Grim realities
The Man from Maryport, who has been engaged in all manner of unobtrusive domestic virtue, has been feeding the Rough Cats; he shared with me the other night his concern that one of the Colmans had a bald patch. I was in my turn, distinctly worried. Mange is a horrible disease; mites breeding under the top layer of skin. The animal dies, in the end, of itching. It is very infectious, and while domestic beasts can be treated, rough cats cannot. I was relieved therefore, feeding the roughs myself this evening, to find the Colman in question presenting herself. Yes, she has a huge bald patch on her back. She also, on closer inspection, has a huge red gash, apparently healing healthily. Something (fox? badger? a snare?) gripped her across the back, clearly, but she made a successful escape and seems quite unperturbed. So that’s all right, then.
May 4th, 2006 at 6:29 pm
Very relieved indeed that it was nothing more serious . .