Homeless
Chapter Eight
Back at the clinic, Dr. Mac warns Sunita to stand at the far end of the room before treating the first cat. Sunita thinks she’s being overly cautious since it’s caged. She sedates it just like Tiger, but the special cage makes it easier. The cat meows in protest, then relaxes as the medicine takes effect.
Dr. Mac lifts the patient, a scrawny, light gray male cat crawling with fleas, and gives him a full exam. His bad breath points to a mouth infection needing anesthetic, and one paw is swollen and infected. She cleans the paw, draws blood, vaccinates him against rabies and other diseases, and gives an antibiotic shot and flea spray. Once he’s hydrated, she can operate, and he’ll be ready to leave in three days.
As Sunita settles the sedated cat in the recovery room, she checks on Tiger, wide awake and watching her with twitching ears. Dr. Gabe, the clinic’s associate vet, walks in holding an injured parrot. He warns her that Tiger has quite a reach, so she shouldn’t get too close. Sunita asks what’s wrong with the parrot, and Dr. Gabe explains he keeps flying into the window in his family’s living room whenever the mailman walks up the sidewalk. The parrot has no broken wing on the X-ray, so his folks can take him home once Dr. Gabe moves the cage or closes the curtains.
Through the bars, Sunita sees Tiger’s front paws tucked under him and his I.V. gone. He looks much better than yesterday, almost like a different cat. Dr. Mac must have bathed and groomed him during surgery. Sunita can imagine him stretched out on her own bed.
After Dr. Gabe leaves, Tiger wails, and Sunita reaches a hand toward the cage. He sniffs the air, then pulls forward until his head meets the bars, pressing his nose against her fingers. She takes it as a sign he wants to be friends. She knows it’s wrong to get closer, but he needs love and is still recovering. Surely he couldn’t hurt her even if he wanted to.
Sunita unlocks the latch, opens the cage door, and when Tiger doesn’t move, slips her hand inside. He leans forward so she can scratch his head the way Socrates likes. Suddenly, he stops mid-purr, whips his head around, and locks his teeth on her hand between the thumb and first finger.
Sunita yelps and shakes her hand until he releases, then slams the door and hooks the latch. She’s never been bitten before, and the deep, bloody bite hurts badly enough to bring tears to her eyes. Tiger licks his paw as if nothing happened.
Dr. Gabe runs up the hall, having heard Sunita’s shout, and she reluctantly holds out her injured hand. He grabs paper towels to clean up the blood, then slips on latex gloves and washes the throbbing wound over the sink. He says they’ll have to call her parents, since they have to kill the germs even though it hurts.
Sunita begs him not to call her parents. All she needs is a bandaid; if Mother sees the cat bite, she’ll never let her near a cat again. But Gabe explains that animal bites have to be checked out by a people doctor. Sunita has to go to the hospital.