely, sleek tuxedo kitty who loves to chase mice and bugs outside.
So, just ice his leg…okay..
He is caged at the moment in the Intro Cage in the enclosure. This is a three level cage that I can actually step inside and deal with the cat easily. (I am 6 feet tall) so it is a large cage. There is a couch ottoman inside, then two levels of wooden platforms and ladders. Room for food bowls, litter pans and cat beds- it is quite comfortable.
His paw is massive this morning, so I took a baggie of crushed ice, an ace bandage and some duct tape and proceeded to try and “ice” his leg.
I now have seven deep scratches on my arm and a totally pissed off cat. He knows he is in pain, but he also knows that I am not going to put anything cold on his leg no matter what! I can’t afford to raise his stress level, so I quit after trying for 20 minutes to get him to allow me to ice his leg. I kept telling him it was for his own good and that he wouldn’t mind it once it was on, especially because it is supposed to be over 100 degrees today! But, he is cat and he made it clear that this was not on the agenda.
Doctors of all spectrums, human and animal, give you advice, but don’t tell you how to accomplish it! lol! It’s like when you have a pet spayed, they tell you to keep the animal from jumping… the only way I could ever accomplish that would be to keep them her in a carrier full-time, but then there is no litter box and the animal is still jumping around in the carrier… oh well, all my animals have survived anyway. Best of luck with the on-coming abscess.