Stripey Tail is *missing* (new pic)

I managed to get a good look at his neck earlier, a plate of food was enough to tempt him to come close, and barring a small bald patch, there's no other sign of the injury

Ian

Glad to hear it Ian. He's a hardy lad is Stripey Tailed Tom.

Well pleased that he appears to have got over this injury - methinks one of his nine lives has gone though.

Joanne

It seems the injuries were worse than I thought

I managed to persuade him to come close, and stay still enough for me to get some pics last night. As I took the first one it struck me that I couldn't have seen that side of him when I first saw all the blood, and you can clearly see a puncture in the middle of the wound



And one taken from the other side. There's a matching wound which suggests *something* had him by the throat or neck, and altho' it isn't clear on this pic, there's also a large wound on his shoulder.



3 such wounds explains the amount of blood I saw on him and the fact this happened well over a month ago shows how nasty they must have been if they still haven't healed completely. He's one hardy, not to mention lucky tom.

Ian

Oh god that's horrific, it suggests he's been held by the neck, and my first thought was a dog or fox, but wouldn't there be more puncture wounds either side of these ones? I also thought before I saw the other pic that he'd been shot with a pellet gun, but I doubt that as two holes in exactly the same place is too precise, unless the pellet went all the way through, but that doesn't account for the wound on his shoulder. It's heartbreaking to think this wee chap has been in pain all this time and no one to help him.

I suspect a dogs had him Kath, it could have been a large dog that didn't manage to get a full bite on him, which would explain the single puncture and how he managed to get away. I doubt it's due to a pellet gun, to go right thro' his neck would surely have killed him. The wound on his shoulder looks nasty, but has at least scabbed over now. A wound there would take some time to heal unless he was kept immobilised.

Either way, he seems to have recovered pretty well as it's not stopped him from doing the same rounds as before it happened.

Ian

Tough cookie there. I just hope the dog had his owner with him and he managed to get the cat away, oh doesn't bear thinking about what he must have been through.

He's back again and munching on some dry food in the garden atm.

Ian

Hasn't lost his appetite, that's good.

Oh no. Poor fella. I cant bear to even think what caused it and what he went through, and with no one to care for him - god Im all emotional now.

Chunkyboy wrote:Oh no. Poor fella. I cant bear to even think what caused it and what he went through, and with no one to care for him - god Im all emotional now.

He might have lost one of his lives, but he's obviously as tough as they come. He's come thro' it all amazingly well, assuming he's had no treatment that is, I would have expected him to be really wary of everything now but he's seems just the same as before.

Ian

My god his injuries look horrific. The poor lad must be in pain.
I was reading a distressing article on another forum about cats going missing and that they are possibly being used as bait for dog fighting.
I just hope he isn't suffering to much.
Do you know who he belongs to Ian!

Hi Lynn,

Trust me, he looks a whole lot better now than when I first saw him with these injuries, there was a lot of blood about then

I don't know for sure, but I don't think he has a home, it seems he gets by on his wits and by scrounging or stealing food. I hope I'm wrong but it looks that way to me.

Ian

He is one hardy fella and the pics reveal just how bad those injuries are/must have been. I am amazed that they appear to be on the mend as infection can so readily take hold. Am just pleased that there is someone like you around so that he can have access to food and some level of comfort. Does he make use of your shed/outhouse or does he just grab a bite in passing?

Joanne

Hi Joanne,

It's a pretty safe bet he's had similar injuries before, maybe not as bad, but if they build a resistance to infections that might explain why he's recovering without a vets help.

I've never seen him use the box in my shed, tho' as Bola has comandeered it, it's out of bounds for all other cats atm At one point he used to come into the house, tho' he hasn't for a while now, I was worried about him spraying but all he wanted was somewhere warm to sleep. My house is more of a food station for when he's passing, he knows I'll feed him whenever I see him in my garden.

Ian

Food station.

He called again for food just after 6pm yesterday and sadly the wound on his shoulder had opened again and it's a nasty one. Most likely he's knocked the scab off squeezing thro' a narrow gap somewhere, but while there was fresh blood there didn't seem to be any infection and he doesn't seem bothered by it, at least it hasn't affected his mobilty.........or his appetite.

Ian

Oh sounds sore though, he's a fighter, what a life for him though.

He's not a pampered cat that's for sure Kath, but he seems happy enough. It looks nasty, but I reckon if infection was going to set in it would have happened before now.

Ian

He's called for a feed the last two days and at least his wounds have scabbed over again, in fact the one on his shoulder shows signs of new skin growing now. It's still a unsightly mess, but looking better.

Ian

The poor lad tried to come in last night but was chased off by Bola, I say chased off, by the time he'd caught up with stripey tail at the bottom of the garden it was clear he only wanted to say hello.

Ian

He was just leaving thro' the gap in my fence when I opened the door after getting back from shopping, but instead of waiting to see if I put food down for him, this time he trotted up to the back step and waited. The wound on his shoulder is still scabbed over, but there's evidence on his white fur of it having bled recently, tho' I expect that's down to him getting wet and so keeping the wound/scab *soft* rather than it actually reopening.

Ian

It could be itching, wounds usually are when they're healing, so maybe he scratches at it.

I opened the door to call Bola in late last night, but of course he didn't come, tho' stripey tailed tom did and promptly sat down next to the doorstep miaowing for food. I'm pleased to say the wound on his shoulder is now healing nicely, tho' it still looks a bit raw in the middle but it's definitely getting smaller

Ian

That's good news, he's one hardy cat.