Many of you may remember the big orange stray that found his way to my house about a year ago. I called him Mr. Big because he was such a large cat! I guessed that he probably weighed close to 30 lbs. Mr. Big was always a stray and a little wild and I didn't think it would be a good idea to try and integrate into my household of 5 cats, so I just fed him every day. He'd always come about the same time and I'd put out a plate of food for him. He was always so sweet and happy to see me whenever he came walking up the driveway. He'd purr and rub all over me, weaving his way in and out of legs as I fixed his dinner plate.
Sometimes, he wouldn't come around for several weeks and I'd begin to worry about him. But then he'd always show up again, a little more beat up, but always hungry. Over the last couple of months though, he has changed. He's lost a lot of weight and become very aggressive. I worried that he probably had FIV, but wasn't able to get close enough to him to capture him and take him to the vet. A few weeks ago, a friend of my youngest daughter, had stopped by the house to drop off her backpack since my daughter had left it at their house. Mr. Big was on the back porch as usual and when my daughter's friend came up there, Big jumped up and bit her without any provocation at all. The girl's mom was understandably upset and called me at work. I told her to take her to the doctor and get her on antibiotics if it broke the skin....which it did. Fortunately, the little girl is ok and didn't sustain any permanent damage.
But Big has gotten so aggressive over the past 2-3 weeks that we've basically been held hostage in our house. My yard is overgrown because I haven't been able to go outside because Big bites me everytime I go out there. Luckily, all I've gotten so far is bruises because I don't dare go out with shorts on! He's also bitten my oldest daughter and caused a nasty bruise on her leg and he's chased my youngest and her friends if they try to get past him to the back door. We've had to resort to parking in the front of the house and running in the front door before Big realizes we're home. I had called Animal Control and they came and set out a trap, but Big was too smart for that.
Finally, today, I decided to try something because I can't continue living in fear that Mr Big will seriously injure someone. I put a phenergan (a pill that helps with nausea and often makes people sleep) in his food and took it out to him. He ate all the food and became somewhat drowsy. He still wasn't knocked out though, like I expected him to be. I called Animal Control again and told them what I had done and asked that they please come soon while he was still sleepy. Big was sleeping on the back porch and I went out the front door carrying a laundry basket and managed to put the basket over him, trapping him. Since Big is so strong, I had to put a box on top of the basket to hold him in and wait for Animal Control.
The guy from Animal Control arrived a little while ago and was able to capture Mr. Big. I know that they will put him to sleep later today since he has bitten someone. I had to report it when he bit my daughter's friend in case there were any ramifications from that. It made me very sad to see the guy put Mr. Big in that cage and drive away with him. I feel like it was the right thing to do, but I'm still feeling incredibly guilty.....because I am sending him to his death. I honestly didn't know what else to do with him.
Mr. Big....we're going to miss you....the way you used to be before you became sick and mean. I had high hopes that you could be tamed and turned into a nice pet for someone. I guess it just wasn't meant to be.
This is how I prefer to remember Mr. Big.
This is Big after he started losing weight.
Sometimes, he wouldn't come around for several weeks and I'd begin to worry about him. But then he'd always show up again, a little more beat up, but always hungry. Over the last couple of months though, he has changed. He's lost a lot of weight and become very aggressive. I worried that he probably had FIV, but wasn't able to get close enough to him to capture him and take him to the vet. A few weeks ago, a friend of my youngest daughter, had stopped by the house to drop off her backpack since my daughter had left it at their house. Mr. Big was on the back porch as usual and when my daughter's friend came up there, Big jumped up and bit her without any provocation at all. The girl's mom was understandably upset and called me at work. I told her to take her to the doctor and get her on antibiotics if it broke the skin....which it did. Fortunately, the little girl is ok and didn't sustain any permanent damage.
But Big has gotten so aggressive over the past 2-3 weeks that we've basically been held hostage in our house. My yard is overgrown because I haven't been able to go outside because Big bites me everytime I go out there. Luckily, all I've gotten so far is bruises because I don't dare go out with shorts on! He's also bitten my oldest daughter and caused a nasty bruise on her leg and he's chased my youngest and her friends if they try to get past him to the back door. We've had to resort to parking in the front of the house and running in the front door before Big realizes we're home. I had called Animal Control and they came and set out a trap, but Big was too smart for that.
Finally, today, I decided to try something because I can't continue living in fear that Mr Big will seriously injure someone. I put a phenergan (a pill that helps with nausea and often makes people sleep) in his food and took it out to him. He ate all the food and became somewhat drowsy. He still wasn't knocked out though, like I expected him to be. I called Animal Control again and told them what I had done and asked that they please come soon while he was still sleepy. Big was sleeping on the back porch and I went out the front door carrying a laundry basket and managed to put the basket over him, trapping him. Since Big is so strong, I had to put a box on top of the basket to hold him in and wait for Animal Control.
The guy from Animal Control arrived a little while ago and was able to capture Mr. Big. I know that they will put him to sleep later today since he has bitten someone. I had to report it when he bit my daughter's friend in case there were any ramifications from that. It made me very sad to see the guy put Mr. Big in that cage and drive away with him. I feel like it was the right thing to do, but I'm still feeling incredibly guilty.....because I am sending him to his death. I honestly didn't know what else to do with him.
Mr. Big....we're going to miss you....the way you used to be before you became sick and mean. I had high hopes that you could be tamed and turned into a nice pet for someone. I guess it just wasn't meant to be.
This is how I prefer to remember Mr. Big.
This is Big after he started losing weight.
