Earlier today, David gave us an update on the family of oh-so adorable kittens born in his 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee five-speed “Holy Grail.” Remember, this cat saga started with David attempting a cat delete from this Jeep, now he’s taking care of these lovable animals. Oh yeah, there was an opossum involved, too.
Sadly, poor Mango has a broken axle, as revealed when David took the cat to the animal emergency room:
Poor kitty!
If you didn’t read that story, here’s the important bit:
As you can see fairly clearly in two of the images, Mango’s femur (that upper leg bone) has been cracked in two places. I’m not even entirely sure what’s holding that middle piece in place.
Amazingly, Mango hasn’t meowed at all. She’s totally calm; a classy lady-cat. The doctor wondered what had happened. We’d never noticed any kind of fall or incident that might have hurt Mango. “This would have been a traumatic event,” the doctor assured us when we wondered if we had somehow hurt Mango while pulling her out from behind a toilet. “Trust me, she’d have cried.” We concluded that Mango had been injured when we’d trapped her in the Galpin Media parking lot.
The doctor suggested we go to another animal hospital to get a second opinion. For now, she prescribed opioids to relieve any pain Mango may be feeling (and presumably to calm her down and keep her from hurting herself); the doctor’s professional opinion is that Mango’s leg will probably heal so long the kitten doesn’t re-aggravate the issue. As such, my friend and I have been instructed to keep the kitten in a small play-pen so she doesn’t try to run or do anything else that might place stress on that leg. So that’s where things sit right now; Mango is in this little pen.
At the end of the animal mechanic visit, David learned that taking a pet to an emergency vet is not cheap. David may have paid just $450 for the Holy Grail Jeep that apparently Holy Grail kitten was born in, but that one vet visit hit to the tune of $1,105 and change. I feel for you, David. Back in 2013, I had to take my Jenday conure to an emergency vet because he was spitting out mucus and wasn’t all that happy. It cost $700 to find out that he had the bird equivalent of a cold, a bird cold he got over a few weeks later.
That brings us to today’s COTD. Thad Thompson gets the COTD nom, plus a digital hug (and a real one should we ever cross paths) for setting up a GoFundMe for little Mango.
Okay MoFos, let’s add some coin to our kind words.
[Ed Note: First, thank you! Second, to be clear: I plan to keep Mango and Jaws, and adopt-out Jay (now named Nutmeg) and the other kitten if I can catch it. Then I plan to Trap-Neuter-Return the rest of the colony to keep things from getting out of hand.)
It’s already up to $495 of its $2,500 goal. Click here to donate. That boost should help the kitty get that axle all JBWelded up and then some. You readers are simply incredible!
If you want a laugh, UnseenCat gets an honorable mention:
Sometime in the future:
“Hand me the 10mm, Mango!”
Mango, sitting on the workbench, looks at the 10mm socket resting there. She makes firm, deliberate eye contact with David. And slowly, deliberately, pushes it off the workbench. Whereupon, like all 10mm sockets, it strikes the ground and vanishes into that alternate dimension where all 10mm sockets go. (Right next to one with all the socks that go AWOL from the dryer…)
All of you rock! Dare I say, this is one of the best car communities on the internet and it wouldn’t have been possible without the big-hearted folks like you. Thank you and have a great evening!
Poor sweet kitty! I donated but can’t figure out how to leave ‘words of support’ over there. David, you’re awesome for caring so much about these little furballs.
It’s not the 10mm sockets that will disappear – its every loose zip-tie! I’ve been in the middle of more than one project when my cat suddenly appeared in mid-air, swatted a zip-tie from my hand, and then picked it up in its mouth and ran from the room.
Careful, you may have a burgeoning zip-tie bandit on your hands! One of my cats went from stealing zip-ties and tossing them around to requiring me to throw them for her to fetch. Now every day after work I spend an hour or two playing fetch with her.
Another thank you to all those who have donated. We currently sit at 68 donations, so if you’re a fan of 69, here is your opportunity. 😀
More of a dog guy myself, but cats are awesome too, $ thrown in the tip jar. Get better, Mango!
Sooner or later someone is going to complain about this series of stories on cats, saying loudly, “I thought that this was a car website, not cat daily!” When they do I will say in return, mind your own damn business and let the rest of us cat folks have our day in the sun!
Just tell them it was a typo caused by autocorrect and that it was really supposed to be a cat blog all along, but the site creators just sorta rolled with it and mostly write about cars….except for all the times they don’t.
This is an excellent idea! Tossed in a donation in memory of another Houdini – my recently departed orange tabby. Orange cats rock, and he would have definitely disappeared a 10mm socket if given a chance!
I don’t really like cats all that much, and I’m allergic.
But David comes across as such a fine, upstanding, human being, that I find myself making my first-ever GoFundMe donation. For a cat. That lives across the country.
What has my world come to?
I wish Mango a speedy recovery.
Your world has come to be a better place and thanks you for it.
Just donated some money. Such a cute cat, hope she heals up nice and strong and is able to live a long life of demanding snacks from her human slaves.
Getting ready to throw money at the cat fund. Nutmeg can live with me. I will pay the adoption fees and shipping costs.
My cat, Monkey, sends his best wishes and a few bucks.
It’s amazing what animals can heal from with little worry on their part.I’ve seen many eye opening examples over the years.
One amusing recent example:
A neighbor’s cat was attacked by a dog to the extent the vet decided to amputate a leg.That very next day the cat climbed a tree with it’s three remaining legs.
Not.bothered.one.bit.
Fun fact — Cats purr at a frequency from around 25 to 100Hz, which just happens to have been proven to be beneficial to accelerating healing in living tissue. And cats frequently do purr when they’re injured. It sems to both help them self-soothe to stay calm despite pain as well as help their injuries heal.
Also, a cat’s purr down at the lower frequencies (which seems to be more common anyway) is in the same range as the sound and vibration from an idling diesel engine. So of course cats are likely to endear themselves to Autopian readers and motorheads everywhere!
Anyway, thanks, Autopian for the mention… (It’s the username, isn’t it?) ????
David, 2 words: pet insurance. It’s cheap when they’re little, and no pre-existing conditions to get written in. I’ve bought it with 2 pets and the premiums paid for themselves with one trauma visit.
…we’ve been trying to reach you about your extended car warranty…
Kinda like that…SCAM
…we’ve been trying to reach you about your extended
carcat warranty…Fixed
Happy to help!
Awwww, I’m touched. Thanks Mercedes, David, etc.
And to each of you who donates, Many Thanks and Good Vibrations.
(Taylor Swift’s stationary reads: Taylor Swift – Songwriter – Feline Enthusiast)
My cat, Hammer, who was found by a friend as a tiny 1-pound kitten 10 years ago while stuck in an abandoned car in a farm field, has commanded me to kick in on that.
Mango is going to grow up real handsome. Look at all that baby fuzz!