Cat Kid

Wm had an eventful afternoon, in which he was injured and muddied and traumatized. And it was all Flip's fault.

It has been raining CONSTANTLY for the last few days. Yesterday afternoon, there was a break in the rain, so Wm and I walked Flip over to our neighborhood park. It was empty, so Flip was roaming around on his extendable leash. He did some doggie business, so I picked it up and was walking it over to the trash can while Wm let Flip sniff all around. Right as I turned around, I saw Flip take off after a squirrel and the leash whizzing out of the handle at top speed. At the same time I screamed, "LET GO!", Flip hit the end of the extension and jerked Wm off his feet. But, Flip is 60 pounds of pure muscle and Wm is only about 65 pounds of skin and bone, so, when he was jerked off his feet, he FLEW into the air. He did, what amounted to, a mid-air cartwheel and came down hard. I ran over, afraid his arm was dislocated or broken. Wm was sitting in the mud, cradling his arm weirdly, so I was planning our trip to the ER. About that time, Flip lost sight of the squirrel, turned around and was like, "oh shit." So he came over and sat, guarding Wm from whatever threat was out there. Little did he know that HE was the threat!

The good news is that Wm is, mostly, unscathed. His arm was fine - neither broken nor dislocated. He mostly had the wind knocked out of him when he hit the ground and bruised his side. It's a little tender today, but Wm said it's not bad at all. So, it looked worse than it was. But, I don't think Wm will be walking Flip again any time soon! He needs to build up some muscle first. Flip has taken off after bunnies while I'm walking him many times and it about  yanks me off my feet!! He's a great walker now and never normally pulls. But, he's a hunter and loses his mind when he sees his prey! I told Wm, the next time that happens, drop the leash! We will track down the dog and avoid injury!

Wm remains a cat person. He is no longer afraid of dogs, but he is like the Cat Whisperer. Wherever we go, the cats come flocking to him. He says he likes cats best because he "understands them," and they are quiet and calm and "don't need too much care." The cats usually sleep in his bed and he loves to snuggle them and brush them. He even claims it's "very satisfying" to clean their little boxes. Ew.

A cat in each hand.

Cat Kid