At 4am Balt started whining. It was too early. He went to the vet last week for shots and I was told he needed to lose 8 pounds. The vet said to just reduce his food by 20% and he would never notice. Wrong. He gets hungry earlier in the morning now. I have him trained to run out to pee in the morning only to the front lawn and come right back. If he does this he gets a biscuit. At four this morning I was hoping the biscuit would buy me some time. As I went for the front door in my pj's with my blanket draped over my shoulders, I heard a god-awful scream. I knew it was my cat, but I couldn't see him under the blankie. As I spun around, he continued to cry out in pain.
I felt terrible once I saw it was Lewy under me. I scooped him up to find his toes smashed and bleeding. Per my podiatrist, I was not barefoot. I set him down and let him out, hoping the iced walk might help but as he limped along yelping, I realized that would not do. I ran outside to bring him back in. Meanwhile Balt had done his business quickly and was waiting patiently for his biscuit. I set Lewy down on the cat tree and took care of Balt. I returned to Lewy to investigate. I was sure he'd need a vet, but at 4am there was nothing to be done, so I went back to bed for a couple of hours. Once the alarm rang at 6am, I ran to check on Lewy. His feet were no longer oozing blood, but I could see a lot of redness. He seemed fine unless I touched his toes, then he screamed out. Well, it seemed he'd survive while I was at work. If things got worse I would call the vet. I came home during lunch to check and he was no where to be found. I wasn't sure if he'd gone to die of broken toes or if he was just afraid of my heavy feet.
After school I came home to find him on the couch with Erika. I told her about what had happened and she assured me he was fine. He's toes seemed only sensitive when prodded and no longer even looked red. I was amazed to find he could heal so quickly. Had he used up a life for this? I was quite glad not to have to go see the vet again. I took Balt out on his walk and made sure he ran. The vet seems to feel that less food is more important that more exercise. She told me to offer him carrots instead of biscuits.The one I gave him this evening is still on the floor next to the couch. It's funny that he has a sweet tooth-- like Jessi, he likes fruit, not veggies. He's got a funny habit of sucking on his bed now at night. He looks adorable, but I think the poor guy wants more food.