We’ve had a tough week, but P is picking up again, so we grasped optimistically at cheering signs and did some fun things. The drugs make him into a slightly different husband, but I’ve got form for swapping men so that’s ok. Our joy was shortlived though. Making ready for bed last night, P fed the cats some late night Whiskas to hold them till morning and, as is customary with four boys, one of them promptly brought it back under the desk. Or so I thought. What I thought was meat was, on closer inspection, blood. I traced it to Lamarr, who was sat oddly on the carpet by the window, scrabbling at his face with both paws. In moments it seemed like there was blood everywhere. P’s job can be hazardous in the sharp bits department and I thought he must have swallowed a bit of sprue from the floor, so we grabbed him together to inspect. Burmese cats are very amenable and he let us search his mouth, which looked ok.
By this time, it was 1am. We watched him anxiously for a while for clues. More and more agitated, he pulled at his mouth in utter distress until I could stand it no more and we called the vet. We can usually count on a quick response, but it took thirty minutes to get an answer from a very reluctant woman who said ‘it’s a tooth. He’s twelve, it’s come loose and he’s swallowed it. Don’t call me again at 4am. Leave him to settle, he’ll relax and get over it’.
And in truth, he lay down in relative peace. We went to bed at 2.30am, having decided to take him in for a check up in the morning.
Which we did. He was lethargic in the extreme, and whilst this isn’t unusual in Lamarr, it was all wrong. So we loaded him in the car and in half an hour we had our diagnosis. He had been electrocuted. ‘Does he chew cables?’ she asked. Yes, all the time, but we thought we had him licked. But we checked, and sure enough, behind the settee in the dining room, multiple sites, right down to the copper. He’s defied every deterrent we could think of.
The only good thing we can say is that he didn’t lose consciousness. He was admitted straight away and the vet will not say whether he will make it. His lungs are damaged and his mouth and tongue are horribly ulcerated. I’m sitting here thinking about him down there alone. We hope with all our hearts that he will live and come home to us. And in the meantime, we are going to hollow out the floor and hide every cable we can find. Trunking is not enough.
