Pet King

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Cat ringworm was a very common skin disease. It was caused by fungal infection. It occurred mostly in cats with malnutrition that experienced a sudden change of environment. Kittens that had just been brought home were most commonly affected.

Although it was rare that cat ringworm was dangerous, it was a very troublesome illness. It was a long-term illness that was hard to cure, and it was very infectious. If Zhang Zian did not guess incorrectly, Scald-head, which was a purebred American Shorthair, was most likely a house cat in the past. Later on, when it developed cat ringworm, either the owner looked down on it, or it had infected the owner or the owner’s family members and was then abandoned.

Preventing cat ringworm was not difficult, as was the case with most skin diseases. The main methods for treatment were spending more time in the sunshine, supplementing VB, and keeping its indoor environment dry. It was not so easy to implement, however––the lighting conditions of houses was generally not good, and the sun did not shine for more than several hours every day. On top of that, the dose of VB could not be overdone. It needed to be calculated according to the cat’s weight, down to each kilogram. It was more troublesome to keep the indoors dry––especially in coastal areas like Binhai City, which was adjacent to the sea. It was wet and rainy in the winter, the spring, and the summer. The humidity in the air was relatively high, which created a good environment for the growth of fungi.

The main method for treating cat ringworm, on a small scale, was to buy medicine and shave the cat, and on a large scale, it was to take professional medicinal baths in a pet clinic. If that did not work, it needed to be supplemented by an injection. The last way was to take medicine, because the injection was for muscle absorption, while actually ingesting the medicine was for gastrointestinal absorption. Oral antifungal drugs had side effects on a cat’s liver and kidney.

Ordinary people needed to wear gloves when touching cats with cat ringworm, or if they were smearing them with medicine––either that or they needed to wash their hands after touching them to prevent infection. But like Zhang Zian and his shop assistants, as well as Sun Xiaomeng and Long Cian, they interacted with all kinds of cats all day long; they had all been infected with cat ringworm before. After one or two infections, they developed an immunity, similar to chickenpox, and they barely got infected anymore. From that point on, it didn’t matter if they touched cats that had cat ringworm with their bare hands.

Vladimir understood it now, and it turned its head back to look at the clinic. It asked, “They’re already so busy. Do they still have time to do these kind of things that don’t earn them any money?”

“First of all, you have to understand that they chose the veterinary industry as their lifelong career because they like animals. Making money is secondary to them. If it’s just to make money, why not become a doctor? The ability to make money is much higher, and the social status is higher––almost any aspect of being a doctor is better than being a veterinarian,” Zhang Zian explained.

As he was speaking, there was a figure that suddenly cut in in front of them.

Zhang Zian closed his mouth and raised his head to take a look. He was shocked to find that the person blocking the road was Aunt Liu, who he had not seen in a long time.

Shortly after he caught Fina, Aunt Liu, who ran a laundromat down the street, came to the pet shop to bathe her American Shorthair, but she didn’t do it because she thought it was too expensive. Fina saw that she was rude to the cat––beating and scolding it––and she ordered the American Shorthair to bite her and then run away. After the American Shorthair ran away, it went to the pet shop and stayed there indefinitely.

Aunt Liu bent down and stared at the cat on the pushcart––she was staring at Scald-head.

“Aunt Liu, we haven’t met in a very long time!”

Although there had been points of contension between them previously, Aunt Liu was also a neighbor and an elder that Zhang Zian had known since childhood. Zhang Zian greeted her with a smile.

“Is this the cat that I lost?” Aunt Liu nodded as a response, then asked in confusion.

Scald-head was also an American Shorthair, and it had around the same fur color as the one she had lost. After such a long time had passed, her memory was a bit fuzzy.

“Nope. Did you remember incorrectly? This is another cat,” he answered.

Aunt Liu was suspicious, and she kept staring at Scald-head. She muttered, “How could it not be? I’ve searched for so long, and I finally found one that looks like it. It could be this one.”

“It really isn’t. I remember very clearly what your cat looks like. It’s different from this one, and this is a male. Yours was a female. You remember that, right?” Zhang Zian explained.

Aunt Liu was stunned. “It really isn’t mine?”

“It really isn’t.”

“All right… Then I’ll continue searching. Perhaps I’ll see it again one day…” Aunt Liu sighed and turned around, wanting to leave.

Zhang Zian pushed the cart towards her, then used his key to press the proposal onto the metal cage to prevent it from being blown away by the wind. When the wind blew, the proposal was blown so much that it was rustling.

Aunt Liu noticed the proposal, and stopped walking to ask curiously, “What’s this?”

Zhang Zian instinctively repeated the contents of the proposal.

“Oh,” Aunt Liu nodded. “I’ll sign. Do you have a pen?”

Zhang Zian was stunned, suspecting that he had heard her incorrectly. “You want to sign?”

“I can’t sign?” A look of anger flashed across her face.

“No, no! You misunderstood me. I just wanted to ask for the reason… You’re concerned with protecting small animals?” Zhang Zian hurriedly asked.

Everyone else he was familiar with signed because they were his friends, but Aunt Liu would not, so he really wanted to know the reason.

Aunt Liu stared blankly at Scald-head and said, “I lost my American Shorthair. Now there’s an 80 percent chance that it is also a stray cat. I feel regret when I think about it. Only after losing it do I know how to cherish it. I didn’t take good care of it, so now I can only hope that it isn’t mistreated as a stray cat…”

Zhang Zian observed her expression and her words and felt that she was not randomly saying things. She did not need to put on an act with him.

“Ha, why am I randomly saying things?” Aunt Liu returned to her senses and smiled. “My cat was naughty and sturdy. It probably wouldn’t let itself be bullied. It has probably given birth to many kittens and is living a carefree life!”

Zhang Zian nodded. “It really could be doing that!” He took out a pen and passed it to Aunt Liu. “Then will you still sign?”

“I’ll sign.” Aunt Liu sighed and grabbed the pen. She found a flat surface to put the proposal against, signed her name, and left her phone number.

“Then I’ll go now. I have to buy groceries. My son and daughter-in-law are bringing their family over today, and I have yet to make lunch.” Aunt Liu passed the pen and proposal back to him.

“There’s a lot of people on the road today. Walk slowly,” Zhang Zian said.

“En.” Aunt Liu took a few steps and stopped again. She looked back as if she was embarrassed and said hesitantly, “Zian… your aunt––I am old and close-minded, and I speak quickly. It is not as easy to accept new things as it is for you young people. If I did something wrong towards you in the past, don’t take it to heart…”

Zhang Zian smiled, relieved. “Aunt Liu, you’re too polite. You’re my senior, and I’m your junior. You saw me grow up. It’s right that you scolded me a bit. I won’t take it to heart too much.”

“All right, then I’ll go. I hope your business gets better and better… When you have time, come over to visit me.” Aunt Liu let out a breath of relief. “Then I’ll go now.”

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