Now, in my defense, Pixel has been notorious for slipping her collar before, and is also... Well, "skittish" isn't the right word, since it's obvious she wants you to give her skritchies, but she doesn't make it easy for you to catch up with her.
Her Mostest Favorite Purrson is the Darling Munchkin, who doesn't know to watch out for these things...
Nevertheless, I hold myself responsible...
(Possible squicky - but not gross, really - pics below the fold)
Fortunately, the vet says she's fine and will heal very quickly: we caught it in time. We just need to make sure it stays clean and that she doesn't worry at it.
Here are some mild results you might have if you're not careful with your beloved furr-purrs' collars. I will never, never, never put a non-elastic collar on a cat ever again.
This is after I took off the collar and washed her neck. It looks awful, but there was a little bit of gunk that needed to be cleaned off. Now, it just needs to dry out and heal.
The vet, after looking at the collar and asking questions, suspects that Pixel was fussing at the collar and somehow tightened it with her teeth and tongue. It had been on her closely, but no way would I ever put a collar on an animal as tight as it was when I took it off today.
This is the worst part of it - under her chin. I was very worried about infection, because it looked like it has some pus when I cleaned it, but it cleaned up very well.
Again, the vet said we caught it in time - especially since I really couldn't think of any sluggish or irritated behavior that Pix had had, and since the wound had cleaned up so well.
It looks gross, the vet said, but - although she might lose a little hair - she should be just fine.
BUT! You can bet I'm never going to put that kind of collar on my kitten-purrs EVER EVER again!! And, with a little Houdini-escape-artist like Pixel, I'll be extra careful to keep a close eye on things in the future. However, since they're (she has a sister, Smudge) both indoor cats - and will always be indoor cats - perhaps I can get away with never putting a collar on her again.
Thank goodness Pixel seems to have taken it in stride and is enjoying lots of cuddly skritchies and love! However, it will still take me a while to get over the feeling that I somehow failed my darling little purr-child.
UPDATE - I actually wrote this post on 11Oct05 and delayed posting until today, because I was unsure whether I wanted to post it. But, if someone learns something from MY mistake, then I think it's worth the personal embarrassment. I'm also submitting this to this week's Friday Ark at the Modulator's place, and to the Carnival of the Cats, hosted this week by Where the Dolphins Play. The CotC link will be posted on Sunday. WDP now has the post up! Well done indeed - and welcome to a "new" cat-slave, LOL
Here's a picture of a happy Pixel I just took 5 minutes ago. She's been acting like nothing was ever wrong - thank goodness - and I got a nice long, purring cuddle with her this morning, so she holds no grudges. She's a very good purr!
