Huck turned up about 10 days ago holding his paw up and hopping on three legs. Robin was away playing with horses (where she pinched her left hand in a gate the same day Huck hurt his arm, and otherwise had an amazing time!), so U.H. was in charge. She waited to tell Robin about Huck’s apparent injury until she got home from her equine adventure.
Huck doesn’t like to go to the vet, which is putting it mildly. Actually, he has to be sedated for a vet to help him. U.H. and Robin decided to keep an eye on his arm – he was holding up his right front paw – in hope that he would just start walking normally and everything would be back to normal for him. The humans were concerned about him getting away from whatever he’d been engaged with when he got hurt, but the alternative of wrestling him into a carrier, where he would throw himself against the sides and have to have a tent put over his carrier with sedation medicine wasn’t more appealing.
After six days, Huck was still hopping on three legs, but he didn’t have any swelling and didn’t have any signs of infection. He still had scabs on his ears from the marks that told Robin his injury came from some kind of animal – animal conflict in the first place.
Robin didn’t know what to do, so she called one of her wonderful students, who has applied to veterinary school and has worked at vet clinics a lot (and even at the zoo!) and asked if she could come over. Robin thought Huck might let her student touch him because she has seen this student has a great rapport with cats.
Nope.
Huck did the best he could, however, and extended his arms for the humans to examine from about 12 feet away.
Robin’s student got as good a look as she could and based on what she’s seen with other kitties, they decided to watch Huckie a little bit longer. She said he might have a muscle wound from a bite (kind of like Robin’s pinch from the horses’ gate!), a sprain, or even a hairline fracture in his forearm. Robin had TTouched him all over and he didn’t flinch, but TTouch is very, very gentle, and Huck really trusts Robin in the first place.
It was likely that the vet would tell the humans to keep Huck’s level of activity to a minimum, and he was doing a pretty good job of that already! They also might give him pain medication, but that might not be so good for a garden kitty.
While the humans were talking about him, Huck stayed right where he is in the picture, on the porch. That is, until one neighbor started her lawn mower, another neighbor turned on his leaf blower, and the UPS truck went by all at the same time.
Huck RAN!
The humans decided he would be able to get away if he needed to. They also saw that Huck was able to put weight on his front paw. And, they followed him around to the side of the house and saw that he was ok after his run.
Today, Huck is still hopping around most of the time, but he’s also putting his weight on his right paw and walking kind of normally. Robin says her hand still hurts a bit from the gate pinch, so it makes sense to her that Huck will need more time to heal completely.
We are glad he’s doing better and was able to avoid the trip to the vet this time.
Awwwwww poor Huck, it’s good to hear he will be okay. He’s a lucky cat as are all the garden kitties, to have mew indoor kitties, Robin, and U.H. for a family that loves, feeds, shelters, protects, and treats them when they are sick or hurt.
As mew knew being a former feral kitty Chessie, and as my new brother Kaspars who is one too has shared with me, most people see the garden kitties/ferals as throwaways, pests, menacing wildlife killers. I myself was a stray dumped by my humans, so while it was hard to fend for food, a warm place to sleep on my own, I was in the city and not so afraid of humans to approach homes seeking my needs. I found a place with a carport to sleep in and the nice people there fed and treated me nice, even though I was skittish not trusting them at first. I still do not trust most people until I have spent a bit of time around them because the humans who dumped me were not nice people and hit me frequently. Even in my new home it has taken me months not to run in terror if I simply see someone with a Swiffer in hand several feet away.
I am grateful my new family treats me kindly, even when I get in to mischief! My Mom has been working with me to learn to trust and says I am doing pawesome! She gives me some kind of stuff in my food everyday she says helps make the anxiety monsters in me to behave. MOL!
I have learned that much of the information, tips, and methods she uses to help build my confidence she learned from reading mewz posts about Robin helping mew to do the same.
Thank mew for all mew do to help animals in need, teach and share information to help fellow parents of fur kids, and the unconditional love mew all give to Huck and all the garden kitties.
Purrs,
Clove
You are most welcome, Miss Clove. I would be happy to listen any time you want to talk about learning to trust. I still have my issues, but I’m much more OK.