Conference misery::feline_v1

356.0. "URGENT - LOOKING FOR OWNER" by VAXWRK::DUDLEY () Fri Oct 17 1986 12:40

    LOOKING FOR OWNER OF BLACK & WHITE MALE CAT FOUND ON
           
            ROUTE 117 IN MAYNARD LAST NIGHT. 
    ============================================================
    
    Last night around 7pm as I was driving home from work on Rte.
    117, I passed a cat lying on the side of the road.  It was 
    motionless so I assumed it was dead, however since it was out
    a few feet from the curb, I turned around so that I could
    place it up on the curb and check for identification.
    
    When I approached the cat I saw that it was still alive.  With
    out going into the details I can tell you that this is a 
    devastating thing to witness and I hope never to experience it
    again.
    
    Fortunately the police pulled up and called in to see if the Stow
    Animal Hospital was still open.  More fortunately, the hospital
    is open till 8pm on Thursdays.  I brought the cat in and at this
    point all the vet could do was administer IV and observe the
    trauma. 
    
    I stopped by the hospital this morning and was delighted to find
    the little guy much improved.  Last night he was semi-conscious
    and suffering a concussion, but this morning he was pretty alert
    considering.  He's suffering from pneumothorax which is a condi-
    tion where air is trapped between the lung and chest.  It's in-
    side the chest but outside the lung.  Because of this and the
    fact that he was bleeding quite heavily from the nose last night
    and it's clogged and swollen, he's having some trouble breathing.
    He broke a tooth and also suffered some eye trauma but I don't
    think there's any permanent damage to the eye.  It appears that
    he took the brunt of the blow up front.
    
    The vet says that the pneumothorax condition usually heals itself
    in time and the prognosis looks good for the cat at this point.
    He's a real nice cat.  We had a little petting session this morn-
    ing and he was quite happy with that!
    
    I need some assistance from you all who live in Maynard.  If you
    know of a cat fitting this description can you check with it's
    owner(s) to see if it's whereabouts is known/unknown.  Also, can
    you keep your eyes out for any LOST posters/ads for cats that
    might appear in the local paper or area.  If any of you work with
    someone from Maynard can you pass this story along.  Here are all
    the pertinent details:
    
    Description:  Black & white unaltered male cat.  Mostly black with
                  with white underbelly and paws and half&half black
                  and white face.  There appears to be a smidgen of
                  black around the tip of his nose but it's kind of
                  hard to tell since his nose is messy/dirty.
    
    Approx. Age:  Vet's estimate is maybe around a year old.
    
    Other:        Was wearing a white flea collar.
    
    Found:        On Route 117 in Maynard across from Sherman St. just
                  before the Dodge Dealership (not too far from the
                  high school for those of you unfamiliar with the streets
                  along 117).
    
    The cat is at the Stow Animal Hospital on Rte. 117, I'm afraid I
    don't know their phone number.  I can be reached at DTN 223-7978
    or mailed at SHADOW::DUDLEY.
    
    I'd really appreciate it Cat Lovers if you could help me out on
    this one.
    
    Donna
    

    I forgot to mention that the cat is SHORT-HAIRED.
    Another observation is that the white fur of the
    cat is pretty white which indicates that he is
    not strictly an outdoor cat and spends time in-
    doors with someone.  
    
    The cat is not fat but is well fed, it's not a
    sleek cat.
    
    Donna
    

    You could put put up a sign in the neighborhood.  You
    probably found the cat before the owners knew it was
    gone, and they're out calling and calling now.  I'm
    glad the cat is doing so well - many people would
    have just driven on by (as the hit/run driver did,
    the idiot!).
    
    --Louise

    You could also go door to door.  I know it is a lot of effort, but
    there maybe a very grateful owner at the other end of the doorbell.
    Goonies was a victim of a hit and run driver many years ago.  Two
    of the neighborhood kids found him by the side of the road and
    persuaded their mother to take him to the vet.  When the vet told
    the kids that the cat would probably be okay (broken pelvis) but
    that he could not hold the cat for very long before destroying him,
    they went door to door through the neighborhood asking if anyone
    was missing a black and white cat.
    
    Needless to say, both Goonies and I are very grateful.
    
    Susan

    Well this story has a happy ending!  The owner of 'Casper'
    was found today!  It was kind of quirky the way it happened
    and fortunately the owner is a DEC employee otherwise I
    don't think it would have happened.  I had posted some 
    notices in the ladies rooms of PK3 (I'm in PK2).  The grand
    mother of the little girl who belongs to Casper called me
    to ask if the cat had a black spot on its chin.  He did.
    So she called her son-in-law (father of the little girl)
    and had him call me.  Sounded like a perfect match so I
    met him and two of his kids at the hospital and sure enough,
    it was Casper.
    
    I was also happy to see that he loved Casper as much as 
    his little girl.    Made my day!
    
    Donna

    Donna ---
    
    WHAT A GREAT STORY!!   Thanks for letting us know the outcome of
    Casper's experience.  I've been thinking (and worrying) about the
    little guy ever since you first told us about him.
    
    It's too bad there aren't more good people out there like you.
    
    Kelley

    GREAT JOB, Donna!!!!!!!  
    
    
    E. T.