Posted on 08/22/2006 5:55:06 PM PDT by Shermy
A lucky feline may have eight lives left but he lost his nose and his tail during a recent run-in with lightning, according to a Salida couple.
Rod and Cheri Schleicher told the Mountain Mail that 6-year-old Hamlin was struck by lightning or some other electrical source about six weeks ago.
On the night of the accident, the couple noticed that their orange tabby was wheezing a lot, and saw that his nose was swollen and discolored. Cheri Schleicher said she simply thought Hamlin ran into something but when he didn't eat for a couple of days, they took him to the vet.
"(Our vet) suspected Hamlin had been struck by lightning, but his whiskers weren't burned and he couldn't find any damage to (the cat's) limbs," she told the newspaper.
Then a couple of days later, Schleicher was petting him in her lap when she noticed that his tail, leg and paw were cold to the touch.
"Apparently, it takes time for damaged nerves to die after animals are struck by lightning," Schleicher said. "Dr. (Kit) Ryff said he had seen something similar to this in larger animals, but never an animal this small."
Hamlin's nose fell off and his tail, back left leg and a portion of his front left paw had to be amputated.
Without a nose, Hamlin is at risk for possible infections, and may have to be put down, his vet said. But Schleicher said her cat is doing fine and recovering well -- eating a lot and learning to walk on three legs.
Hamlin will never be able to be outdoors again but he should live a normal life, she said.
Schleicher said the cat is lucky in more ways than one. Hamlin was found abandoned along with another cat they rescued, who eventually died of leukemia.
"Hamlin shouldn't be alive, but he is and there must be some reason. So as long as he is healthy, we'll take care of him," Schleicher said.
Poor Kitty!
Sorry for the late response . . . I had to wait for my four cats to leave the room. They can be as dumb as a box of cat hair and further require the warning, "do not try this at home".
The owners should do the right thing and put the cat down!! Poor cat! if it is under any pain, it's their responsiblity to put it out of its misery. It's cruel if they don't.
Keep your cats indoors and don't get a Mac.
Judging from the look in his eyes I'd say Hamlin's pretty clear about wanting to live out his life. If he can do it in good health and without pain, I can't think of a reason for him not to do precisely that.
Think "zombie"
And no, llamas are far from "stupid"
If I had a dollar for every time I heard that phrase...
All too common.
LOL!
No, I don't know enough about them to call them stupid.
Even knowing she felt no pain, it must have been hard to watch her like that for 6 days. Houdini the goat wasn't dumb, just lonely because the dogs didn't want to play with him. He caught on pretty fast when I donned heavy gloves so he could box with me. The trick was teaching him when playtime was over!
Say, that isn't a Reuters photo is it?
Yes ... poor baby ... good thing there's a loving human nearby.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.