a low point in my life...

a couple of weeks ago, on a saturday night i managed to hit a low. i'd decided to stay in for the night and around 11ish i got ready for bed. as usual, mr otis was up on the counter top so that he could have his drink from the sink night cap. as he was lapping up his water, i saw my cosmetic scissors and decided to go after those pesky mats that always build up in the winter. well, i got snip happy and the next thing i know i have half a waste basket full of fur (it's fluffy!) and i'm still going after more of his fur. and then, SH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!T!!!!!! i caught a bit of his skin on right shoulder in my little scissors. and he promptly ran under the bed and away from me. i felt horrible!!!

eventually he came out from under the bed and let me look at his wound. it wasn't bleeding, but it did look a little deep. it's 1130ish at this point and what else could i do but call mom. "moooooom?? ummm, i'm a horrible cat mom and i cut otis. i don't know what to do - do i put neosporin on it and call it a night?!" mom said it'd probably be fine and to just check it in the morning. during this time, otis of course finds some energy to play and the next time i look at his shoulder the cut is bigger!! gack! "ummm, mom? it's getting bigger. i mean, i think if he were a human i'd take him for stitches... what do i do?!". this time she tells me to look up an emergency vet and call them for advice. luckily, my vet has a super duper handy website with an ER listed on it that's not that far from my house. i called them and they said i should bring him in right away b/c it wouldn't heal on its own and would probably need stitches and if i waited then it could cause all kinds of other problems since cats have sensitive skin. ohhhhhhh great, really?!

so i got otis in his carrier, put on some decent clothes (ie a bra) - remember, this is right before i was going to bed! and off to the ER for animals we went. luckily we didn't have to wait too long, they didn't make me feel too stupid and otis didn't need stitches. however, he did need his shoulder glued back together! and it all took a couple of hours. about 150 bucks later with a prescription in hand (to ward off infection) and about 2 am we got to go home.


i just took this the other night - about 2 wks after i first cut him. with all his fur and this being in a weird spot, it was hard to get a photo - but i finally did!


here's his wound closer up. yuuuuuck. poor guy. they did the shaving so they could get closer to his cut.


luckily my guy doesn't hate his mom and here he is on the couch with me. my legs are under the blanket and he's right up against me. and sweetly enough, he's sitting in my arms right now between me and the computer helping me tell his tale of the ER.