For cats, March seems to be the cruellest month!
Published: 10:05 PM,May 21,2021 | EDITED : 09:05 AM,May 22,2021
March was the month where everything that could possibly go wrong with the cats, did actually go wrong. Remember Rayhana the cat that got locked up in the car last summer? Well, it all started up with her being attacked by a pack of stray dogs on a Saturday evening. She was sitting in front of the outer gate when the pack suddenly appeared from nowhere and pulled her before she could escape. Fortunately, our English neighbour was barbecuing at the time and came out of the house with a stick after hearing the ruckus. He managed to scare the dogs away — who in their panic dropped Rayhana down and fled — before ringing our door bell and reporting the incident. We had to remove Rayhana from under the neighbour’s car and rush her to the emergency vet.
Rayhana had bite marks all over her back and a big open wound on her leg where she was pulled when attempting to escape. Thankfully, she had no internal injuries or broken bones. With no nurses around, I had to help the emergency doctor sedate her and clean up the wounds which made me feel woozy as dealing with blood and gore was never a skill I possessed. Rayhana stayed in the clinic for a month as the open wound wasn’t healing fast and the skin on her back was lose due to the bite. She came back home and stayed indoors for another month of wound management, before she was good to be released back into the garden.
Every day in March seemed to bring a new problem to one of the cats. There were a few cases of abscess appearing on different cats due to fights, dental problems and severe flu cases where cats had to stay indoors for treatment. I visited the clinic almost daily. Not to mention the constant worry of other dog raids that eventually happened and few older cats were lost, sadly. As if this wasn’t enough, a huge abscess suddenly appeared on fat Mansoor’s side and was removed surgically. He had to stay in the clinic for a few days for observation. Knowing how nasty he is, I volunteered to feed and medicate the little terror myself (the nurses could do without ‘deal with monster’ added to their daily schedule. Know thy cat and sympathise with whoever deals with him!).
My parents missed Mansoor terribly and Mom insisted on sending him home cooked meals as she was convinced that he’d never enjoy the clinic’s fancy food. Once Mansoor was out, it was time for Nisma to get in with a broken leg after falling from the mango tree. She had to stay in a dog crate for a month so the bone would heal, which I placed in the bathroom where Rayhana was staying. The two cats got along fine as long as Nisma behaved well and not crazy kitten-like.
The highlight of the month was adopting Simsim, the one-month-old kitten rescued by my friend’s husband and also trying out my luck with TNR (Trap, Neuter and Release), which was another funny experience that I’ll be sharing in the coming weeks. At the end of this article, I’d like to thank the staff at the Al Qurum Vetrinary Clinic, especially Dr Mohammed the emergency doctor who helped Rayhana after the attack. Many thanks to Dr Petar and his wonderful team (Dr Vladimir and Super Maria) whose professionalism, dedication and hard work always keep the Kitzanians in good health, I’m forever grateful. And guess who was the happiest when March finally ended and gave way to April? Me!
Rasha al Raisi is a certified skills trainer and the author of: The World According to Bahja. rashabooks@yahoo.com
Rayhana had bite marks all over her back and a big open wound on her leg where she was pulled when attempting to escape. Thankfully, she had no internal injuries or broken bones. With no nurses around, I had to help the emergency doctor sedate her and clean up the wounds which made me feel woozy as dealing with blood and gore was never a skill I possessed. Rayhana stayed in the clinic for a month as the open wound wasn’t healing fast and the skin on her back was lose due to the bite. She came back home and stayed indoors for another month of wound management, before she was good to be released back into the garden.
Every day in March seemed to bring a new problem to one of the cats. There were a few cases of abscess appearing on different cats due to fights, dental problems and severe flu cases where cats had to stay indoors for treatment. I visited the clinic almost daily. Not to mention the constant worry of other dog raids that eventually happened and few older cats were lost, sadly. As if this wasn’t enough, a huge abscess suddenly appeared on fat Mansoor’s side and was removed surgically. He had to stay in the clinic for a few days for observation. Knowing how nasty he is, I volunteered to feed and medicate the little terror myself (the nurses could do without ‘deal with monster’ added to their daily schedule. Know thy cat and sympathise with whoever deals with him!).
My parents missed Mansoor terribly and Mom insisted on sending him home cooked meals as she was convinced that he’d never enjoy the clinic’s fancy food. Once Mansoor was out, it was time for Nisma to get in with a broken leg after falling from the mango tree. She had to stay in a dog crate for a month so the bone would heal, which I placed in the bathroom where Rayhana was staying. The two cats got along fine as long as Nisma behaved well and not crazy kitten-like.
The highlight of the month was adopting Simsim, the one-month-old kitten rescued by my friend’s husband and also trying out my luck with TNR (Trap, Neuter and Release), which was another funny experience that I’ll be sharing in the coming weeks. At the end of this article, I’d like to thank the staff at the Al Qurum Vetrinary Clinic, especially Dr Mohammed the emergency doctor who helped Rayhana after the attack. Many thanks to Dr Petar and his wonderful team (Dr Vladimir and Super Maria) whose professionalism, dedication and hard work always keep the Kitzanians in good health, I’m forever grateful. And guess who was the happiest when March finally ended and gave way to April? Me!
Rasha al Raisi is a certified skills trainer and the author of: The World According to Bahja. rashabooks@yahoo.com