Saturday, January 23, 2010

No More Farm Fights!

There's been some fightin' around here! New Year's morning began with a fight that ended with Daddy Cat in severe pain. Cricket must have attacked him in the night and bit his paw. I took him to the ER since it was a holiday. He began the usual round of antibiotics. The bill was a hefty $119 with no xray. It took about 10 days before he could put weight on his injured paw. I thought maybe it was broken but eventually it returned to normal and now he jumps with no problem. My poor baby!


The following week Little Bear decided to attack Coty! She learned this dominant behavior from her deceased brother Black Jack. She gets right in his face with such ferocious barking. He must have initially snapped back but when I got downstairs, all I saw was him leaning on the couch, his front paws resting on the cushion with his back to her paralyzed with fear. She ended up with two small bite wounds, one dangerously positioned under the left eye that eventually became swollen. I applied Zinc 7 Derm (natural antipurific that works wonders) and had to put an E-collar on to prevent her incessant scratching. It is almost healed. No vet bill but almost had to go in...

Tiger always chases Big Rock into a corner but thankfully no wounds have resulted (knock on wood) and I do keep them separated but on occasion they just end up all together especially if a door is not closed tightly. What is up with my neutered boy cats?


We now have a new friend on the farm...a black and white male kitty. He has decided to adopt us and will now stay in the barn. With Daddy Cat barely healed, this worries me. Yes, I have an appointment to neuter him Tuesday. He is not dominant but will resume the feline fight position where cats tilt their heads and move sideways in slow motion all while emitting long screaming meows. He does not fear Callie and chases her. She hisses and runs away. Cricket stares at him and seems to be the dominant one. Daddy Cat wants to protect his barn but then his behaviors change from dominant to passive...who knows. So far there has been no contact with eachother. This little thing is friendly and a little licker! Just like baby Bridget! If he chooses not to stay then at least I know he cannot father any kittens. But if he stays, I might name him Sylvester!

13 comments:

Pony Girl said...

Sorry to hear about all of the fighting and the injuries! Sounds like we're all feelin' a little cooped up this winter! We need some sunshine to help us feel happier! :) The new kitty is cute....love his nicked up ear, it's like he has battle scars. Slyvester would be a nice name for him! I hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

Paint Girl said...

Glad to hear that Cricket is doing better!
Poor Coty, I know what that is like. Sadie has started to become aggressive with Bailey again. I had a feeling this might happen when I went back to work. I will continue to work on it. I have been letting Bailey stay in the house at night.
The new kitty is beautiful!! I love the last picture!! So cute!

Rural Rambler said...

Kritter Keeper the new header is great, I love the black kitty in the tree. The orange bell boots on Blue have him stylin'! Lots of things to see on your header. Any kitteh that rambles to your farm is a lucky kitteh! A good home for life with an exceptional kitty health plan. Fun post getting to see the kitties, sorry about all the hurties though on the kitties and pups too! Oh and I read in comments on your blog post prior to this one that you have Elements. Santa gifted me with Elements and I am trying to tackle it too!

V.L. Locey said...

Goodness, you`ve had your share haven`t you? Must be cabin fever is running wild for us and our critters!

Teri said...

OMGosh! I can't believe that someone else has my life!LoL!!!!
We even have a few of the same animals! My golden boy ... Ernie and your Nugget ... I have a cat named cricket ... And we also have cats living in the barn ...sometimes I don't even know how many we do have!People just keep tossing them ....
But they ALL are welcome here and are able to come and go as they please ...they have a warm dry place to sleep and eat fo as long as they want.
BTW love your blog header!
Teri♥♥♥

Kritter Keeper at Farm Tails said...

thanks for your compliments on my new header! i love it too. photoshop elements is so much fun and good for beginners. rural rambler, you will love it.

AJ-OAKS said...

Your household ( inside and out) sounds like here at my place. The pecking order with the cats sure is something else! There have been a few times I have had to step in and have a talk with them. Glad to hear Daddy Cat is healing up nicely. He sure is a handsome boy! Isn't it great having all these critters! Wouldn't have it any other way here.

Anonymous said...

Boy, lots a fighting goin on there. We have our share with just the cats. Hard to keep everyone happy and away from the ones they don't care for!

lisa said...

Poor kitty, that is the bad thing about animals, is the vet bills when they get owies. Hope all gets better!

Anonymous said...

I hope Daddy Cat is feeling better. I know what you mean though. We have a stray cat here that I named Bob because he has a little bob tail. He is not a bobcat, just a large gray and white cat. I put food out for him and Lionel, my big fluffy male cat, does not like it one bit. There is a lot of fighting going on. Lionel wants to be the only cat on the farm.
I won't mention Jill the Basset Hound and Jack the donkey and their fussing with each other!

Have a great day.
Pam

Julia said...

Goodness!!! This looks awful for you. I do share your pain with the cat fights. We get strays in all the time fighting with our cats who are neutered. I feel you just cant win sometimes.

I hope everyone is on the road to recovery!!

JC said...

Very pretty kitty ... where did he come from ?

I came home & Meredith wouldn't stand on her paw. It was a Sunday & she didn't cry when I touched it so I waited til Monday. By then she was limping on it. Was ok after a few days.

I think Riley, my orange baby boy, is the problem. He likes to chase & she is too shy. Jasmine, my spicy siamese, just hisses at him.

And, those vet visits ... I wait if I can. It'll be almost 200 and no x rays ... I tell ya for those prices I expect dinner & a movie LOL

Flat Creek Farm said...

Love your header! I enjoyed all the Kritter Tails as always, and the photos of your adorable, beautiful crew. Yes, those vet bills can surely add up and fast. I hope everything is more peaceful at your place by now :) -Tammy p.s. I would take Sylvester too.. love those tuxedo kitties. Well, I just love them all. period. :)