Last night on my way home from work (1:30 in the morning) I saw something in the middle of the road. As I got closer, it was obviously a cat that'd been hit by a car. Like most cats that've been hit by cars, I just assumed he had died from his injuries. As I was passing the cat, I realized he was sitting up and was alive.
I immediately pulled over, waited for traffic to pass while holding my breath and hoping no one hit him while I was watching. As soon as traffic cleared, I pulled in to the middle of the road, put on my emergency flashers and walked over to the cat. As I knelt down and let him smell me, I saw that his left eye was bloody and was popped out of the socket. As I reached out to pet him, he didn't even flinch. I pet him and made sure he trusted me, then lifted him in to the car. At the time the only immediate injuries I could see were the eye and possibly his jaw.
I placed him in the passenger seat and he immediately crawled on to the floor. As I frantically searched for the nearest 24hr Vet, he seemed calm. He wasn't wailing or making any abnormal sounds. I located the nearest vet and raced over.
When I got to the vet they rushed him to the back (after he took a lap around the building trying to get away) and asked for his information. I didn't have any, but when I got the initial paperwork, they listed his name as Lucky.
The vet isn't sure if Lucky is feral, as he is still intact. He kept trying to get away from the doctor at the vet and she couldn't be sure that Lucky wouldn't try to bite her. However, aside from the car injuries, he was friendly with me, didn't seem like a scrappy cat, was fat, and was only as dirty as an outdoor cat. He didn't seem like he was getting in to fights out in the streets.
As it turns out, Lucky's eye will need to be removed. This is unfortunately the least expensive of the surgeries that are going to be needed. From his injuries, it's likely that Lucky's back end was run over by a car. His pelvis is fractured and is separated from his sacrum, which will need surgery. If he doesn't have this surgery, he will most likely have problems having bowel movements.
I was given an estimate of $4,000-$5,000 for the surgeries and they said they'd throw in the neutering for free. I don't exactly have that kind of money lying around and never thought I'd be paying that much on a cat. Especially one that I'd never met before. But I couldn't bear to leave him in the street waiting to die.
So, to help offset some of the vet bills, I will be selling hand knit hats, fingerless mittens, scarves, etc. I make a mean hat and I use quality, boutique yarn. If made from the boutique yarn, hats will be $40 and fingerless mittens will be $15. Anything made from the cheaper yarn would cost less. All money earned will go directly to pay for vet bills. In the event more money is received than needed to cover the vet bills, it will go to FieldHaven Feline Rescue in Lincoln, CA.
I didn't have time to get a picture of Lucky, but hopefully will soon! He's got a sweet face, bloody eye and all!
Donations would also be greatly appreciated.
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