Oh, my poor bleeding heart.

I had a stray cat show up in my backyard a few weeks ago - a cute little orange kitty who was super friendly and a little bit dirty. I didn't think anything of it until he showed up on my patio last Thursday with a sizable cut on his head and looking pretty ragged. If there's one thing that makes me cry, it's a sick or injured animal. What makes me even more upset is the fact that his injuries do not look like they came from a cat fight. I have a sneaking suspicion that the hoodlums that live in the apartment complex behind me may have done something to him, which bothers me to no end.

I was planning on leaving for an out-of-town excursion on Friday afternoon and didn't want to leave the poor thing in my backyard for three days, so I called a local no-kill shelter to find out if they could take him in, nurse him back to health and find him a good home. The answer I got was not what I was hoping for: they had no room for him and couldn't take him, but would be happy to give me the names of some low-cost vet clinics that I could take him to for help. Hmph.

Not knowing what else to do, a friend of mine suggested putting Neosporin on his cut to try and help. So Friday afternoon, before I left for my trip, I came home and there he was, sitting on my patio again. I grabbed the ointment, a pair of gloves and some paper towels and decided to help him out myself. I also brought him a bowl of food and some water, because the poor thing looks like he hasn't eaten in a long time.

I have never seen a cat eat so fast in my life. While he was distracted with stuffing his face, I cleaned his wound and put ointment on it, hoping that would help and that he would be OK over the weekend. I returned today to find him sitting on my patio, his head looking slightly better and his attitude a little feistier, which I'm hoping means he's on the road to recovery. His wound looks a little better, too, which makes me even more hopeful.

My bleeding heart has gotten me another cat, but it's OK. If I can save his life and give him a better home, what a happy girl I'll be.