I have been remiss in posting any updates on my home situation, with my husbands health issues. And now, another stressful event has occured, and our beloved "Ginger" (three year old cat) will be put to sleep on the 29th.
Hubby has been undergoing test after test, and meanwhile has been admitted to the hospital here twice. The first time was related to the growth in his chest and his ventral hernia; the second time was due to a seriously infected cat bite. Last week was just a bad week for us. Hubby and I were off one day to meet some repair people at the house, and for me to drive hubby to and from doctor appointments.
Ginger had become progressively more difficult to handle. No matter how much love and attention we gave her, she was becoming a very nasty cat. ..Biting and growling..and mistreating our other cat, June. I was going to take her to the Vet and hubby bent down to pick her up, and she went for him, growling like a rabied animal. I could do nothing but watch in horror. She went for his throat and he grabbed her by the neck and then she got him on the wrist--hitting a vein, and blood was flying everywhere. She then just basically dug his entire arm to pieces, as he was trying to wrench her off him. Normally, such things don't throw him into a panic, but this time, the blood would not stop, so he had me call 911. The vein in his wrist had been punctured badly. Of course, when we told them our household animal had bitten him, they also sent the Animal Control Unit.
Bottom line is, hubby went off to the ER and the cat ran and hid upstairs. It took Animal Control nearly 45 minutes to get her in the cage. (A woman came--no gloves. Guess she didn't think it would be much of a situation.) She took her and told me that the Shelter would put her into isolation, and we would have ten days to leave her there, while we figured out what we would do, and then at the end of the ten days, the 29th, she would be put to sleep.
When I went to the ER to get hubby, he was getting a tetinous shot, and being cleaned up. Blood was all over his shirt. They told us even at that, he would get infected and should see his regular doctor the next day. We were glad the bleeding had stopped. Hubby has a clotting problem due to medication he has to take, which makes him deficient in Vit. K.
That evening we again "discounted Ginger's behavior", telling ourselves that she was just "different". Although I was skeptical about bringing her back home, hubby said he thought we should give her another chance. We both had mixed feelings, having had her since she was a foundling from the shelter. Anyway, the following day, his arm was a sight. It was red and hard, all the way up past his elbow. He felt terrible, and headed to his appointment. He still had told me that he would go to the shelter after he saw the doctor and bring her home.
That was not to be. The doctor took one look at him, and gave him a "direct admit" to the hospital and told him to get himself over there ASAP. He had a horrible blood infection, and with him being a diabetic, this was no small thing. So he spent two days in the hospital and he and I both had time to think about Ginger. He decided that since all this had happened, she was better off where she was. He was hurt. He was mad. Our pocketbook was quite a bit lighter for sure.
Yesterday, I called the shelter and explained everything and was told that this peticular breed of cat, the female Tortie gets mean after they are spayed. We had to have her spayed because that is the law; but had we known more about her disposition, we would have chosen another kitten to bring home that day. Anyway, I learned that we are the ones who decide her fate, because they will not release her from quarantine to be put back out for adoption. She has bitten a human badly, and who could blame them.
She will be put to sleep on February 29th, "leap day". She will pass over Rainbow Bridge to wherever cat souls go. We have to let her go. That will be a very sad day for us indeed
/<