Arrow No Match for Tough Kitty Miranda

I have assembled a series of images that show the journey of Miranda, our tuxedo cat. She went from near fatal arrow injury to a position of growing strength and confidence after her arrow attack on 21st September 2023. I call her Mirna Victix (a female victor) The vet called her tough, and we feel we have to agree. Our resilient cat is a lucky survivor of an evil deed.

• Read Miranda’s dramatic story

I have not shown the image of Miranda with the arrow from the crossbow in place as this would distress everyone far too much. The aim of this post (and little photo/video snippet) is to record her journey towards recovery and health. The series is a combination of smartphone and DSLR images because sometimes one was what I was holding at the time! It tells a story though and this is what matters.

The Dramatic Start

• There are no images I can display of the headlong panicked rush trip to the After Hours surgery.

The first image shows Miranda wrapped in blankets on her way to our local vet surgery from the After Hours Emergency Vet Surgery.

The emergency service is based at Ngauranga Gorge on the road out of Wellington. She is heavily sedated and, thankfully the arrow wounds have been stitched up and she has been gently cleaned.

Miranda was quiet all the way to our local vet surgery where she was transferred to the kitten incubator to raise her temperature and see if she would be well enough to be taken home. Our local vet gave Miranda a thorough examination and read the extensive notes from Dr. Sally at the emergency vets.

Recovery and Home

Miranda was pronounced recovered enough to be brought home at the end of a day at our local vets and she was fitted with a locally made protective collar to prevent her nibbling at her stitches. Below you can see the shaved area where her hair was removed. I know she was grumpty but, for us as panicked pet parents, seeing her looking so cute lifted our spirits a little.

After a week of recovery with her collar on, Miranda was allowed to have it removed and she celebrated with some small pieces of smoked New Zealand salmon. We were able to send this cat photo to the emergency vets who were pleased with her progress. You can see the shaved patches from her surgery on her front paws. They look so pale and dramatic.

As Miranda gained her strength she was able to climb on to the sofa and permitted us to give her a snuggle. The image below is one of those terrible photos I always tell you to keep, no matter how blurry it is. It is a precious memory of Miranda on the road to recovery. Her eyes still look slightly spaced out as she had a patch of Fentanyl attached to her tail as a slow release painkiller.

Getting Better!

Miranda slowly gained strength. She has been allowed to walk around the house to gain mobility and, on this day jumped up on to my chair, then my sewing table to help me finish a block of the month quilt from Quilters Lane (an online quilting store here in New Zealand). If you look beside Miranda you can see the swatches of quilt fabric on a printed sheet.

This fun photographs show our little survivor is gaining more strength and confidence by the day. She is at the top of our favourite cat tree the Monkee Tree, which is made here in New Zealand. The platforms are quite wide so she is able to sit comfortably and look down at me!

Miranda Today

Our girl is recovering. She is a bit weak in one leg but confident enough to climb the low trees in the garden and enjoy a walk through the grass. Here you can still see the fur that is growing back on her front right leg and the shaved area on her back is looking slightly blacker! The dreadful wounds she suffered have healed and almost disappeared into her fur!

I hope you enjoy these images of Miranda enjoying Spring.