right now? My mum
My parents are in China right now.

Their next door neighbours are looking after their 2 cats and I'm supposed to go over every couple of days to make sure they are alright.

(They couldn't come and stay with me as it would have really freaked them and my 2 cats out and all four might have run away or otherwise gotten hurt as a result.)

So yesterday I go over and only one cat is evident, but she's looking in pretty poor condition. There's a big scratch in 1 ear and all the fur on her tummy is scratchy and wet.

So Mr Kitty and I catch her, which she obviously doesn't like as she sinks her front teeth as deep into my hand as she can and twists. This is only 3 kilos of cat we're dealing with but it was like wrestling the wriggliest little ball of muscle in the world. It took all of our combined might to get her in the house and locked in the bathroom.

Not feeling much like a rematch, and with my hand bleeding furiously, making driving slightly difficult to consider, we call the vet to come and pick her up (we have the best vet in the world, they'll show up at midnight on a sunday to save an animals life and let you pay it back in $20 per week installments and sue to my cats various health problems, they know me by sight, name and cats).

Even the vet was impressed with her thrashing and cursing inside the cage, but said it was all explained by the fact that she's Tortiseshell and therefore crazy.

So, after going to Casulty to get my hand cleaned up, bandaged and a tetnis injection, we go over to the vet's surgery to see what's wrong with her. They said she has an alergy to fleas. There are only a couple on her, but even 1 could set it off. About half her skin is missing from rashes, scratching and overgrooming due to the itch. It's travelled to her ears, both of which are very badly infected, hence the bloody scratches in front of her ears. Also it has gotten so bad that about half of her front lip has rotten away.

The vet said she's need twice a day treatment for at least a month and at least one night in the hospital. We arranged that if my parents neighbours, who were supposed to be looking after her, weren't able to do this, a place would be made for her in their boarding kennels until my parents got home.

You'd think this was why I was mad at my mum, right? That she'd let a cat that we'd had for 10 years get in this condition? Worse to come.

I texted my parents to let them know what was going on. About my bite and her health problems.

I spoke to the neighbours, who were more than happy to take on her treatment and make a bed for her inside the house and make sure that she was kept inside.

This morning my mum called me from China....to tell me how stupid I was to try to touch her. To tell me that she's known about the rash and scratching for weeks.

When I told her that she was disgusting and, with how much pain the cat was in, if she wasn't prepared to look after her she should have her put to sleep, she asked me to arrange this while she's away.

So right now, I'm in pain and disgusted with my mum.

Apologies for lack of funny, but at least I'm on topic.
(misskitty reeks of sex and turpentine; laudanum afternoons, Wed 7 May 2008, 5:37, 2 replies)

Why has your mum got a pet....
She's obviously not an animal lover. God! I would find it very difficult to deal with a parent like that.
( girlinthehole, Wed 7 May 2008, 8:28, closed)

my mum and dad have 2 cats
My dad is a cat lover, but the cats are from before my sister and I moved out.

My dad does look after the cats, but he's away at work most of the day and really favours the other cat.

Plus, I'm not mad with my dad as he texted me to say please don't put the cat down, we'll fix her when we get home.
(misskitty reeks of sex and turpentine; laudanum afternoons, Thu 8 May 2008, 4:56, closed)