Healing for Merlin Lovecat

We've been having quite an intense time in the family since I last wrote. Merlin (who can be seen in the picture at the top of this blog) apparently got hit by a car this weekend. He was acting weird on Saturday morning, moving slowly and not eating, but not crying or mewing. That night and on Sunday, he stayed inside and slept a lot and still wasn't eating, and we thought he was sick. We brought him to the vet first thing Monday and discovered that he has a broken jaw and a very bruised up pelvis and liver (and maybe heart)! Monday morning passed like an eternity, while they were doing x-rays and blood work to see if more than his jaw was broken, and if he'd survive the trauma he'd been through.

I felt like such a bad cat Momma for not seeing how messed up he was, and for not knowing he'd been in an accident. He doesn't usually go near the road, since we live rather set back from it. And this cat, by choice, is a very outdoorsy fellow, almost a barn cat. We usually only see him outdoors in the warm weather, unlike his brother Percy, who (again, by choice and temperament) is more of a house cat. Since Merlin is so very independent, how could we have known? Thankfully Quester was in the barn on Saturday morning and disturbed Merlin's nap, and Merlin then came home to rest. Otherwise we may not have known something was wrong for even longer. He apparently also has a rather high pain tolerance. I knew he was a tough kitty, but wow. I guess we'll never know the story of where he was and what happened - he's not talking.

Merlin was very lucky that more wasn't broken, they said at the vet's office, and he has to have "cage rest" (i.e. bed rest) for 4 weeks. It's already become very challenging for this outdoors-loving cat! They said a small room was fine, just no stairs or outdoors, so we have him in ElvenTiger's room. He's eating okay now (very soft wet food) and sleeping well. We're hopeful he'll recover fully, as he's young and healthy. We've been providing lots of snuggles and Reiki (I have him in my bedroom tonight, and he's snuggled up against my leg as I type this on the laptop).

He has to have jaw surgery next Monday, as they wanted to give his liver and heart some time to heal before surgery. Please send some healing energies Merlin's way.