Shiva

Shiva, my cat pictured here had a nasty accident Weds night. Chris had recently placed a large and extremely heavy copper sculpture (a kind of candelabra thing that his uncle had made) on the upstairs ledge that overlooks the lounge. Shiva, who likes sitting and strolling around up there, had been able to negotiate past it on many occasions, but this time I guess he stepped too far out on the base of it where it overhung the ledge.
From where I was sitting downstairs on the sofa my peripheral vision caught a tangled mix of copper and cat plummeting heavily to the floor. Shiva bolted out the back door growling and meorrrroooowing even more deeply than usual. When I brought him in he had a huge open wound on one of his back legs and was limping so badly that he would not even try to put the leg down. I guess part of the sculpture landed there.
This all happened about midnight and I wondered whether to try and find an emergency night vet or see if he'd settle down and sleep and take him in the morning, thinking that if his pain was just from the wound he might be better off resting than enduring all the trauma of the carry cage and the car. This morning we took him to the animal hospital on Beverly Bvd where they took xrays and determined that he has broken the skinny bone in the leg, not the bigger one, and dislocated the leg as well. I felt so guilty at not having done something last night, although as it turns out he will need surgery and the earliest appointment we can get is for Friday morning. So there really isnt anything a vet could have done last night except bandage his leg and give him pain meds for the interim which he now has: hydrocodone no less!
One amusing moment in an otherwise nightmarish day was when the vet at the hospital, Doctor Kumar, was introduced to Shiva he exclaimed, "Ah SHIVA, the destroyer!" and pointed to the 'Om' tattoo on his arm.
Get well cards may be sent to shiva@parrotdogs.com