# Lesson to learn: When Louie was hurt



## trashcankid (Dec 13, 2012)

A few months back, my boyfriend and I came home after dinner and found our orange tabby, Louie, suspended by his left, hind leg. The best we can tell he was sitting by the screened window we leave open for him. He must have started playing with the dangling pull-chord attached to the blinds...honestly, there's no way we can know for sure what happened. The pull-chord ended up wrapped around his back paw enough to cinch his leg and when he tried to pull free, the mechanism engaged and pulled him several feet in the air! It was horrifying to find him hanging upside-down, so scared and hurt. There was blood and scratch marks on the curtains. :'(

The swelling in his leg was so severe, he looked like he had elephantiasis or something. The vet said his foot might need to be amputated but after intense steroids and antibiotics, along with kitty pain-killers, he started eating and drinking. It took days before I could sleep through the night without waking up to check on him.

Thankfully, he has made a full recovery and I have learned to take extra steps in order to have a safe environment for Louie. All the pull-chords are tied up beyond his reach (curtain ties altered to have less length). 

Anyone out there have other tips we could use or stories like this they would be interested in sharing? Sorry it was so long-winded but these forums are the only place I get to vent and learn. Thanks for reading.


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## Lovemychanel (Mar 20, 2013)

Thank you for posting this...I open the blinds every morning and usually hide the cords...I will take extra time now...I am happy he made a full recovery..no problems with circulation? Do you have a single level home? Does he chew on any cords? 


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## trashcankid (Dec 13, 2012)

It's a small, single level farm house. He hasn't had a chance to chew on them since we put them up but he didn't before (that we saw). Circulation is fine but he has a little circular patch of fur missing from where he was held by the cord but that is the only bit that hasn't healed completely. I think he was able to recover because he was/is still growing. It was intense. The vet was so kind. I didn't have a lot of money so the doc helped me by setting a cap on the cost...the accident made me look into pet insurance.


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## maggie23 (Mar 10, 2012)

what a horrible scare! thank you so much for posting this. we all nee wake-up calls like this to keep us on our toes and have safe homes for our kitties. SO glad he made a full recovery!


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## Lovemychanel (Mar 20, 2013)

Wow another great Idea! Happy to hear he is better I am not sure about more cat proofing and confident the others will bring ideas cords meaning electrical cords...hugs


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## Meegan (Mar 24, 2013)

This sound so scary. I can't even imagine what I'd do if that happened to one of our cats. Thank you for sharing your experience. I will be making sure the cords are tucked up. I'm glad, though, that he's made a good recovery.


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

WOW!! I never thought of that entanglement! Thanks for sharing! I have cords on every window of the house - today they are going up - way up - and out of the way!!


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## lovetimesfour (Dec 1, 2010)

Thank goodness you found him in time. Thank heaven it wasn't around his neck. I read about something like that elsewhere not too long ago. The person had left her cat over night and came home to find him strangled. He did not live. Just one more reason cats should not be left alone even overnight. I know you didn't leave him overnight, but it bears repeating.

I always warn people to never leave dangling toys or cords, and never leave string on a stick toys out. These things happen.

So glad Louie is going to be okay.


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## pllamah (Jul 5, 2012)

im glad he's ok. Something similar happened to my cat when he was about 4 months old. I was sleeping and thankfully awoke to the sound of him choking, when i opened my eyes i saw he had tangled the curtain string around his neck. My poor baby, he was alright though, just gave me a big scare.


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