Fridge

This is Fridge. The one in front looking at the camera, snuggled up on top of his dear brother Rupert.

Today I came home from taking the boys to school and going to the gym to find a trail of blood all over the house. Upstairs, downstairs, on the stairs, everywhere. It looked like one of the kids had had a bloody nose, but after searching around and finding all the cats, I found Fridge hiding in my office under the chair with a huge bloody mess around his neck. It was too much even for me to invstigate and I immediately called the vet who were able to see him right away.

After shaving away all the hair on his neck it was discovered that something had full on open jaw bitten him on either side of his neck. He'll be at the vet all day for clean up, draining, and stitches.

It's fine, he's a cat. These things happen. But what I can't wrap my head around is who did it. To my knowledge he hasn't been out of the house for days. Sunday was the last time we let anyone out. I would be fine with a neighborhood cat getting into a scrape with him, or even if a mountain lion or a rough dog got a hold of him, but it is looking more and more like it was either his own brother, my beloved Rupert, or our other cat, affectionately called Baby Kitty.

This hurts my brain. They play, they sleep together, they eat together. They are old, like 6 years, and they don't fight that hard, or they shouldn't. I've seen them bat at each other, but only in a playful way. I just can't imagine one of them hurting the other this badly. It just seems impossible. I was home all day yesterday and the day before. I think I would have remembered a scuffle that big.

I'm a big cat person, but I'm not a pet person who coddles and nurses pets like children. They are animals, not people. But for right now, since I know Fridge is going to be okay, I am more upset at the thought of them hurting each other than anything else. Fridge is a sweet guy, not the brightest, and he keeps to himself and runs if there is any danger, loud noise or threat. I just can't imagine him provoking an attack of this kind. I may be humanizing them here and that is where I apologize. I don't usually do this, but brothers don't bite their brothers.