|
Dawn found Boycat on the Apalachicola bridge back in the Spring of 2003. Literally on the bridge itself, curled up in a bleeding, frightened ball on the hard shoulder. He was stray but just a kitten. Dawn picked him up and took him to the Vet to see if anything could be done. Hobson said that Boycat's bones in his back legs were sticking through his skin because he'd either fallen from a moving vehicle or somebody had thrown him out. The speed limit on the bridge is 55 mph.
Hobson offered to put Boycat down for free. But before Dawn was prepared to do that she wanted to know if he was healthy and if anything could be done. A few tests later Boycat was given the all clear and went into surgery to get his legs fixed. The damage at the rear end was so bad they couldn't tell if Boycat was a boy or a girl until after surgery. A surgery that went well enough for Boycat to be able to come home with us the next day.
Boycat was terrified of us at first. He used to hide on the shelf under the TV behind the video recorder. He wouldn't come out by himself even when we got him a bed with a roof on it that he could hide in. But after a trip to the animal shelter, a little female cat came back to the house, tempted him from his hiding place and showed him how much fun life could be.
It took him a long time to get to the point where he trusted us enough to come and have a cuddle, but after a few years he started making sure he got his cuddles every day and certainly every night just before human bedtime.
He still has periodic trouble with his back legs. There's not much skin there to work with. Every now and again we find drops of blood around the house where he's nicked the scar and made it bleed.
I'll get some more recent pictures up. He's a bit easier to spot these days - especially as he's put on a few pounds.
|