Randy’s holiday mishap
Animals are resilient and this mischievous cat will be fine with three legs!
It was a freak accident that could probably not have been foreseen or prevented.
Randy, a six-year-old ginger cat, was found by his people hanging by one leg from the Christmas tree. He had apparently been climbing among the branches and become tangled up in the wiring of the lights.
Randy’s leg was so severely injured that it required amputation.
Randy’s humandad, Dave, says they think this might have been the second time Randy had become entangled. A few days earlier, he had a leg injury the family thought might have been a spider bite.
Only after they found Randy hanging from the tree did they conclude that being tangled in the wiring might have been the cause of his earlier, less serious injury.
How Randy would have become tangled up is a mystery.
“We just have no clue. The tree looked fine. It didn’t look disturbed,” said Dave.
Particularly odd was Randy’s demeanour when they found him in the tree.
“He wasn’t meowing or alerting anybody,” said Dave. “He was pretty much suspended from it. I think he was going through the tree, playing with the little ornaments.”
While Randy is likely to make a full recovery after the amputation, the experience has been traumatic.
“My wife and kid are devastated,” said Dave. “I just wish I could go back in time.”
The family brought Randy to the RAPS Animal Hospital, where doctors determined that the leg had to be removed.
Veterinarians and those who work with animals know that animals are incredibly resilient and three-legged cats and dogs get along just fine. Randy’s prognosis after recovery from the surgery is for a great life with just three limbs.
Randy’s injury comes at the end of a difficult year for the family.
“It’s been a hard financial year for us,” said Dave, crediting the RAPS Animal Hospital with making a bad situation more bearable. “The help we’ve been receiving is really immense. I really appreciate everybody here.”