what a palaver!

Poor Prune... she has had a tough time of it of late.

At the end of April we travelled to Chesterfield to the Hairless Hearts UK HCM scanning clinic in Chesterfield for Prunella’s first heart scan - which was A1 - and at the same time she had come into heat so I dropped her off for mating on route back.

All was going well until she arrived back to me lame on her left side back leg which she would not put down at all. There was no open wound but a toe was at a very odd angle indeed. We went to the vet and she was booked for x-ray which needed to be done under general anaesthetic the next day.

The news came while she was still under that her toe was dislocated and this brought with it several possible outcomes - which included surgery, pinning and even amputation of the toe. Mark, our vet had struggled to re-locate the toe while she was under and told me he was almost ready to stop trying and recommend the surgical route when he managed to feel it go back in place. Re-x-rayed the toe was almost perfectly in position. The splint option was now our method of choice, albeit this is not guaranteed to be a success and she will risk the toe coming back out again later as the ligaments may never re-grip the joint properly after so much damage.

The splint now meant her having weekly revisits for re-dressing and also enforced bed rest... for several weeks. Poor little girl. She had had so much trauma and this felt awful as I dislike caging my pets, but needs must.

On the Friday evening she came home and I duly popper her with heated snuggle pet into her cage, with food, blankets, water and litter tray. She was not happy and cried to come out, wriggled so much that her blanket was constantly in her water bowl. I placed in a snuggle sack to try to help her settle and stop the water logging issue. She was not happy to use the litter tray either with this bulky splint and dressing which encased her kneed to toes, crying for several minutes to no avail before urgency to go made her use the tray provided. She is quite the burier too and so for the next few weeks I was constantly sweeping up litter! However, what came late on Sunday night was sighting her in her litter tray  squatting to wee but now she was minus her splint!! 😲😲😲

Now, I had been given a “cone of shame” to use should she start to bite at the dressings but she had not done this at all that I’d seen so where was it?

In her blanket, looking like a miniature blue mummy was her miter dressing which had slipped off intact as she wriggled and wriggled around in her snuggle sack trying to get comfy.

Now what to do?  I had just spent over £450 in vets fees with £50 more to come each week and did not wish to see this wasted. Yes, she is insured and I would get much of this back, but I must pay up front and the claim will take several weeks to process. I unwrapped her dressings studying how each layer was put on, then, with Pru held against me, her head and body under my right elbow I had essentially headlocked her so I could re-splint her as best I could.

I then proceeded to worry ALL night in case I’d wrapped it too tightly and cut off circulation which would then mean she lost her WHOLE lower leg. The morning could not come soon enough and as soon as it dawned I was on the phone to the vet and back we went.

The toe still looked straight. Did it need a new x-ray,though? We decided not, and the vets resplinted her as I held her still and away we went back to her cage until Friday’s scheduled appointment.

Prune & Oz appear to be getting on well. 

First time matings are often awkward and difficult for both the male & female. Luckily for Pru, Oz has had some experience however, she is rather clueless.

There are signs that Oz has had several attempts as Pru has some bite marks on her neck but none that have been successful as yet. 

The mechanics of feline matings:

The bite is normal and part of “the mechanics” of the feline sexual act as the male grips the female in his attempts to control & keep her still.  During the coupling she should instinctively move her tail to one side as she crouches into the ‘frog pose’ allowing him room & access. 

The mating itself happens very quickly and it can be noisy as she will almost immediately holler and swear deep in her throat as he withdraws from her. She may even turn to attack him for his troubles! This yell and anger in her is caused by the anatomy of the male cat who has a sharp barb on the end of his penis which, as he withdraws, catches & triggers the female to release her egg. 

Having inadvertently hurt & angered her he will move away speedily since she no longer wants him near her. She will now roll onto her side and back writhing about for several minutes. This assists in allowing the egg to meet and be coated by the sperm.

Matings take place several times over several days, each successful coupling releasing a new egg. Though not all eggs will be viable or will be fertilised. 

The female cat who has access to several males can mate with several different tomcats during a heat cycle and therefore she can be pregnant by different partners at the same time. 

With this in mind, due to matings taking place over several days while she is in “calling”  the kittens in her litter at the time of birth (63-65 days after first mating) may not only have different fathers but will also be at very slightly different stages of growth. This might account then for a smaller kitten born in the litter who may well have been conceived later on in the “calling”.

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Back to Pru & Oz.....

We do not think that any of the mating attempts yesterday were successful but Oz is persistent so I hope that today will be day 1 of the 63-65 days of pregnancy (btw, he will be the only father of her kittens😁)

Prune’s first HCM Scanning & Matings

Yesterday was a monumental day in which a lot of miles were covered in order to ensure that Prunella Prudence and that the mate earmarked for her as a mate were heart fit & suitable candidates to parent the next generations of Sphynx cat’s.

Prune and I set off at 9am leaving Noodle home alone which is not something I like to do.

We were headed first to Gloucester in order to rendezvous with our friend Sarah and then to travel onward together to Chesterfield.

Arriving in good time, Pru and I transferred to Sarah’s car where with her stud cat Oz we went onward together now to Chesterfield where we were booked in at the Hairless Hearts UK HCM scanning clinic with cardiologist Vicky Ironside.

We arrived early, which was fine since we had allowed ourselves plenty of travel time in case of traffic hold ups.

Pru’s heart was duly examined. I’m delighted to say that she is now certified as being without sign of HCM disease. The same is also true of  Sarah’s Oz. For NSCH this is great news as is the fact that  Prunella obligingly went into heat the day before we travelled, thus, with both cats scanning clear, I was able to leave Pru with Sarah so that the two could mate ASAP.

We arrived back to Dursley at 6:30pm unloaded cats and carriers and getting back in my own vehicle I drove on home now quite alone, arriving back at just before 9pm. Phew.