Attack Cat
Last Thursday Dixie and I were out taking our evening walk around the neighborhood. I saw a gray cat run under an SUV and noticed that Dixie hadn't seen it. However, as we walked past the vehicle, Dixie must have smelled the cat because she went over to the SUV, stuck her nose under it and woofed. The cat, instead of hissing and running away, attacked.
Dixie suddenly backed away from the vehicle with the cat attached to her face. The cat let go and Dixie turned around to run away. Before she could even move, the cat jumped on her back and bit her on the neck. It then released and re-attacked Dixie, clamping itself on Dixie's haunches, and biting down hard.
When it released this last time, I kicked at the cat while pulling Dixie away. The cat then attacked me and attached itself on my ankle, biting me.
Just after it released from my leg, this fluffy little white dog, who was un-leashed and walking with its owner, a young woman and her little girl, came up to sniff Dixie. The cat jumped on it's back, virtually covering the entire dog, and bit it on the back of its neck.
When the cat released, I kicked the dog to get it away from the cat and pulled Dixie down the street. The cat, its back arched, stalked us a good 30 feet, wanting to attack again.
After Dixie and I rounded the corner I assessed the damage and saw that Dixie was bleeding in spots all over her body. In addition, she was unable to walk on her right rear leg. It occurred to me that when the cat jumped on her haunches, her hindquarter collapsed under the cat's weight, my guess is from the arthritic effects of having Lyme disease. I picked Dixie up and carried her home in my arms.
We next went to the emergency veterinary clinic where, three hours and $350 later, Dixie was diagnosed as having "lacerations and puncture wounds over the entire body." They gave me antibiotics to give Dixie and told me to take her to my regular vet the next day for a booster rabies shot. They also completed a form that was sent to animal control. Lastly, the vet looked at me, saw that I had two puncture wounds on my ankle and told me to go to my Dr. ASAP.
The next day I took Dixie to the regular vet who examined her, sympathized and shook her head in wonder at all the wound sites and gave Dixie a three year rabies shot instead of a booster. Afterwards the vet told me she didn't have any booster vaccine and since Dixie was two years into the three year cycle, it was easier to just do another three year shot. The vet then looked at my ankle and said that yes, I needed to go to my doctor.
In the afternoon I went to see my primary care doctor who looked at me, left the room to make a few phone calls, and then told me to head to the ER at the local hospital. Once there it was determined that I needed to undergo the full rabies series of shots.
Seven injections later (one in each puncture site, two on each hip and one in the arm), I went home. As a follow-up, I have to go and get a total of five more injections in my arm, spaced out in intervals that will extend through the month of July.
And a Happy Fourth of July to you, too.
Dixie suddenly backed away from the vehicle with the cat attached to her face. The cat let go and Dixie turned around to run away. Before she could even move, the cat jumped on her back and bit her on the neck. It then released and re-attacked Dixie, clamping itself on Dixie's haunches, and biting down hard.
When it released this last time, I kicked at the cat while pulling Dixie away. The cat then attacked me and attached itself on my ankle, biting me.
Just after it released from my leg, this fluffy little white dog, who was un-leashed and walking with its owner, a young woman and her little girl, came up to sniff Dixie. The cat jumped on it's back, virtually covering the entire dog, and bit it on the back of its neck.
When the cat released, I kicked the dog to get it away from the cat and pulled Dixie down the street. The cat, its back arched, stalked us a good 30 feet, wanting to attack again.
After Dixie and I rounded the corner I assessed the damage and saw that Dixie was bleeding in spots all over her body. In addition, she was unable to walk on her right rear leg. It occurred to me that when the cat jumped on her haunches, her hindquarter collapsed under the cat's weight, my guess is from the arthritic effects of having Lyme disease. I picked Dixie up and carried her home in my arms.
We next went to the emergency veterinary clinic where, three hours and $350 later, Dixie was diagnosed as having "lacerations and puncture wounds over the entire body." They gave me antibiotics to give Dixie and told me to take her to my regular vet the next day for a booster rabies shot. They also completed a form that was sent to animal control. Lastly, the vet looked at me, saw that I had two puncture wounds on my ankle and told me to go to my Dr. ASAP.
The next day I took Dixie to the regular vet who examined her, sympathized and shook her head in wonder at all the wound sites and gave Dixie a three year rabies shot instead of a booster. Afterwards the vet told me she didn't have any booster vaccine and since Dixie was two years into the three year cycle, it was easier to just do another three year shot. The vet then looked at my ankle and said that yes, I needed to go to my doctor.
In the afternoon I went to see my primary care doctor who looked at me, left the room to make a few phone calls, and then told me to head to the ER at the local hospital. Once there it was determined that I needed to undergo the full rabies series of shots.
Seven injections later (one in each puncture site, two on each hip and one in the arm), I went home. As a follow-up, I have to go and get a total of five more injections in my arm, spaced out in intervals that will extend through the month of July.
And a Happy Fourth of July to you, too.
posted by Frank at 9:19 AM
1 Comments:
Ouch! Glad you're all OK.
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