The Woes of Bodie James

I got home from a meeting the Monday evening of Halloween week and Evelyn mentioned that Bodie seemed to have gotten into some sap or something because his back was sticky. Having cats in the past who have done this I didn't think much of it.

Over the next few days we realized it wasn't sap..it seemed Bodie had hurt himself. He wouldn't let us touch him and seemed painful in his back. After a few days I actually felt a bump of some sort on his back and he completely freaked out when I touched it. So off the vet we went. It was Halloween day.

Turns out our crazy cat got into a fight, either with a raccoon or a coyote, and had a huge abscess. :( He needed minor surgery to put in a drain.

 Waiting to see Dr. Koller. He really didn't feel well, as he never snuggles like this. 

 Poor buddy... Dr Koller said he was quite ill (he even had a fever) and it was good that we brought him in. 

 Totally not amused!

 After getting his cone of THREE times, we got some kitty downers in him. They totally spaced him out... like this photo.. but after a bit he turned crazy! Sigh... I told him I was NOT sharing my wine with him..haha!

Needless to say the next 2 weeks or so were trying to keep him calm and keep him inside, two things this cat does NOT like. The first two days were brutal.. he was freaking out and kept trying to get his cone off. The kitty downers made him even more crazy and I got maybe 2 hours of sleep that first night. (I slept downstairs to keep close watch).

Bonding at 1AM.. one of the rare times he slept that first night. I took the cone off and he passed out! Poor baby!

Thankfully some friends let us use their large dog crate and that ended up being a huge lifesaver, as he could be confined at night (i was still close and would take him out to eat and/or use the little box if he needed).

 Evelyn made a sign for his crate...haha!

He actually really liked the crate.. and for that we were so thankful!

 He still wanted outside desparately.. and would stand and howl at the back door as often as possible. 

 We put one of our end tables in front of the living room window and put a bath mat over it to make a perch for him to watch the world go by. He totally loved it!

Waving thru a window....

He got his drain out after 5 days, but had the cone for 8 more days. He drove us nuts with his constant howling and whining, but we did what we could to help him get thru those days.

 We gave him extra cone free time (with supervision of course)

 Oh how he wanted to go outside...

 When he sleeps on your lap you know he is either not feeling great or wanting something. In this case I think it was both!

Big brother giving him a pep talk!! 

He finally got the all clear from the vet yesterday and has so enjoyed frolicking around outside again.

He was SO happy to be outside again!

We have decided to not let him out at night any more, much to his dismay. But it's for his own good. And for the good of our pocketbook!!

Hoping he stays out of trouble.. but know that is wishful thinking!! Crazy Bodie James!!