Chubby was not a good cat, he pee'd all over the place and led me a merry dance around the house before I finally got him cornered at the top of the stairs - much akin to your method, Gill, except I had to adopt a mop to poke him out from under the bed in the first place.
He left a big puddle on the stair carpet (made from plastic fleece and rubber backed so will go in the washing machine) but eventually gave in and crawled into the basket.
Phew. Sylvester (2) came to poke a paw through the basket door, he's a terrible tease. Theo (5) (our other ex-stray and boss of the household) took the opportunity for a good sniff but backed off without incident.
Neil, totally new fave vet
, spent almost an hour with us. Chubs was fine in the car but terrified at the vet, he pee'd through the bottom of the basket all over the vet's waiting room floor which actually meant we jumped the queue
Good Boy Chubby...
The lovely receptionist / tech washed out his basket and provided me with a puppy pad to get us home (dry) and popped his soggy blanket in a bag - real five star treatment.
In the room with Neil, Chubby was wide eyed, flat eared and alert but didn't strike out, bless. We heard his voice for the first time, he has a low tenor that says clearly "HEWWO!" and "GERROFF!" and "NO!" that raised everyone's eyebrows and had the tech in stitches
.
Under cover of a soft towel he froze nicely and let Neil examine him thoroughly. He didn't squeal at all when he manipulated his hips, so maybe arthritis isn't the right diagnosis after all (Rich only ever manipulated him when he was under anaesthetic, so he wouldn't have been able to gauge a pain reaction). Neil didn't feel the characteristic crunching associated with arthritis so thinks it's an old healed injury that may not have healed quite right.
Chubby weighs in a 5.75 Kg.
Neil also thinks he may be a bit younger than previously thought. Although it's a difficult call he feels there is enough healthy gum tissue and really good teeth to suggest he's nearer 5 than 8, and he's generally in very rude health indeed
Chubby has certainly had a traumatic event that has led to his back feet and hips being injured, one paw doesn't sit right and two of his toes are in fact broken: the claw is not actually attached to anything, the pads on one back paw sit proud and don't naturally curl inwards. Now it's not hurting Chubby, it seems, but it does explain why these claws just kind of stick out a funny angles. Neil offered a de-claw for these two toes, as they are clearly already smashed, but he said it would be an unnecessary procedure with no real benefit to anyone, a lot to put Chubby through and I would still have to clip his other claws anyway.
Neil sees a crush injury on one back paw that has been left untreated and has led to this deformity, the other back paw also has a broken toe and some ligament damage, but doesn't looked crushed like the other one. This combined with the immobility and reduced width of his hips, strongly suggests he was run over by a vehicle some time ago, maybe as a youngster, and the hip has not developed properly. I know he had these narrow hips (which are way out of proportion the the rest of him) when he first came to us for food in 2009, so this didn't happen during his 3 month absence last winter, but was an earlier incident, and goes to support my instinct that he has been outside for years, maybe forever.
Chubs allowed the (really) short nail clip without any complaint. Neil showed me the dangly nature of his broken toes that will continue to grow claws. The one I had concerns about looking sore is actually one of the deformed toes showing evidence of crush injury, and is indeed injured, but this is recent and might have been caught in the plastic carpet!
Now to his FIV - Neil has a slightly different take to Richard - he doesn't support Richard's decision to de-tooth him (to lessen his infectability), as Chubby has shown he is non-aggressive to other cats so feels this was a step too far, and the risk of spreading the infection to my -ve residents by "received" bite still exists. I feel terrible about this now, poor Chubs. However, Neil admits that because of his de-tooth, he is less likely to pick a fight so maybe it has contributed to his continued safety in some small way, but he wouldn't have recommended this drastic measure. God, no wonder Chubby hates me. Neil's happy that Chubby is as happy and healthy as he could be, given his history and status, and recommends I just keep on doing what I'm doing, but has prescribed a trial size metacam for his dicky hip should the manicure not relieve his painful gait.
Neil gave him a thorough comb through while he was still and has relieved him of a nasty pile up in the middle of his back. I'm pleased that I've been using the appropriate flea and worm treatments, with a hands off cat all I can do is Capstar his fleas. Now I know how much he actually weighs, however, I need to increase his worming dose to 1.5 sachets of Panacur granules, and continue to Indorex his sleeping area as he did have some flea dirt in his scrapings.
Chubs went straight out when we got home, he's still sitting out on my porch seat after 2 hours and doesn't want to come in. The rain has stopped so he's not getting wet, but he's proper got the hump. I think come supper time he'll have forgiven me enough to partake of a small tin of tuna as a special treat, but I want him to come in for this so I'm not taking any grub outside for his convenience.
Mike just came home from work - I've regaled him with the tale and he's distraught about the poor little guy's story. I think Chubby might get extra chicken tonight.
Much peace to all... sighs with relief and acceptance.
