Injuries

Yesterday evening when I fed the horses I noticed that my bay mare, Nita, had a big lump on her chest right between her front legs. She didn't mind me feeling it, and didn't act like it hurt but it seemed swollen, like a hematoma. That was all I needed. It has been a hell of a week. Not only did I have surgery the week before, my cat, Kasie, was attacked by a coyote and got to spend two nights at the vets/
I know, and I don't want to hear it, about how I should keep the cats in the house as housecats instead of letting them outside. But did you ever try to keep 4 cats in when it seems there is always someone going in or out? And did you ever try to keep 4 cat litter boxes clean when you refuse to let them out?
So for years I have been very careful about letting the cats out. They are used to the fact that they can only go out when the dogs are with them, or myself, and only in the daytime. Kasie and Murphy had go into the habbit of going with me and the dogs when we would "put the horses to bed" check on the horses - each evening sometime between 10 and 11 pm, when ever I decided it was bedtime. The dogs and the two cats got there last chance to "go potty" at that time. The cats were almost as good as the dogs about coming back in with me. And if they didn't come in I would make sure to check on them every few minutes or even stay out until they would consent to come to me. But on Sunday night I was very tired, so to a few minutes to go in a sit down before going back to look for Kasie. With in 10 minutes I thought I hear a noise I didn't like.
I rushed out with the dogs and my husband. He got to the cat before I did, just in time to see a coyote disappear. Kasie had done the one thing she shouldn't have - she had gone throught the wire fence to the neighbors yard.
Let me say here that coyotes - as smart as they are - don't seem to understand how to go through or over a wire fence - or at least the ones around here don't. I have never had one actually come in the yard as far as I know. We have horse fence wire or field fence wire surounding our commplete properyty. But of course the cats can go through the field fencing with ease.
The cat had come back into our yard and crawled up under the old Duster we have. We couldn't get her out. Finally Lee jacked up the car enough he could scoot under it, pull the cat out and hand her to me. Kasie had bite markes on her head and was having difficullty breathing, so it was off to the vets.
My I say thank you to all vet clinics that have emergancy hours, as there is a dire need for them and more. It was 10:30 on a Sunday evening. There are only 2 such clinics in Albuquerque and we made off for the closest one. The were supper good about getting to work on Kasie, getting her on an IV and morphine. They did an Xray that showed no broken bones but she did have server head trama - as if the coyote had grabbed her by the head and maybe shook her. We left her there for 2 days and brought her home yesterday afternoon.
She still isn't eating very much as there is marks in her mouth from the coyotes teeth but she sure did seem to be glad to get home. For now she will get lots of TLC and may always have to be a house cat.
Back to the mare, Nita, I hosed her down with cold water and I am keeping her seperated from the other horses for a while as it looks like she has been in a nother kicking match with one of the others, probably my other mare, Star.
To say that we have had enough bad luck for now is an understantment.