Incarcerated

Dusty is spending tonight in hospital.

He was jumped by another cat when we were in Cazalegas, Spain. There was no visible damage - we couldn't find a bite mark where the other cat had been attached to Dusty's leg. Nothing seemed to need attention at that time. His leg swelled up over the following days and he wasn't walking on it so we took him to see the vet when we arrived in Alcossebre.

By the time that we arrived at the vet's office, Dusty was walking on the affected limb again but with a very slight limp. The vet couldn't find a visible injury either. Dusty's temperature was normal, so it was decided that there was no abcess at that time and no need for an antibiotic shot. He had an anti-inflammatory injection and a five day course by mouth.

The swelling subsided and his limp disappeared completely and he was quite his old self once more. Until last Friday morning, when the limp reappeared. It was only a slight limp and I thought perhaps it was due to having been for a long walk on Thursday and that maybe the original injury was aggravated by the exercise.

On Saturday morning the limp was a little worse. We agreed to keep an eye on it and have Dusty to our own vet today if necessary.

On arriving home on Saturday afternoon. Dusty was up and out of the cat flap as fast as his little legs could carry him. He was in and out for the rest of the day and out for some of the night too.

On Sunday we scarcely saw him at all and his food bowls were untouched. We thought he was just returning to his old habit of playing so hard he simply wasn't thinking of eating. He came in at some point and left seven eighths of a mouse in the kitchen for us. A big fat mouse it was and he had nibbled its tail and bum off but left the rest for us. Thanks, Dusty! But clearly he was nimble enough to hunt.

Surprisingly, on Sunday night he came in and proceeded to sleep on my feet all night.

This morning it was  raining heavily and we felt no need to get up. After taking Nell out and feeding cat and dog, S came back to bed with mugs of coffee and we were enjoying languishing. Dusty came in and jumped on the bed and began washing his leg... and making an awful noise. We deduced that what he was doing was hurting him. 

On investigation there was clear evidence of a nasty burst abscess.... a real crater.

After leaping out of bed, dashing through the shower and getting dressed, we rang the vet... only to get a 5:30 pm appointment. Of course we have fretted all day.

Anyway - it's a deep and nasty abscess and he has an elevated temperature. He had an antibiotic shot and is being kept in to have the wound cleaned and for observation. We go back tomorrow at 11:30.

None of this is made any easier by the fact that the car has died - the battery didn't enjoy being left all winter and now will not charge. So, we have to go back and forth to the vet in L'Isle Jourdain in the motorhome. 

This is Dusty this afternoon, holding the affected limb out of the way.

Expect forthcoming shots to feature The Cone of Shame.

I kind of feel like I am the one that should be marked for shame.

Oh, all those eggs in the bg? We are doing the egg fast for three days now that we are home and we intend to return to the low carb lifestyle thereafter. We both gained a bit over the 108 days on the road.