Im so proud

[croc&chewy]

Of my cat Kippa.

About a year & half ago some sick person shot her with a pellet gun.. we didn't realise because her fur was so thick, she wasn't really showing any signs of pain or discomfort either. We only found out when she got up from where she was sleeping only to leave a wet patch of bits of blood and other gunk so we took her to the vets. She had an xray and there was a small hole from one bit of skin to another, thankfully nothing was left inside as it came back out. She was very brave and she healed up well.

Then she lost her confidence. All my cats have been outdoor but they all stay close, either in my back garden or in the garden over the road (the guy never cuts his grass so they have adventures ). She doesn't stay out for long anymore, she will go out & do her business and come back in.

She decided she couldn't trust anyone at all so she attacked us and wouldn't let her stroke her or anything. She refused to eat wet food and only had dry with the occasional wet. She started to have skin problems and was cleaning herself obsessively, ripping her fur out. She had lots of little scabs so we took her to the vet again who said she most likely had an allergic reaction but they didn't know what from as she was clear of fleas.

Now recently my mum decided to cut down the dry food, she only has a tiny tiny tiny bit everyday and she was not happy at all. She has finally accepted that she has abit a day and has to eat wet food. Her skin has improved, not much, but it is getting there.. so we seem to think it's the dry food that did it. She also did a wee on a newspaper in the kitchen and it wasn't like a normal liquid wee it was lumpy and my mum said it stank.. that is the other reason why my mum cut out the dry food. Not sure if it has improved or not yet.

Anyway, over the past week or two her confidence has improved dramatically. She will come and sit on me and cuddle up to go to sleep, she loves getting stroked and loves wet food!

Her fur has not improved as much yet but we are giving that some time, she still cleans herself obsessively but I don't think there is nothing we can do about that.

Sorry for the essay I'm just so proud of her

[Crab Man]

Good to hear you cat is on the mend mate
Just goes to show what resillient little creatures they are.
Mine has just gone through a similar skin issue. Two visits to the vets seem to have sorted the problem out - for now at least. They told me the same; that it was probably an allergic reaction. She is also clear of fleas, so maybe it's time I keep an eye on her diet...

[reptiles4982]

ahhhhhh so happy for ya m8

[feorag]

That bit about her being shot and you not noticing is a perfect example of how quickly cats compensate when something is wrong. Sometimes they do it so quickly that their owners don't even notice anything is wrong at all.

I cannot understand why any moron would want to shoot a cat, but she was very lucky and that's definitely one of her lives gone!!!

If her wee had small lumpy bits in it, that could be struvite crystals, which need a special diet to dissolve them - they're caused by the cat's urine being too alkaline, as cats naturally have acidic urine. Maybe you should get a sample checked over by your vet?

[croc&chewy]

Crabman - Yeah she has been so brave. I'm not saying that her reaction was definatly from her diet but she is improving.

reptiles4982 - thanks

feorag - I'm guessing she hid it well, she didn't indicate at all that there was something wrong. Maybe she didn't want to worry us..

I don't understand why anyone would shoot a cat either, but sadly there is some sick individuals that will do anything to cure their boredom.

Thanks for the info about her wee, I will look into it and book an appointment

[feorag]

I sold a kitten many years ago to a couple who'd had the same thing happen to one of their cats. The pellet went in the front of her chest and came out down her side and fortunately missed every important organ. she was extremely lucky too!!

As far as the crystals are concerned, it's better to be safe than sorry! Cats urinating outside their litter tray is usually a sign that there is something wrong. Try and get a sample of her urine to take to the vets with you when you go and just ask them to test for crystals. If you take it with you and ask for the test, it might save you a bit on vet's fees.

[Shell195]

Before I confined my cats I had 3 shpt
Charlie the most gorgeoous grey tabby ever was found at the front of the house dragging his back end. We thought he ehad been hit by a car but an x ray showed he had been shot and the pellet was lodged in his spine. The vet gave us the option to pts due to paralysis or try and remove the pellet. He removed the pellet which had damaged the spinal cord. One leg recovered but the other didnt and overtime so it was amputated as he used to drag it. Charlie did really well then began to suffer from cystitis. In the end it couldnt be controlled(even after 2 operations) and he was PTS when he started to have fits through toxic shock.
Inky was shot and the pellet lodged in his hip joint and they could never remove it so it has left him with a wonky leg and he limps when he walks

Izzy got shot in the top of her tail and suffered great pain. She eventually recovered but you could feel the discs pushed out of line. Sadly I lost her a while ago due to age related problems

Thank god I keep my cats confined now as there are to many evil people about these days

As Eileen says I would get her checked as it sounds like she has crystals or even a bad case of bacterial cystitis

[ukphd]

I'm so sorry to hear about Kippa - but it's great she's making such improvements Bless her

We had a cat when I was growing up who was sliced with what they think was probably a stanley knife across his wrist on his front leg. We didn't know it had happened at first, he just went AWOL for a day or so and when I finally found him he was hiding under the garden table (which had a big tarpaulin over it) and I only found him after seeing a trail of blood.

Thankfully he was fine physically but he was never the same personality wise. He became very clingy and never went beyond the garden after that - which I was very glad about!

It turned out that someone/ a group of people had been targeting cats in the area - there were quite a few local cats that got cut

I just don't understand why people would do that? and worst of all, to get that close to him and to access his wrist they must have been being "nice" to him - stroking him perhaps? maybe he was rolling over and purring up at them and then they had the heart to do that... just unbelievable

[feorag]

That sort of thing actually makes me feel physically sick at the thought of anyone doing that!

And incredibly violent! Idiots!!!

[croc&chewy]

Feorag - I will mention about the crystals to my mum tomorrow. Have you got any ideas on how to get a sample of her wee? She can still be a snappy get if she isn't in the mood to be messed around with

shell195 - awww it is awful isn't it? What goes through somebodys mind to do such a thing? I haven't heard of anyone elses cat getting shot like Kippa.. I guess she is lucky that it only went through the skin and touched no bones or organs. It is a shame that your cats weren't so lucky, sorry to hear that. I'd pleasurely keep them indoors but there is no chance with my 3 they will escape somehow lol. We have a feral rescue and she refuses to stay inside all the time.

ukphd - They slit the cats wrists? That is awful . I have never heard of that but that does quite scare me. My feral rescue loves attension and she would go and chase all the kids about on my street. That must of been horrible. Did any of the cats die from this? Did they ever catch the buggars that did it?



Yes it is a shame somebody could do that. I think everybody knows how friendly some cats are and love a good bit of attension. Just to think some horrible person bullies defenseless creatures because they have no life.. it just disgusts me.