# Story of a Work Kitty (Got Attacked by a Coyote)



## Konotashi (Oct 20, 2010)

My mom works at a chemical plant, and for the last 15 years, their unofficial mascot has been a little cat that lives out there. 

She's feral - can feed herself if she needs to, but usually the employees make sure she's fed, watered, and sheltered. 
For the first 14.5 years, she was completely feral and wouldn't come near anybody. Within the last six months or so, she's come around and picked who she does and doesn't like. My mom happens to be her favorite.  

The other day, another employee (that the cat doesn't like) spotted her with blood on her, so my mom went to check her out. The side of her neck was torn open, presumably by a coyote. She took her straight to the vet to get taken care of, and everyone at her work pitched in for the surgery - even people who don't like her! It was awesome seeing everyone come together to help this lil cat. 

Right now she's staying with us so she can recover. She's got a ton of stitches and a drain. After she's all healed up, one of my mom's coworkers is going to adopt her, and my mom told him that she would pay for all of the kitty's expenses for the rest of her life.  

She seems to be doing pretty well, considering she's never been indoors. She does NOT like Matrix (but that's a given), but she seems to be 'okay' with my Pom. She's a little iffy - only hissed at him once - but hasn't tried to slap him or anything. She's also curious of the ferrets. She sat by their cage and watched them for a while, but didn't try to pat at them or anything. 

Here's a picture of her. I know her eye is a bit off-putting, but it's been like that for at least 12 years. When she was trapped/spayed several years back, the vet that did her surgery said they could remove it, but it doesn't seem to bother her at all, so she just has a zombie eye.


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## dt8thd (Jan 7, 2013)

I'm so happy to hear that this story is going to have such a wonderful outcome!  You, your mom and her coworkers are awesome for having such compassion for this tough old girl!


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## Jetlaya67 (Sep 26, 2012)

That poor baby! I am glad she is now safe and recovering. Thank you to you, your mom, and everybody that has helped taken care of her. And she is going to a fur ever home!


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## Arianwen (Jun 3, 2012)

Good for you. Given the reaction to the dog as opposed to felines I would be a bit worried that the damage hadn't been done by a canine but by a human.


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## Tiliqua (Jan 22, 2013)

What a wonderful story!! Thank you for sharing. So great to hear about your mom and her coworkers, that is so great of all of them to help her.


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## Konotashi (Oct 20, 2010)

She's had to fend off other cats from her territory for as long as she's been out there. The wound on her neck looked like a bad bite wound, like she got thrashed around.
She's super sweet! My mom took her downstairs earlier and she just sat with her on the couch. She watches the dogs carefully and doesn't mind them as long as they leave her alone.

I go in my closet where we have her (it's like a small bedroom) and she comes right out to see me. She's eating and drinking, so that's good. 

She goes back to the vet on Monday to get her drains taken out.


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

Major kudos to your mom and all those at her work which looked out for this special kitty.







Its a very happy story! Loved it.

You should take her to a vet eye specialist to look at that eye. Sometimes the eye can become infected and she may be uncomfortable but not showing it. Cats hide pain because it makes them vulnerable in the wild. 

Just a consultation wouldn't be expensive for the specialist to look at it. They do eyes all day long and a specialist could give your mom the information she needed in one visit.


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## gizmothecat (Jun 26, 2013)

Oooooh that's so sweet! Way to go mom!


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## howsefrau32 (Mar 6, 2013)

I want to hug your mom!! She is my hero of the day, for sure. I worry about my feral that has been in my neighborhood for years, she finally lets me and my husband love on her a bit, but I do worry that as she gets older that her senses are not as sharp, and I worry about her getting attacked by something as she sleeps. Is mom going to think about keeping her inside? I know she has been in her own environment her whole life, but now that she is inside, I bet she likes it  I always want to do this with my feral, but I have 3 inside cats, and I don't think it would work out with her, because she would need dto go in and out, but I think about it. 

Tell your mother that a lot of cat people are so thankful to her for helping this poor old girl out, what an awesome person your mom is to do this for her.


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## Konotashi (Oct 20, 2010)

She's definitely not going back outside. Even if the guy who said he would adopt her backs out, Mom has no problem keeping her for the rest of her golden years. 

Mom is going to see if she can get an estimate on having the eye removed. She's able to move it and blink, so it doesn't get dried out, but Mom said if it only costs a couple hundred bucks, she'll have it taken out.


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

If youre in Tucson the best vet specialist for eyes is Dr. Reuben E. Merideth at Southern Arizona Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center. I cant say enough good things about him.


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

Tell Mom she is my new hero! What a wonderful, generous gesture she is doing. If kitty tolerates handling, you can give her eye drops (just the regular saline drops we humans might use for dry eyes). I give them to my Missy twice a day because of her corneal sequestrums. it's just to keep the eye lubricated - they don't sting at all.


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## annegirl (Oct 16, 2012)

Konotashi Both you and your mum are legends. Amazing the care you give your cats. I know it's changing the topic but maybe you could add to your old thread but any update on lil Buddha. I think about her often.


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## TinyPaws (Jun 23, 2013)

Aww bless her little soul. So wonderful to hear you were all there for her! Hope she has a speedy recovery!


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## Konotashi (Oct 20, 2010)

The vet said it would cost around $800-$900 to remove the eye, but also said that it doesn't seem to bother her at all. She's able to blink completely and move it, so it stays well lubricated.  If there's ever any problems with it though, it will be checked out and likely removed. My mom said she can't remember her eye ever being normal, though - so I imagine she's fine with it staying like that. 

The vet can hardly believe she's feral. He said that a lot of family housecats aren't as friendly as her when they come in for a visit. She had her drains taken out without a hitch.  

Right now we're trying to get her accumulated to the other animals. She's totally fine with our lab. She hisses sometimes, but our lab is very good with cats and knows when to give them some space. She ignores her for the most part. My Pom on the other hand, has no sense of personal space. She lets him get right in her face, but if he lingers too long, she'll hiss. She slapped him once, so he's a little bit more respectful of her. 

Matrix is the perfect cat to get kitties like her used to other cats. Right now she's chilling on my bed. He came up and sniffed her. After a little bit she hissed, so he backed off and left her alone. Now he's just roaming around the room while she watches him. 

And for Annegirl's request on Buddha - she's doing just fine. She pretty much turned into a psycho cat, but we love her! Haha. Her favorite spot is to sit on the stairs and she'll wait for us to walk by and slap our feet. She is a total chub again. She got down to 11 lbs at her lowest when she was sick - now she's up to 18!


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## Konotashi (Oct 20, 2010)

UPDATE!

And let me tell you, it's a goodie! Most of it, anyway. 

Not sure where I left off (and don't want to read through everything again), but Missy is actually a MISTER! (Via blood test). 

But he went to itch his stitches on his neck and ripped a huge hole in it. So we had to take him back in and he had to be put under, tubes put in again, and basically start completely over. :/ 
Thankfully he left it all alone the second time and it healed without a hitch. 

My mom and I were talking about his eye, and we agreed that it'd be best to have it removed now, rather than wait until it causes him problems and he'd be at an age where it'd be dangerous to put him under anesthesia. 

When he went to have his stitches removed from his neck (the second time) we scheduled his surgery to have his eye removed. 
My mom started a donation pool and collected a total of around $700 (from the website and coworkers)!

When we brought him in for his eye surgery, we asked if we could keep the eye. I was surprised when they had no issue with us keeping it. 
I won't go into detail, but it was NASTY. SO glad we had it removed!! It had to have caused headaches and be uncomfortable (if not painful). 

Right now he's the most pitiful thing. He's been all drugged up and has to wear the cone of shame. I've never seen something so sad as a cat with a cone! 

First pic being home. He looks like he's not very happy, but he was just sinking down into my mom's arms as far as he could. And remember Jackrabbit, the foster we brought in about two years ago that was TERRIFIED of everything? That's him on the left side.  


Mom wanted to give him a break from his cone, and he clung onto her and was purrin' like a motorboat.


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## Sillycowsgomoo (Mar 4, 2013)

Poor kitty had a hard life. It's great everything it much better now, he's lucky to have found you and your mom.


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## Jakiepoo (Jan 5, 2013)

Oh wow, so happy to see he's recovering, looks like the rest of his years are going to be spent in perfect bliss with you guys looking after him!


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

All good news! He will feel so much better in two weeks. What a sweet guy.


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## 10cats2dogs (Jun 16, 2013)

It sounds like it was a blessing for him to have that eye removed, poor boy...
Did the Vet find infection behind the eye, or was the optic nerve 'raw' causing him the pain...?
You and your Mom are Special people!!

Does this Special Cat have a name yet?
I'd like to suggest Wiley as in Wiley coyote, for more than one reason...
That Coyote from the Roadrunner cartoon series always took such a beating...BUT he never gave up trying!!
To me he personifies the ultimate "Don't ever give up" attitude! !


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## Mochas Mommy (Dec 9, 2013)

While he has had really bad luck out in the big bad world, he struck gold in choosing your mom and you to let into his life. I shudder to think of what would have happened to him if your mom didn't take the initiative to care for him in his time of great need. She is truly a Cat Angel and blessing!


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## Konotashi (Oct 20, 2010)

They didn't say much about they eye. Said it may have been glaucoma, but one thing's for sure - it was nasty. 

When Mom called to make his first appointment (when we thought he was a female) she named him Missy. When we found out she was actually a he, we just changed it to Mister. Haha.


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## 10cats2dogs (Jun 16, 2013)

Well just happy 'Mister' was rescued by your Mom and you!


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## cat owner again (Dec 14, 2012)

wonderful story.


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## Jetlaya67 (Sep 26, 2012)

AWW, he is such a sweet boy! So happy for him! You, your mom and all the people at work that helped with money for his surgery are awesome. Blessings to you all, this story has made me very happy.


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