The Bruiser

It's a strange coincidence that I took this photo a couple of weeks ago (Nov 8th). Che$ter looks like he's posing and trying to look imposing. Later that night I heard cats fighting outside and ran out to find him sparring with a calico. The calico bolted away and he chased it out of the yard, but when I caught up with him at the front gate, he was yowling like he was in a lot of pain and hunkered down and moving slowly. I was really worried the other cat had hurt him, so I gently picked him up and brought him inside. He seemed kind of ok.

But later I noticed some blood on his cheek and upon closer inspection found a puncture wound (from a fang!) between his ear and eye and another on his lower cheek/jaw. I immediately tried to clean the areas with soap and water and put some cotton and pressure on the wound and the bleeding seemed to stop.

But the next day, the whole right side of his face was swollen and he could barely open his mouth to yawn. And all he wanted to do was lie on the bed. I knew he should see a vet and I'd had some recommendations. My friend Tom called to see if I wanted to go swimming, but I explained the situation and he also put in a good recommendation for the vet other people had told me about.

M., Che$ter and I got in a cab and went to our 5pm appointment. Che$ter had never been a better patient. He was completely relaxed and by the end of the visit, he was resting his head on the vet's arm as he wrote out the instructions for giving antibiotics. It was one of my most pleasant vet experiences, due in large part to the office visit, antibiotic shot, and weeks worth of Clavamox costing a little under $25 USD. In NYC, the minimum I'd probably ever pay would be $125 for a visit and that would be a good day.

I've been a little more nervous about him going outside, but the whole incident didn't deter him one bit - he was ready to go out the minute we got back from the vet. It's tough because I want to protect him from harm, but he's really never been happier in his life being able to explore outside.