Tuesday, May 10, 2011

My Badass Boo-Boo Baby

If you haven't been around a while, or read the archives, I have this former-stray cat named Max.  He was abused and broken when I rescued him.  He'd obviously been on the streets for a while, with a busted jaw no-less, but at some point, someone loved him.  He looks to be Maine Coon - if not fully than in part, he's a lover-boy with a rumbling purr, and someone had him neutered.  Yup, he's my boo baby.

He's also a badass.  He'll kick any other cat's ass just for looking at him sideways.  Set foot on his lawn?  Fuggetaboutit.  "You want a piece a me? Come and get it, asshole."  Which is why he's a not just a boo anymore.  He's literally a boo-boo baby. 

Usually in these fight, Max wins.  He kicks tail, takes names, and files them away for later.  Not last week.  Last week, I think someone kicked Max's butt. I woke up one morning and he wouldn't come out of his box - all day.  "Not even kinda hungry.  Just leave me alone."  When I finally coaxed him out, he limped up to me and meowed like he'd never been so demoralized in his life.

I thought he just pulled a muscle or something in his shoulder.  I brought him inside for a couple days - just so he wouldn't have to worry about trying to run on a gimpy leg - and he seemed to get better.  Since he was better, I took him back outside.  I thought the lump on his shoulder was residual swelling.

Until it burst.

I won't go into the gory and disgusting details, but Max ended up with two burst abscesses on his left shoulder.  I left messages for the vet, but not a peep all weekend.  So I tended to Max myself.  Picture a woman with a bottle of mecuro-clear (clear mecuro-chrome), a bag of cotton balls and prayer.

Yesterday morning I called every fifteen minutes from the time the vet's office usually opens until 10, when he's usually out in the countryside tending to cattle.  Still no answer.  I finally got ahold of the guy around 4pm (when the doc usually gets back from his large animal visits), and got Max right in. 

At that point, I didn't really need the vet to do anything.  Max's wounds had drained and were starting to heal.  What I needed more than anything was the vet's ability to pony up with the antibiotics.  So, the vet looked at him, cleaned his wounds, looked some more and gave me a bottle of pink goo to squirt down Max's throat twice a day.

Yup, Max is my badass boo-boo kitty.  He's a great cat.  The only one I know who can growl and purr at the same time (when I was first cleaning his wounds) and he'll be fine soon.  Here's hoping he learned to not be so badass in the future, so he can avoid more boo-boos.

10 comments:

  1. Poor Max! Poor YOU! I'm afraid his wounds sound ... disgusting.

    Thank goodness he's such a sweetheart and didn't strike at you from the pain while you tended his wounds.

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  2. Yup. Disgusting. I'm pretty proud of myself, though. I only gagged once. And I'm so lucky Max tolerates most everything. Otherwise, I'd be shredded by now.

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  3. Oh my word, that cat gets into it, doesn't he? He's so blessed to have you on his side.

    My Sam went in for a tooth cleaning yesterday and ended up having one tooth pulled and five roots extracted. And he needs to go back again to extract more roots on the other side! These guys really need us, don't they?

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  4. Max hasn't had the best of luck - except for finding this house. I'm doing my best to make the rest of years better.

    Aww, poor Sam. He's a lucky cat, too. You're a great kitty-mom. =o)

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  5. Poor Max - but at the same time, Lucky Max. Glad he's on the mend.

    I can vividly recall the abcess that filled and filled and filled and finally broke on our previous Shepherd. I totally understand your gag, am having a gag reflex just thinking about it.

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  6. Max is a fighter--good for him! If anyone deserves a freaking break, it's definitely that kitty!

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  7. awe, poor cat! My cat grizzly isn't quite a year old but has been spending more and more time around neighborhood. He isn't exactly bad ass but definitely a teen delinquent and working his way up.:)

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  8. Aw, poor Max! He does sound so totally badass... I'm sure his pride was very wounded at having an oozing lump on his shoulder. I had a Siamese cat named Bubba (may he RIP) when I was a kid and he used to get those types of cysts on his BUTT. Pretty gross, and he'd be so miserable.

    Glad Max is doing well!

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  9. Poor kitty! I'm glad you were able to fix him up.

    I once had to clean a surgical site in my horse's throat twice a day. And by clean, I mean reach in and pull out gobs of thick pus. Ick!!

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