Lucy The Tiger, a.k.a. El Gato, a.k.a. Jungle Cat, a.k.a. the least cooperative photographic subject on the planet, had something under her jaw. You can see it as a dark patch on the near side. There were some concerns that it may have been a tick, but of course any attempt to get a look at it was met with protesting MEYOWWW!s and a shift of the head. I resorted to trying to get a shot of it with the macro lens. Unfortunately macro lenses work better with still rather than evasive targets.

The first round of shots suggested that it was just a cut and that she may have scratched herself with her claws. Or would have done, had that not been a stoopid thing to do and ah doez not do stoopid things because ah iz a intellectualz superior kat. Aside from which she has had her tick treatment. Also, while ticks are a year round threat the threat has diminished in the cooler weather, so the scratch theory was far more likely.

Then she was found in the garden. Of course she was. If there ARE ticks still around, where else would they be? Although at least she was lying on a part of the garden which is covered in bark chips. Still, I made another attempt to get a shot of her. Normally the sight of the camera would send her strolling out of the garden at a brisk pace. On this occasion though, with the help of some distracting, she stayed still. Not quite still enough to get a clear shot of her jaw, but enough to get shots which strongly suggest what I had said before; it looks like a mistimed claw scratch.

Rather than waste the shots, I figured that I'd use the one that comes closest to a proper portrait. (Aside from the one where she has her mouth open and tongue sticking out, but unfortunately the macro lens spaced the autofocus on that one. It's a pity because that would have been great payback for her non-cooperation.)