On a Saturday evening a couple of weeks ago, our barn cat Ash came limping out of one the pastures, her right rear leg suspended in the air. She was meowing in distress. I picked her up and felt a large lump in her abdomen … something soft and very swollen. Egads. I called our clinic in Helena, Montana Veterinary Specialists, to let the vet on emergency duty know I was on the way in.
Well, it turned out she had several broken bones in her foot and a hole in her abdominal wall. We think Ash got stepped on by one of the horses. We’ve never had a barn cat squashed by a horse, but there’s always a first time for everything! Our vets did surgery on her abdomen and put her foot in a splint. When I picked up the kittens, Tibby and Fibby, yesterday, I also brought Ash home.
In the photo above, Ash is with vet techs Jayme J. and Heather A., who were changing her splint and showing me how to re-wrap it. Ash will need to stay confined in a cage for the next six to eight weeks, making her one very unhappy barn cat!
We consider our barn cats to be staff — they’ve got a job to do, rodent control! — but for some reason workers comp declined to cover her medical costs. Apparently to be eligible for coverage, staff need to get cash compensation for services rendered, not just room and board. Dang.
Rolling Dog Farm Blog 
Leave a comment