Nutmeg the Second

We found this wretched creature last Thurdsay night, the 7th of June. We were on our way home when Gravitas noticed a tiny bundle of fur walking to the edge of the road and then sitting down, amost waiting to be picked up. It was a little orange and white kitten, about two months old, and looking very sorry. It was a busy period for me but we stopped the car, put on the hazard lights and debated what to do. In the meantime, the little creature sat patiently at the curb next to our car. The answer seemed clear. I took over the wheel and Gravitas went out to pick the little fella up.

The Spice Meows having been locked up, we brought the little creature home and installed it in a cage in the bathroom. It hungrily ate up the food we offered. Now being able to get a look at it in proper lighting, we saw that it was covered in scabs and bald patches, such that when it rubbed itsef against the bars of the cage, bits of scab fell off. We wondered if it had been abused.

Ginger, catching the scent of a new cat in the premises, sulked and hissed at Pepa. Cory took up position outside the closed bathroom door and chased away the other meows who came to sniff under the door. Don't ask me why. Cory is a perplexing cat.

The next morning, I brought Nutmeg (as we'd named the little fella) to the vet. The vet diagnosed cat mange. Nutmeg will need 4 weeks of treatment comprising injections and regular baths before he can be cured (and become presentable enough to be adopted). Four weeks! That's 28 days of boarding fees! I didn't think I could cope with nursing Nutmeg back to health, with four other Meows in our little apartment and a baby on the way. Besides, as always with a new stray, there is the danger of toxoplasmosis and other communicable diseases that we'd have to look out for, especially with Cory being FIV+. So it was decided that Nutmeg should be boarded and treated by the vet for a week (for a start).

Now with cat mange being highly contagious, everything poor Nutmeg came into contact with had to be disinfected, and we'll have to watch out for symptoms of infection in the other Meows! Sometimes we wonder if it is all worth it, money, time, health risks are all involved. But we couldn't just leave Nutmeg to suffer by the roadside. We hope he'll get better (and presentable) cos we'll have to bring him to PAWS for him to have a chance to be adopted. We have been wholly unsuccessful at rehoming the cats we've rescued except to keep them ourselves (full house already) or getting relatives to foster with hopes and prayers that fosterer will fall in love with the cat (as in the case of Ricky who is being fostered by Gravitas's mum). Sigh!!