Poorly Poorly Charlie

Quite surprisingly we had been able to bring Charlie home yesterday but realised after a short while that the right hand side of his face wasn't functioning.  He had sustained damage to his facial nerve which apparently is quite common with an accident such as he had had so whilst the visible injuries were to the left side of his face it would appear that the brain would have 'bounced' against the right side of his skull and so this was why blood was coming out of that ear and there was fluid still inside but because of the brain injury Dr Inna wanted his ear left alone because we have to stop him shaking his head.

Once home and cleaned up he didn't look too bad except that he has no fur under his skin and a nasty sore patch which is not helped by the fact that he cannot use the right side of his mouth so dribbles and this makes his chin even more sore.  He may well look 'alert' but that is because his right eye is wide open and remains so and his right ear is upright and doesn't move at all.  We think he sees reasonably well and hears reasonably well but cannot be too sure.

We are guessing that when we got him home yesterday he was pumped full of drugs and the steroids were making him ravenous and he was clearly glad to be home but today a lot of this seemed to have worn off and he was nowhere near as desperate to escape outside save for the fact that he was adamant that he was NOT going to use the litter tray but his cries seemed to indicate that he was desperate.

We tried to find some way to get him outside to somewhere he might feel comfortable to do what he had to do so John made him a lead but the normally adventurous Charlie was very reticent so we just took him for a little walk and was pleased that he took the opportunity to drink some water from a couple of the bowls dotted around the garden.

The other cats have been ok with him and he with they.  Chivers followed Charlie around the garden and hissed at him as he would normally do but Boris was more affectionate - he and Charlie normally have a love hate relationship - Minnie Mou just sat up in the Eagles Nest waiting for her breakfast as normal.   I guess this is a good sign - Charlie obviously doesn't smell too different after his stint at the Vets.

Eventually and after a lot of persuasion Charlie did use the litter box but more out of desperation than anything else and we think that maybe the box we have is a little too small particularly as not everything landed inside.  His constitution is clearly up the creek and the clear up task was mine.  Having done his business Charlie retired to bed and that is where he remained - barely moving and from that point on he had a complete lack of interest in anything - it was as though all that effort had drained him of all his energy.

We had arranged to go down to Paphos for lunch with Dip and Karen today as Karen returns to the UK tomorrow but the rapid change in Charlie's demeanour meant I did not feel happy leaving him alone.  If he perked up and we weren't there he might try jumping on and off the furniture which is something we had to prevent.  I persuaded John to go on his own and explained to Karen why I couldn't go - she was fine about it and bless her she agreed to take my Christmas cards (such as they are) and post them for me.  It was a reasonably bright day here in Droushia but it gets a little chilly now mid afternoon and as we have to ensure Charlie is warm I put the gas fire on for him.  John called to say he was on his way back from Paphos but that the weather on the Mesoghi Avenue was so bad that he could barely see.  He brought that weather with him and just at the point he arrived home the heavens opened.

We sat all together in the lounge keeping Charlie company - he had suddenly become much more lethargic and was making absolutely no attempt to try and leave his basket.  It was heartbreaking to see the change - we had felt so positive yesterday and today I had my heart in my mouth - throughout the evening I kept having to check he was still breathing - it was all so shallow that at times it was hard to tell.

I opted to sleep in the lounge with him again.  I did not want him to be alone and I could not sleep anyway.

I must have dropped off at some point but woke with a start when I heard Charlie make some sort of noise - in the dim light I thought he had been sick and vomited up some blood as there was a black mass just in front of his face.  I got up and on closer inspection realised to my horror that it was a large and very much alive tarantula.  I quietly moved to the kitchen and picked up John's pint mug which I reckoned might just about go over the top of it and then the bloody thing shot under the sofa - after the encounter Boris had with one when he nearly lost his ear I needed to know it was nowhere near Charlie and I was never going to get to sleep knowing it was still around.  I had to go and wake John and we eventually found it under the dining table, coaxed it out, captured it with the mug and a beer mat and set it free in the garden.

Charlie did not stir and this is so unlike him.