Amputated

It's a horrible word and an unimaginable thing to have happen to any creature, but our cat TT is today having her tail amputated and it's kind of a big deal for the family (and her) although we're assured she won't feel the loss in any sense.

TT Simmonds (with tail)

Here she is, our mother cat, together with the tail in question, on the night before the op. She is our mother cat because she gave birth to a daughter nine years ago who we also have, called Trixie. The daughter was born soon after TT was in the accident that broke her tail and, as a consequence was the only live-born of her kittens. Poor old TT, like her human mother before her, had to have an emergency caesarean. Quite the family cat saga, you could say.

The tail looks okay here but it has no feeling in it, we are told, and when she walks around it drags on the ground collecting all sorts of unwelcome matter, some of which scratches the tail and leaves it in a right state. We probably should have seen to it years ago but somehow didn't have the heart, though clearly that was more for our sakes than hers.

So let's hope it all goes to plan and our brave mother cat, sans tail, will be as good as she ever was, no harm done, and continue to be a valued member of the Simmonds family. At the vets she is registered as TT Simmonds as if just another member of the famdamily, which is not far from the truth of it after more than ten years.

Update: All's well on the TT Simmonds front. She came home last night, sans tail, brighter than ever, looking rather more like a rabbit or bob-cat than she did previously, but all the more distinguished for it -- we think. I'll leave the image to your imaginations, for now.