Usually the sofa is out of bounds for the dog, but they looked so snug!

Once he had recovered, Charlie was running riot in the house. This was not at all like him – ornaments were pushed off shelves, the settee took a clawing, he ran up and down the stairs through the night… and his personality changed too. He became more aggressive – again extremely unusual for Charlie. He would claw and bite us, eventually to a point where I said he would either be rehomed or allowed back outside. We took the latter option.

Charlie is outside for the majority of the day and when he comes home, he's back to being his happy, chilled-out self and the cat I love. He’s happy, contented and appears to be keeping ‘safe’ outside. I appreciate this is a risk as the last thing I want to happen is another accident or relapse, but you only have to look at his character to know what he wants. It's so nice to see him come home and cuddle up next to his best friend, a Giant Schnauzer called Archie - even if they do take up the sofa!

Since his relapse, Charlie has been flicking his front and back legs (a twinge is perhaps a better description) – he never used to do this even immediately after the first accident. I’m therefore sure his relapse is something to do with the nervous system. This took such a heavy blow last September and perhaps a complication has developed later on? I will keep an eye on his progress and keep the vet informed too.

My other worry is that Charlie’s vet bill has now reached a total of £3000 and this is the limit of his insurance. If any further complications occur as a result of his original injury, Charlie has run out of money. He has also run up a big personal bill with various items/requirements that are not covered by insurance – this of course comes with the responsibility of owning a pet, but there has to come a point when you reach a limit. I don’t really want to dwell on this though, and I’m hoping we are over the worst and Charlie can now enjoy a normal cat life, strolling in and out of his home at his leisure. We will keep him in at night and will try to limit outside excursions to periods when we are at home (easier said than done!).  

Please add your thoughts and advice to Charlie's forum, where I can also answer any questions.