Sterling

Friday brought me a new arrival. Yes, I have a new kitten. He is a very brave kitty. He has a degloved tail. Observing his injuries makes me think that he must have gotten into a car engine and the car started. I don’t know if he screamed. They heard him and stopped the car, somehow he managed to escape and run away. No one to help him over his injuries, he was on his own. It has been so long since it happened that ‘proud flesh’ has taken over. His eyes were glassy and full of pain. His nose was running. He was sneezing and coughing. He had fleas everywhere, even around his eyes. It’s been quite some time that I have seen a kitty with so many fleas. Ear flaps were black. He was literally a mess. But somewhere in there is a beautiful dilute mackerel tabby.

I gently picked him up. The end of the tail was denuded and dry. I could see that proud flesh was starting to grow. I put my hand under his stomach and started probing gently to see if kitty had had been wounded anywhere else. I also felt the beginnings of two testicles. He’s a he.

I don’t know if you’ve ever known a kitty who had a degloved tail or not. But proud flesh is extremely hard to heal. It takes forever for the body to cover the wound, essentially pushing all of the dead and decaying tissue away.  I could see where it was sluffing off. The smell was putrid, indicating infection.

He had a high fever, which since has broken. I put him immediately on amoxicillin. I’ve given him meloxicam for his pain. I’ve been putting ointment on his tail at least 5 to 6 times a day. It dries out so fast. It will actively bleed for no reason. I tried to get him into the vet, but there were no openings.

I am calling the new kitty Sterling. He needs quiet. He is in a cage, a very large cage in my cat-room. My other cats have been bounced out of the room and they are not happy. But he is the sole occupant. I’m keeping the room dark, his cage covered. Feeding him four times a day, canned and dry. He’s eating like a horse. He is peeing, but he’s not peeing in the litter pan. His litter is shredded paper. It sticks to his tail sometimes like glue. I had to completely redo the inside of his cage. Taking out all the blankets in the sheets I had for him and for padding.

Eventually, he pooped; massive diarrhea all over his carrier. He will not use the litter pan. What he does is he goes over to the litter pan and scoops out a good amount of shredded paper, then pees on it. He pooped inside the carrier.

Sterling will be here for a very long time. As I said, proud flesh has a mind of its own and it’s very challenging to heal. He has been de-flead, he will be dewormed in four days. I feel so sorry for him. I can look in his eyes and know that he is just so painful. All he wants to do is sleep and decompress. I looked it up online, and if they amputate his tail, which I’m sure they will, the cost of the surgery is anywhere from $880 to $1,121.

UPDATE: I just got back from the vet. Sterling is having his surgery right now; his tail will be docked, he’ll be neutered, equipped with an e-collar, given a long-lasting pain shot and vaccinated. It will be a little less than $880, but still much more than I have right now. If anyone wishes to donate, contact me, please.

In particular, Sterling needs Sheba brand cat-food. Any donations of this would be great. Sterling and I would be very grateful.