Pet King

Listening to Vladimir speak, Zhang Zian was stunned. He looked past the shutter door and said, “Is it… Is Big Orange outside?”

Vladimir nodded. “I had no choice. I could only bring him here. Please help me save him. I don’t want to see the death of my comrade.”

“Oh… Well, I’ll try my best. Bring him in quickly.”

Zhang Zian quickly got up from the chair and walked to the door. He raised the shutter door halfway to let them in.

At that time, the sky was completely dark. It was almost nine o’clock at night. The aunties and uncles with bad backs had already returned home to watch anti-Japanese dramas or mother-in-law soap operas. The young men and women who walked their dogs had also gone home to enjoy the nightlife. Occasionally, a guy or lady who had just finished working overtime hurriedly walked past.

Binhai was a small city, after all, with a somewhat slower pace of life. It would not be a match for large metropolitan cities that never slept.

To his surprise, not only was Big Orange outside by the door, there were also at least a dozen stray cats squatting by outside. They all had their bright eyes fixed on him.

“Of course there are other cats. There are too many injured cats. These here are just those with the most serious injuries,” Vladimir said behind him. As he needed Zhang Zian’s help, his tone was not as confident as usual. After all, he was already troubling him a lot to help him out.

This situation was somewhat strange, with more than a dozen stray cats gathering outside a closed shop. It was inevitable that there would be bad associations with such a scene. Passing pedestrians may choose to avoid the area entirely.

“Come in, all of you, come in. I am, after all, also one of the directors of the Strategy Bureau. Of course I will be able to help you with this small matter,” Zhang Zian said as he looked around. He confirmed that there was no one paying attention to him before greeting every living thing around him.

Vladimir used his eyes to gesture at the cats. The injured stray cats supported each other and slowly made their way into the store. However, they had just barely entered before stopping. They had smelled the scent of Fina.

If they hadn’t been baptized by Vladimir, they might have long since fled the store. Despite that, the natural instinct to escape was still there, and they had to try hard to resist it.

Fina glanced at them with sharp eyes. “Forget it. I rule everywhere, and every piece of earth is mine. You are fallen soldiers and will inevitably follow my command, albeit indirectly. I will make an exception and allow you to stay by the door.”

Vladimir nodded. “Well, whether it’s a domestic cat or a wild cat, it’s a good cat as long as it can catch a mouse! Everybody, please relax. Breathe!”

The injured stray cats relaxed somewhat upon hearing this. They either lay on their sides or sat down firmly with their paws on the ground. They still stayed close to the door, afraid to step in further.

Vladimir wasn’t upset that Fina did not allow the stray cats to enter further. After all, a stray cat was a stray cat and must be treated as such. Now that they were able to find shelter from the rain and dangers outside, they must already be thankful.

The stray cats themselves did not feel that they were being treated differently. They knew that their bodies were filthy since they had run around in the wilderness all day. Inevitably, they would be carrying germs and parasites in their fur. If these diseases were transmitted to the kittens, which was highly likely given their poorer resistance, it would be no different than killing innocent children in order to save their own lives. Now that they had already attained some level of enlightenment, they refused to allow such a tragedy to ever happen. If the kittens were to die because of them, they would rather die outside as well than seek refuge in the shop.

When the pet shop was refurbished, they’d put in an additional door between the checkout counter at the entrance and the store itself. This gap provided a good area for the stray cats to sit. The stray cats waited in this gap, which was the former position of the Holy Cat statue. The additional inner door acted as a natural barrier between them and the kittens.

Zhang Zian also knew that the stray cats were dirty. He shot Fina a look, indicating to her to bring the kittens deep within the store. He does not want them to come in contact with the stray cats either. He also instructed her to fetch some insecticides to apply on the inner door to prevent fleas and other insects from ever having a chance to invade the store.

He was also fully armed and prepared for what was to come. He’d worn the long trousers he’d gotten in Egypt to protect him from the sun. He also tightened his shirt and trouser sleeves and put on rubber boots used for rainy days. Finally, he put on some gloves and a hat. He did all this because he knew that his body was a potential transmitter of germs and diseases to the kittens. To protect the kittens, he must first protect himself.

As for Vladimir, he had already considered this when he’d gone to look for Big Orange. Like a chess player who planned well ahead of his next few moves, he had given some thought to what would come next and decided on the appropriate course of action. Therefore, instead of helping Big Orange directly, he had assigned this task to the other stray cats. Thus, he would not be contaminated and would help prevent bacteria and parasites from being brought back to the pet store.

After protective measures had been taken, Zhang Zian went to the upper floor to fetch the first aid kit. Then, with that under his arm, he opened the inner door and closed it immediately once he saw the stray cats. He carefully examined the stray cats’ injuries.

He was not a professional veterinarian. If a customer brought in a wounded pet, he would certainly not dare to start treatment on it because he was not a licensed veterinarian. Nevertheless, having worked extensively with pets, he had some knowledge about treating pet injuries. He could still perform basic first aid on those that needed help.

Big Orange and some of the stray cats had seen Zhang Zian before. They knew that he had a unique relationship with the stray cat population. However, the few stray cats who had never seen him were a little nervous, and some even bowed their backs and got into a defensive pose.

“Don’t be afraid. He is our comrade. Although he is a human, he believes in our cause and supports it. He is a progressive who sympathizes with our struggles,” Vladimir reassured the cats.

The stray cats heard these words and relaxed once more.

Nevertheless, what was the meaning of “Although he is a human”…?

Zhang Zian could only give an awkward smile. In this shop, which was obviously his own, human beings seemed to be the most despised…

Big Orange had the most and the deepest wounds. There were several that ran deep. A glance was enough to determine that it had been bitten by the stray dogs. Had it not been as strong physically and had enough layers of fat as a buffer, the bites would have penetrated its bones and nerves. If that had happened, it would’ve been beyond Zhang Zian’s ability to treat it.

After the initial examination, he trimmed the hair near the wounds with small scissors. This made it more convenient to treat the injuries and prevent infection.

A huge amount of fur on Big Orange had been ripped off in its struggle with the stray dogs. With a few more snips of his scissors, Big Orange was close to being bare. Nevertheless, Big Orange did not depend on its looks to survive, unlike Snowy Lionet. The loss of hair could thus be its way of dealing with the summer heat.

After checking its injury, Zhang Zian weighed the situation and decided not to use the povidone-iodine solution to disinfect the wound. This was because Big Orange had been injured for several days. The wound had already started to heal as its strong body tried hard to recover. Using a solution now to disinfect the wound may not be helpful, as it may also cause damage to the epidermal cells and fibroblasts along with the bad bacteria. This may not be that conducive to recovery.

Although Big Orange was strong, it had not eaten for a few days. Its body’s natural ability to heal was slowly declining. While there was currently no infection, it did not mean that it would not become infected in the future. It was therefore essential to do some minimal disinfection.

After thinking about it, he chose to use normal saline to treat it.