All Hambone Award nominees also got a trip to the
vet's office.
Photo by: Caterina (Flickr)
Cats are unpredictable. That’s part of what makes them fun to live with, but sometimes they do things that get them into big trouble, and sometimes the trouble involves a trip (or several) to the vet.
Take the case of Scooter the Siamese cat. Scooter, of San Clemente, CA, was innocently playing one day when she suddenly began shaking her head and foaming at the mouth. Her owners took her to the emergency vet, who administered seizure medication. It looked like Scooter had epilepsy. She needed an MRI for a more certain diagnosis. Then, while prepping the cat for the test, a technician noticed something odd—a small sewing needle, thread still attached. Turns out Scooter had ingested the needle and thread a couple of weeks before, but it had apparently become lodged in her mouth or throat and she suffered no immediate ill effects. No one even knew she had done it. But the needle eventually moved along her throat and made contact with her brain, causing the seizures. The needle was removed, the seizures stopped, and Scooter fully recovered. But her story doesn’t end there.
Now Scooter has been nominated for something called a “Hambone Award.” The award, from the Veterinary Pet Insurance Company (VPI), is given to the pet with the most unusual insurance claim. There are 12 nominees, of which Scooter is the only cat (evidence of the differences between cats and dogs?). Her competition includes a bulldog who swallowed 15 pacifiers, a bottle cap, and part of a basketball; a Labrador retriever who ate a sock—twice; and a Belgian sheepdog who ran into a wheelbarrow and punctured a lung—all while chasing a squirrel.
All Hambone nominees recovered from their ordeals, and VPI paid their eligible medical expenses. VPI employees choose one nominee from the tens of thousands of claims they receive each month. The public then votes for their favorite story. Voting is taking place now through September 14. The winner will be announced in late September or early October, and he or she will receive a bronze hambone trophy.
The Hambone Award was created by VPI in honor of a dog who got stuck in a refrigerator and ate an entire Thanksgiving ham. He survived, with a mild case of hypothermia and a very full stomach.
For more information: To read other Hambone stories, or to vote for Scooter, please visit Pick Your Favorite Hambone.
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