Comstock Crew - Syracuse Cats

Leo

Leo turned up in February 2009. He was a large marmalade cat. I was very worried about him, because his tail was broken, and it looked very unhealthy. The last few inches of the tail were bent at a right angle; there was a hairless ring below the bent area, and the skin did not look healthy. In addition, he had large bald, scabbed areas on his head, especially around the eyes, and on his flanks. Wayward Paws agreed to help with medical care. Unfortunately, I was not able to trap him. He was very trap shy. I fed him through the winter.

I was able to give him antibiotics on wet food, but only for a little while. I tried different antibiotics, but he wouldn’t eat the food. (Other healthy cats did.) With good nutrition, he gradually got much better. His sores healed, most of the fur grew back, and his tail improved. He began to be able to move the tip of his tail again. When he wagged his tail, the two sections would wag in different directions.

His behavior improved as well. He was rather ferocious at first. He calmed down when he realized that he didn’t have to fight for food. At first he chased Silver from the food; soon she was chasing him. He just sat until I fed him.

When I brought my coffee out to the porch in the early morning, Leo would come down from his sleeping spot on the hill above us. He’d stretch and we’d have breakfast together.

I was able to put Advantage flea treatment on him in the warm months. He continued to improve during the winter of 2009-10. By that summer, he was quite tame, in his own way. I could pick him up quickly to move him, but not hold him. I was never able to get him to the vet.

In August 2010, a little tortie kitten turned up, and Leo became a surrogate father. Silver yapped at the kitten, while Leo did not. The kitten started snuggling up to Leo. The first time he jumped away, startled. He came to enjoy her company. Once, I saw her with her head under his belly, looking for a teat.

On Labor Day, I brought the kitten to Wayward Paws for transfer to North Shore. Now, I wonder if taking the kitten away affected him. Leo seemed to be slowing down. He was very stiff in the mornings. He liked to lie in the sun or on a heating pad. He seemed to be aging rapidly.

The last I saw Leo was on September 29, 2010. It was a nice day and Leo was fine. He may have just died in his sleep, but he never came back. At least he was never hungry for the last eighteen months of his life, and he had some companionship.