Does Santa Have a Cat?

With Christmas music and Santa songs jingling in the clinic, I was mentioning the latest escapades of my cat to my colleagues. They started laughing and bringing up scenarios about Santa and then the big question: Does Santa have a cat?

My kitty has been very active this month, bringing in bunnies, live mice and dead rats and sporting extensive battle wounds on his face and head. Unfortunately, he developed a thumb-sized abscess on his right ear, which is ok except he scratches it open every day. The good news is the scratching keeps the lesion open and draining. However, it also prevents the wound from healing. And every time he scratches, the draining blood and pus gets splattered around my living room. 

Lucky is a fourteen-year-old neutered alpha kittie, free to come and go, inside and outside, doesn’t need a litter box, and has never had a cone until this last week. I had to get one to stop the scratching. I felt like such a meanie. With the special collar on, he wobbled around, stumbled in circles, and walked into the walls. This made it impossible to leave him alone and unsupervised.

I stayed home with him, soaking the ear with warm water and removing the collar four times a day so he could eat and drink. I also slept on the couch with him in case he got himself into a predicament during the night. Despite the collar, he was most incensed that I’d shut his window out onto the roof and his freedom. And he grudgingly used the litter box, scattering bits five feet in every direction.

After three days, he had a scab about the size of a dime on his ear and I was able to leave him without the cone. I was also able to wash my couch and chair covers, along with the walls, windows and the front of the stove and fridge. 

And best of all, his window onto the roof was open and he was free to come and go again.

So, does Santa have a cat? I don’t see pictures of one with him…. Maybe he’s more of a dog guy, I know the reindeer for sure.