Stripey Tail is *missing* (new pic)

I was out in the garden with my lot earlier when he came padding past, I only caught a quick glance, but the whole left side of his neck was covered in blood, from ear down to shoulder I'm hoping it was *just* dried blood and not an actual wound, but it's the worst looking injury I've ever seen on a cat.

If he's been involved in a fight he came a very, very poor second, or a dog could have got hold of him, but either way it's lucky he didn't get his throat ripped out. He clearly needs to be seen by a vet, perhaps he has and he's on antibiotics and had stitches if needed. They'd have trouble keeping any dressing on even with a cone-collar anyway and he'd need to be kept in, and as he hasn't I doubt a vet has seen him.

I'll keep an eye out for him and make sure he has food to at least try and keep his strength up, if he'll come and eat it that is, I don't want to leave food outside in this weather with all the flies around.

Ian

oh the poor thing, that sounds grim and he must be so sore. Not much you can do ian, jusy hope he will come and eat at yours. I hate when we're helpless.

Hi Kath,

He has eaten out of my hand, but not for a while now and I don't think he even calls in here anymore, so giving him food will be hit and miss. He seemed *fine* otherwise, no obvious signs of being in pain and it's not restricted his mobility as he easily jumped on top of the fence, but as you said, it must be sore.

Ian

Poor little mite. At least he doesn't appear to be in pain, but most certainly this wound would need attention as infection is a major worry. Nothing you can do, but as Kath says, the feeling of helplessness is a horrid one. I hope it all turns out for the best.

Joanne

Hi Joanne,

Yeah, there's little I can do for him beyond trying to make sure he gets at least one regular meal. I haven't been going out of my way to feed him, but if he's around he's been welcome to eat anything my lot have left.

He's too nervous of me, and I guess people in general, to let them get close, but when I see him I'll try and persuade him there's a meal waiting if he wants it. I see him all over the place and at all times of day, so I'm pretty sure he hasn't got a proper home, or if he has they just don't care.

He might not be a true feral, but he's a street hardened moggie and likely to be better at getting over things like this than our soft, pampered lot (probably best not to include Malo in the latter group :lol: )

Ian

Awwww the poor thing sounds awful, lets hope he gets better soon.

Oh no! Poor fella. Just keeping an eye on him is all you can do Ian. Keep us posted.

Ian - Indeed, Malo's origins are as a feral cat so he is not of the pampered variety (although his name would not suggest it as it has its origins in the French for marshmellow ). I agree that hardened moggies do have the propensity of getting over trauma somehow of their own accord. I hope this proves to be the case with stripey tailed tom.

No sign of him so far today and I've gone out of my way to check if was passing thro' my garden. I'm not surprised tbh as I've been seeing less and less of him before this happened.

Ian

Still no sign of him

Ian

And still no sign of him.

Hopefully he's home and they're keeping him in, or at worst he's found a quiet spot to lay low and lick his wounds. I'll be out most of tomorrow, so if I don't see him tonight it'll be Sunday at the earliest, and even tho' the forecast is for warm weather I think I'll leave a plate of food in the shed for if he happens to pass by while I'm out. It'll at least be in the shade there, tho' no doubt one of my greedy pigs will help themselves.

Ian

The food I left yesterday was untouched when I got home, and I still haven't seen him..............

Ian

I do hope that he is OK. He doesn't appear to have a very easy life. Hope at the very least that he is managing to eat from somewhere.

Hi Joanne,

I think he's either dead or he has a home and they're keeping him in, if it's not the latter I guess I'll never find out.

Ian

It's 5 days now since I saw him with that injury to his neck, the longest he's been *missing* since he first appeared in my garden.

Ian

Doesn't look good does it. Poor thing! Thanks for keeping us updated and we can but hope that he hasn't come to a dreadful end.

Joanne

Sat watching tv at just before midnight when *something* caught my eye in the living room doorway, it was Stripey Tail peeping at me from the kitchen

I couldn't get a proper look at his neck as he panicked and ran to the flap then dashed upstairs, then back down again. I couldn't work out why he hadn't gone thro' the flap, but it was Max on the other side stopping him, so more dashing round the house followed before he finally used the flap and pushed Max out of the way.

He looked a bit thinner, but otherwise seemed ok and I'm pretty sure it was he who ate a plate of food I put out as most of it had gone before I eventually went to bed. He must have been hungry to come in like that as it was the first time (that I've seen) for months now.

Either way, it was nice to see him out and about again.

Ian

Excellent news - I was beginning to think the worst. He may not be out of the woods yet, but I this is a start - the very fact that he is still around.

Joanne

I reckon he'll be ok now Joanne, the injury could have looked far worse than it actually was, more bleeding than bad wound. If it's healed without infection he should be fine.

Ian

Glad to hear he has made an appearance, and hopefully it DID look worse than it was. Great stuff.

Good news there Ian, you're just never sure with wounds how bad they are and if they're going to get infected.

Not seen him since tho' Hardly surprising yesterday, at least in the house but I was outside most of the morning/afternoon so I'd have been more likely to see him than usual.

Ian

he may not come around with all that hassle going on, doesn't mean to wsay he's not watching though.

He's ok, I spotted him padding up my back garden tho' he'd got halfway across the road by the time I'd got downstairs with my camera. He had his injured side away from me so I don't know how well it's healed/bad it really was.

Ian

but at least you've seen him and he's on the go, that's good news.