MEET MUDDY WATERS

No you haven't got the wrong blog. This is not a post about that legendary giant of the Blues of whom I am a fan. It's about the cat I was called out about earlier this week -see the recent post. Having named the oldish stray ginger cat I'd taken in about three weeks ago after rough tough bluesman RL Burnside, I decided to name this poor dilapidated old soul after one as well. Given that his fur is grey and somewhat the colour of mud, it wasn't exactly a great stretch to name him as I did. It'll probably get shortened to Mud as did Muddy's -real name, McKinley Morganfield.

Now we've got that sorted, let me tell you about my  Muddy Waters.

After spending the first night on a drip, he pulled round to start eating properly and his bowels seemed normal, though dried food made him sick. Apart from a slightly poor reading on his kidneys which was probably due to dehydration, his blood tests came up fine. He's also about 14-15 years old so his best years are behind him but that doesn't stop me wanting to provide him with a decent quality of life for however long he has left which could be as many as five though I'd be surprised if lives as much as another two. All the matted clumps of fur were shaved off.

I brought him home from the vets this morning and put him in a -borrowed from the shop- large guinea pig cage which, surprisingly, is bigger that the cat cage I have in that there is ample space for the litter tray, his bedding, and food and water with a little room to spare. Talking of little room to spare, he's had to go in my bedroom which is actually about the same size as my living room but with less clutter. 

Initial impressions of his character are very favourable. Inevitably Aelfric was the first to want to say hello. Muddy, rather than hiss or spit, just sniffed him back. A few other of the cats arrived and didn't appear to disturb Muddy in any way. When I opened the cage up he didn't attempt to escape and seemed to like me stroking him. If this is typical of him I doubt he'll be in the cage for very long.

I will be putting him on the cats needing home list but I'm really going to be looking for a long-term fosterer and Animal Krackers will pay for any vets bills, which they'd do anyway if I kept him as a foster-cat here., but he'd be better off in a house with fewer cats.

Sorry about the poor quality of the photos below, a combination of brightness, cage bars, and Muddy constantly moving. And me being a crap photographer never helps much.

IF THIS IS YOUR CAT I HOPE YOU'RE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF.

And this photo doesn't show the worst of it.

I got a call late yesterday afternoon asking if I could come and look at an ill cat which was just hanging around a side road not far from me, just off Stratford Avenue at Grangetown. You, dear regular readers, know my situation but I replied that I'd come and have a look at it. No promises, mind.

So I came, looked, and put it immediately in the cat carrier. 

It was sitting on the grass verge by the side of the road, completely vulnerable to a passing dog, just letting anyone come up and stroke it. Some kind person or people had been feeding it. No-one knew who it belonged to. I rang the vets and naturally they just told me to bring it in.

It was seen by Wendy and only when it was on the table in front of me could I fully see what a state he (a neutered male aged about 14-15) was in. Hardly any teeth, great clumps of matted fur hanging off, bald patches where the matted fur had come out, very underweight; all in all, a really dilapidated and sad state.

Wendy and I talked about what to do with it. We agreed on basic blood tests and then, if there was anything clearly and seriously wrong such as kidney failure (a distinct possibility) he'd be put to sleep. If there was nothing wrong other than being in a generally poor condition, she'd treat that until he was well enough to go elsewhere. I wasn't sure where elsewhere would be but I'd take him anyway. I'm being disingenuous, I knew damn well it would be my house because there isn't anywhere else and I wasn't going to put him back on the streets.

We left it at that. Later in the evening I discovered I'd missed a call from Wendy at 6.30 and pretty much convinced myself that he'd given up and died. I thought that he'd picked the spot on the grass verge just to die. Anyway, I rang the vets a couple of hours ago this morning to learn that he had survived the night. He'd been on a drip and had eaten a little food. He'd be observed during the day and I'd be notified on how he was doing. 

Does anyone recognise this cat or know who he belongs to? Is he yours and would you like to claim him? 

He may be in this state because he got lost rather than through neglect -in which case I apologise in advance to the concerned owner. I don't know and I probably never will. I'll let you know how he gets on. But don't be optimistic. I'm not.

This photo makes him look a lot better than he is but maybe more recognisable to someone who knows him.