You'll recall, Oliver somehow beat the odds of being born behind a wall with a hostile homicidal father-feline who ended the lives of three of the four kittens born that day.
For the frist week of his life, he was thriving! Callie was a wonderful Mama Cat, Oliver was nursing and growing, and they were in a private Kitty Condo Kennel. It seemed we were out of the woods.
Then, eight days after bringing Baby Oliver Titten home from urgent care, he was found with a full thickness cut through his neck, revealing the muscles below. Philip was once again the culprit, having been caught red-pawed with an arm through the cage. (Oh yeah, he freed him self from the noose that day the kittens were born and had returned, unbothered, to skulk about as he did.)
Wouldn't you know, this incident occurred during night chores. Meaning the real world was closed and it was once again back to the urgent care vet. Also, due to his young age, it meant that our sweet Callie once again must make the 25 minute drive despite her violent car sickness. When we arrives at the vet, Callie had rendered her carrier useless with exretions. Callie under one arm and Oliver in the pocket of my vest, we made our grand entrance into the lobby.
As luck would it have it, the same staff was working and I was met with startled faces and an "Oh. It's you again." (I'm not sure what this says about me or the impressions I leave...) Then their expressions turned to confusion as they asked "Where's the kitten?" I plucked him from my pocket and handed him off. They whisked him away to the back room, leaving Callie & I to wait.
Somehow, our sweet kitten had not expended all his luck! The cut was thick, but all vital parts and pieces were intact. He was too young and too small for anesthesia, meaning the wound care and staples were placed without sedation. (His pitiful meows are still with me to this day.) He was placed on .0125 mL of antibiotic, twice daily, for 2 weeks and scheduled to return around that same time.
We moved the Kitty Condo into what was scheduled to become the chicken coop, allowing complete separation from the other animals on the farm. Multiple times per day Callie & kitten were visited and loved, Oliver was medicated, and their home was tidied. Two and half very long weeks later, we returned to the vet.
Oliver kitten was given the all clear!! His wound had healed, he had no signs of infection, he was growing appropriately, and his personality was bright and curious! He used up two and his nine lives early, but he was going to be just fine! Since then, he has grown into a very handsome cat, a good mouser, and even offers cuddles & purrs to his people.
For those of you wondering, the agressive male cat was to be neutered and re-homed for the safety of the female and kitten. Unfortunately, he met an untimely end in the road before these plans were completed.
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