Caraccident

Before I tell Tam-Tam's story, I will tell a little about why I let my cats be out-door-cats.

My husband and I had two cats before and both of them were run over by a car. We found them dead on the street -- and they are buried in our garden.

When we bought Tessa -- half a year after we lost Chilli -- I decided that she was going to be an in-door-cat. But it was very difficult, because she wanted so badly to go outside. Then one day when the door was not really closed she sliped away into the freedom. She came back some hours later so finaly I let her come and go as she wanted. When we got Tam-Tam I let him go with Tessa. I am always a little afraid that I will never see them again. But I once heard a Pet Expert say on TV: Better a short life in freedom than a long life in prison.

So my cats are outdoor-cats. I sure hope they will get a long and good life -- but Sunday August 20th, 2000 -- I doubted that Tam-Tam's life would be much longer.

September 8th -- Now i can't stay away from Tam-Tam any longer. We went out to see him. He was very happy and I held him during his examination. His leg is still strapped and it has not begun to make new bone. But suddenly it just heals they told me. His tail is still very bad -- in fact I can't see any improvement since last time. I am not keen to take him back home before it looks a little better. I am worried that I can't clean and smear it probably. "Tamme" ends up staying at the clinic.

September 15th -- Today they have removed the bandaging from Tam-Tam's leg and he is very careful with that leg. However I am still not keen to take him home so we agree on coming back to the clinic 4 days later to see if he is ready to come home. By then he would have been there for nearly one month.

September 19th -- We went out to see how "Tamme" was doing. His leg was much better but a little skinny. It will be normal when he starts walking on it again. I can't see any improvement on his tail although the vets see an improvement every day. We agree that we will take him home Tuesday next week.

I am worried about taking care of the tail myself -- apparently it can take quite some time before it heals. Also I'll have to keep him locked up in a cage in order to keep him resting his leg. I hope he has got used sitting in the cage by now. When he gets home I'll just have to give him a lot of attention if he is unhappy and hopefully Tessa will sit outside the cage "talking" to him.

September 26th -- Today we picked up "Tamme" and brought him home at long last. His leg is still not too good. He was'nt happy at all sitting in the cage so eventually I let him out. That resulted in him running around the house like crazy -- obviously not good for his leg. I reckon he had missed his house. Tessa however was not too happy with him. She had gotten used being the only cat. After a few days they were back to normal -- Best of Friends !! -- After a time I realized that I couldn't keep him in a cage. Instead I ended up placing him in the shower cabin. He is not happy there either but a least he is in a bigger place and it used to be one of the places he liked to sleep before his accident.

October 17th -- Todag we took Tam-Tam to the clinic for a check-up. His tail is still not perfect but it is getting better. He is still limping. But still -- the vets were very happy with his progress -- although that he will never be like before. We also took Tessa along. Both cats were given their yearly vaccinations. It is a real pleasure seeing those vets. Tam-Tam was welcomed like a loving member of a family. Everybody came out to say hello to him.

October 27th -- I had to call the vets again. Tam-Tam's stomach doesn't function very well. He has the most terrible diarre. The vets said it could be because of all the medicine he got after the accident. They gave me penicillin, he has to take for the next five days. Sure hope it helps. Sometimes I wonder if this nightmare will ever end...

October 30th -- After 3 days -- HURRAH -- It seems to be better with his stomach...

November 1st -- Tam-Tam got to have five more days with pencillin. His tail is fine -- getting better every day -- and his leg is as good as it can be. I think he will always limp a little.

November 18th -- As I am writing this in Tam-Tam's Diary he is sleeping right beside me. I guess everything now is like before. His tail is OK and his leg is OK. His stomach is half OK -- so perhaps it is the best it will ever be. For the moment he gets special food and eventually he will go back to normal food again. But life now is pretty much the same as before the accident. I still have two cats -- and I am very grateful for that....

So it must be the time now for me stopping writing in his Diary.

OBS - 2001 January 14th -- Stomach is OK now, so everything is just normal....

August 20th 2000 -- I will never forget that day. It was a beautiful Sunday morning. My cats went out early in the morning so I looked for them when I woke up. Only Tessa came when I called. Usually they come together but I was not really worried. I thought Tam-Tam was in our garden or the garden next door. My husband looked out of the window and said that Tam-Tam was outside the back-door. I went out for him and I really got a shock. His tail was almost torn off and his left hind leg trailed after him. I lifted him very carefully inside and I feared that he would die any minute. We phoned the Veterinary Hospital in our town but they did not answer the phone. Then I phoned a Pet Hospital in a small village in the neighborhood and they told us to come at once. I guess we were lucky that we chose that hospital because we were met by the nicest veterinarians who really loved cats.

Tam-Tam was operated in his leg and they amputated his tail. We went home and hoped that his life would be spared. Some hours later the vets called and told us that Tam-Tam would be OK but he had to stay at the hospital for a long time. His leg was almost crushed so he had to stay in a cage -- to spare his leg -- and his hind part of the body was seriously damaged. But he would survive.

August 25th -- My daughter and I drove out to see how "Tamme" was doing. I could hardly wait to see him but at the same time I was worried that it would upset him when we left again. He was in a terrible state but happy to see me. He staggered over to me on three legs and we sat for a while cuddling. When we left I could hear him cry....

I don't go visiting the next 14 days but I call nearly every day. Things are getting better every day and his mood is getting better too. He is also beginning to show an interest in food again. Unfortunately he has a problem with his tail. Although his tail was amputated they left about 1/2 an inch. The skin around that bit is not healing very well. He will never have any fur on that bit of tail but instead it should grow scar-tissue.