Lefty Cat

We've had kitty drama at our house this week... Monday night when we got home, we found Lefty the cat outside and he was in BAD SHAPE. We thought he had probably been caught by a coyote, as his chest seemed to be punctured badly in about 4 places. He was bleeding slightly, and not breathing normally. He couldn't move and would just cry out when you touched him. I just knew he was dying. The girls came out and told him good bye, and many, MANY tears were shed. (Here's an old picture of Lefty when he was a kitten with his brother, Poncho. Is that not just pure sweetness?? Love it.)After the kids went to bed, I went out into the back yard and sat with Lefty so he wouldn't be alone when he died. I know, I know... I'm a sap. Luke came out and checked on him, too, but neither one of us could "put him out of his misery". We covered him with a towel and gave him some water, which he lapped up. We would pet him, and he would lean into our hands and try to purr. It was very sad. Finally, we decided we needed to go to bed, but Lefty was still hanging in there. We couldn't leave him alone and defenseless in the yard, so we finally decided to move him to the laundry room. We thought that way he could pass away quietly. It was sad, but we thought it was best. Luke had some liquid antibiotics, which he gave to Lefty. He drank a bit more water, and we left him for the night.

When we woke up in the morning, we went to check on Lefty, who was still alive. He had used the little litter box, and, even though he still looked really bad, Luke felt like maybe he had a chance. Luke loaded him up in the car and took him to the vet.

After the vet looked at him and shaved down his chest, he discovered that Lefty had in fact been bit by a SNAKE. Scary, since those fang puncture marks were HUGE. Anyway, the vet called and said Lefty was still alive, but he only gave him a 50/50 shot at survival. He put Lefty on IV antibiotics, IV fluids, and IV steroids.

Lefty held on for another day, but today, he died. The girls were sad all over again, but Luke promised them he would bring the body back home, and we would have a feline funeral. (In case you didn't know, Luke is an EXCELLENT pet preacher... I am so thankful, as I LITERALLY can't get through these pet funerals without bursting into inappropriate giggling fits.)

SO tomorrow, we'll be burying and saying good bye to a very good cat. RIP, Lefty. We will miss you!