were eating, she ran her hand repeatedly along their backs. They were such gentle little animals, their wildness expressed only in fear, and now, with her, that fear had gone. My children and some from the village had won their confidence, too, and were allowed to give them a careful caress, but they drew the line at Herriot. Like now, for instance, when I quietly followed Helen out and moved towards the wall. Immediately they left the food and retreated to a safe distance where they stood, still arching their backs but, as ever, out of reach.
They regarded me without hostility but as I held out a hand they moved further away.
Look at the little beggars! I said. They still wont have anything to do with me.
It was frustrating since, throughout my years in veterinary practice, cats had always intrigued me and I had found that this helped me in my dealings with them. I felt I could handle them more easily than most people because I liked them and they sensed it. I rather prided myself on my cat technique, a sort of feline bedside manner, and was in no doubt that I had an empathy with the entire species and that they all liked me. In fact, if the truth were told, I fancied myself as a cats pin-up. Not so, ironically, with these twothe ones to whom I had become so deeply attached. It was a bit hard, I thought, because I had doctored them and probably saved their lives when they had cat flu.
Did they remember that, I wondered? If they did it still didnt give me the right apparently to lay a finger on them. And, indeed, what they certainly did seem to remember was that it was I who had netted them and then shoved them into a cage before I neutered them. I had the feeling that whenever they saw me, it was that net and cage which was uppermost in their minds. I could only hope that time would bring an understanding between us but, as it turned out, fate was to conspire against me for a long time still. Above all, there was the business of Ollys coat. Unlike his sister, he was a longhaired cat and as such was subject to constant tangling and knotting of his fur. If he had been an ordinary domesticated feline, I would have combed him out as soon as trouble arose, but since I couldnt even get near him I was helpless. We had had him about two years when Helen called me to the kitchen. Just look at him! she said.
Hes a dreadful sight!
I peered through the window. Olly was indeed a bit of a scarecrow with his matted fur and dangling knots in cruel contrast with his sleek and beautiful little sister.
I know, I know. But what can I do?
I was about to turn away when I noticed something.
Wait a minute, theres a couple of horrible big lumps hanging below his neck. Take these scissors and have a go at thema couple of quick snips and theyll be off.
Helen gave me an anguished look.
Oh, weve tried this before. Im not a vet and anyway, he wont let me do that. Hell let me pet him, but this is something else.
I know that, but have a go. Theres nothing to it, really.
I pushed a pair of curved scissors into her hand and began to call instructions through the window.
Right now, get your fingers behind that big dangling mass. Fine, fine! Now up with your scissors and
But at the first gleam of steel, Olly was off and away up the hill.
Helen turned to me in despair. Its no good, Jim, its hopelesshe wont let me cut even one lump off and hes covered with them.
I looked at the dishevelled little creature standing at a safe distance from us.
Yes, youre right. Ill have to think of something.
Thinking of something entailed doping Olly so that I could get at him, and my faithful nembutal capsules sprang immediately to mind. This oral anaesthetic had been a valued ally on countless occasions where I had to deal with unapproachable animals, but this was different. With the other cases, my patients had been behind closed doors, but Olly was outside with all the wide countryside to roam in. I couldnt have him going to sleep somewhere out there where a fox or other predator might get him. I would have to watch him all the time. It was a time for decisions, and I drew myself up.
Ill have a go at him this Sunday, I told Helen. Its usually a bit quieter and Ill ask Siegfried to stand in for me in an emergency.
When the day arrived, Helen went out and placed two meals of chopped fish on the wall, one of them spiked with the contents of my nembutal capsule.
I crouched behind the window; watching intently as she directed Olly to the correct portion, and holding my breath as he sniffed at it suspiciously. His hunger soon overcame his caution and he licked the bowl clean with evident relish.
Now we started the tricky part. If he decided
to explore the fields as he often did I would have to be right behind him. I stole out of the house as he sauntered back up the slope to the open log shed and to my vast relief he settled down in his own particular indentation in the straw and began to wash himself. As I peered through the bushes I was gratified to see that very soon he was having difficulty with his face, licking his hind paw then toppling over as he brought it up to his cheek. I chuckled to myself. This was great. Another few minutes and Id have him. And so it turned out. Olly seemed to conclude that he was tired of falling over and it wouldnt be a bad idea to have a nap. After gazing drunkenly around him, he curled up in the straw. I waited a short time, then, with all the stealth of an Indian brave on the trail, I crept from my hiding place and tiptoed to the shed. Olly wasnt flat outI hadnt dared give him the full anaesthetic dose in case I had been unable to track himbut he was deeply sedated. I could pretty well do what I wanted with him. As I knelt down and began to snip away with my scissors, he opened his eyes and made a feeble attempt to struggle, but it was no good and I worked my way quickly through the ravelled fur. I wasnt able to make a particularly tidy job because he was wriggling slightly all the time, but I clipped off all the huge unsightly knots which used to get caught in the bushes, and must have been horribly uncomfortable, and soon had a growing heap of black hair by my side. I noticed that Olly wasnt only moving, he was watching me. Dazed as he was, he knew me all right and his eyes told me all. Its you again! he was saying. I might have known!