Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 535 The Arrogant Astragalus

Lin Ge truly hadn't anticipated that his underlings gathering together might lead to an unexpected viral infection.

The main problem is that nobody usually thinks about it in this way!

Originally, I just wanted to call out to my underlings and see if anyone needed help, so why did I suddenly find myself in such big trouble?

Lin Ge couldn't help but become anxious.

Unfortunately, Lin Ge had no way to deal with infectious diseases, so he could only place his hopes on Huang Qi.

He patiently waited for Huang Qi to finish examining the little female kitten, then treated and disinfected the infected area, and gave it an injection—he was incredibly busy. Despite being warned about such a serious matter, he remained calm. After treating the kitten and putting it in its cage, he treated the second kitten and found it also had feline rhinotracheitis virus, so he repeated the process.

This cat was in better spirits and had more energy than the previous one, but it was also more irritable. Huang Qi couldn't handle it by himself, so Lin Ge had to join in and personally hold the little guy down to prevent it from moving.

Lin Ge himself wasn't afraid of this so-called feline rhinotracheitis virus. Leaving aside the strange medications Jiang Yan had given him, Lin Ge believed that with his strong constitution, these mere viruses couldn't possibly harm him. However! This didn't mean the other cats wouldn't have problems. The female tortoiseshell cats in the cattery had been vaccinated with the feline triple vaccine, so there shouldn't be any worries about that. But whether the Ragdoll kitten had been vaccinated was a question that still needed to be checked.

In addition, the other cats we encountered yesterday also need to be found and checked one by one. Especially the kittens, as Lin Ge knows that this virus has a very high mortality rate for kittens.

"Don't think I'm trying to scare you! With a feral cat's immune system, this thing can kill a cat without drawing blood!"

After finishing his work, Huang Qi threatened Lin Ge in a harsh tone.

Lin Ge ignored him and, seeing that the two sick kittens had been taken care of, turned and walked out of the pet hospital.

He needed to go home first to check on the little rag doll, and then gather all the stray cats from the Youcheng residential area and Xiaoguanyuan area to see if there were any other problems.

The only thing Lin Ge was thankful for was that the two cats didn't have feline panleukopenia! Feline panleukopenia is far more deadly and contagious than feline rhinotracheitis; for feral cats with already weak constitutions, that stuff is practically a killer.

But shortly after they left, Huang Qi caught up with them from behind.

"Mimi, sit on me!"

Huang Qi rode his electric scooter past Lin Ge, braked, and then gestured to Lin Ge.

However, because his first-aid kit and another large box containing unknown contents were placed on the back seat of the electric vehicle, and a bag of what appeared to be medicine boxes was also placed on the front rack, Lin Ge could only squat between Huang Qi's legs in front of him.

This wasn't the time to complain, so Lin Ge quickly jumped into the car and urged Huang Qi to hurry up and head to Zhanghe Police Station.

They drove slowly and leisurely, and when Huang Qi returned to Zhanghe Police Station with Lin Ge, only a few staff members remained on duty. Most of them had gone to the long-distance bus station to welcome the returning anti-epidemic heroes.

To be honest, Lin Ge really wanted to go too, but he couldn't be in two places at the moment. He rushed to the cat house and found that the cats were sleeping in together as usual. Lin Ge quickly slapped the snow-clawed tabby cat, whose head was resting on a small plush toy.

"Meow~"

Snowclaw Tiger Claw cried out in pain, jumped up and hid to the side, wondering what was wrong with his father.

Especially when Lin Ge held down the little rag doll with one hand to prevent it from moving around, looked at the guy's bewildered big eyes, and then used his other hand to pull open its mouth to check inside, the Snowclaw Tiger Stripe was even more terrified and tried to run away.

"Ouch, you almost bumped into me!"

Carrying large bags and small packages, Huang Qi was still cursing Lin Ge for being heartless. He almost tripped over the snow-clawed tiger stripe as soon as he entered the door. He dodged in time, but still stumbled.

Looking inside, Huang Qi saw Mimi clinging to a golden Ragdoll cat she had never seen before, and immediately understood.

"Meow!"

The little doll was completely confused about what was happening, but the unfamiliar Huang Qi, putting on gloves as he approached, still frightened it and made it try to run away. Lin Ge held it firmly, preventing it from doing so, and it could only let out pitiful whimpers.

"A new harem? Damn it, you could actually lay a hand on such a tiny cat?"

Huang Qi made a joke to Lin Ge, and although the content was offensive, his calm attitude still relieved Lin Ge.

Lin Ge glared at the guy, indicating that he would get revenge on him after he was done. He patiently watched as Huang Qi grabbed the little doll and lifted it up. He took a cotton swab and wiped one of its eyes, the inside edge of its nostrils, and the inside of its teeth, and put them into a diluent bottle. Then he took out three secretion test strips from his satchel and put four or five drops of liquid from the diluent bottle into the test strips.

"This thing is only 70% to 90% accurate, but generally speaking, three tests should be enough. Considering your cat is an expensive breed, I'll give it three times the service this time. Remember to pay the bill later."

Huang Qi made a joke to Lin Ge, but didn't let go of the little doll.

After all, if this little guy really does become a source of infection, no one can guarantee that other vaccinated cats won't be completely immune. So until the results are in, Huang Qi should follow the veterinarian's advice and try to control the infection as much as possible.

"Go! Go!"

Seeing that the little tabby and the snowclaw tabby had sensed that the danger had subsided and were strolling over, Lin Ge quickly chased the two little rascals away.

"The test results will take ten minutes, but five minutes is usually enough. If even one test strip shows a positive T line, then this little guy is definitely sick. Hmm... after this is over, take him to my place when you have time, and we'll get him an antibody test. If he hasn't been vaccinated, get him vaccinated as soon as possible, but I think a cat of this quality that's so valuable shouldn't be unvaccinated. By the way, Mimi, where did you get this beautiful cat?"

In the end, Huang Qi became a bit unserious again, even winking at Lin Ge like a sleazy old man.

"Are you having a mental breakdown?"

Lin Ge glared at Huang Qi speechlessly, completely baffled as to what was wrong with him.

"Ugh! Meimei is pressuring me to get married!"

Huang Qi sighed and finally confessed the truth about his recent emotional instability.

"Isn't this a good thing?"

Lin Ge couldn't understand what Huang Qi was so fixated on.

"Berry is pregnant."

Huang Qi frowned and stated another fact, then said with a bitter face, "But I didn't want to have a child at this time! After all, you know, my line of work involves a lot of contact with sick cats and dogs, and to be honest, I'm a little worried about the safety risks. Children are so delicate, and it's not good for them to be in contact with these animals too early. I originally planned to save money to buy a new house nearby first, and then prepare for the wedding and the next generation. But Meimei's pregnancy caught me completely off guard."

At this point, Huang Qi sighed again, "I told Meimei that we shouldn't have the baby yet, but she turned on me and went back to her mother. Sigh! I know what I said was wrong, but given the current situation..."

"You deserve it! Since you knew you couldn't have a child, why didn't you take precautions? Now you're hurting Meimei and forcing her to have an abortion. How could you even say something like that?"

Lin Ge stared at Huang Qi unhappily, feeling that this guy really deserved a beating. If this bastard hadn't been needed to help check those cats today, Ringo would have wanted to beat this bitch right now.

Meimei is such a good girl, how dare this bastard betray her?

Lin Ge thought back again. Before meeting him, Huang Qi was a penniless man running a run-down pet clinic with no customers. He remembered very clearly that nobody brought their pets to Huang Qi's clinic back then! Yet, even so, Meimei remained devoted to Huang Qi, even supporting this poor guy with money she earned from writing novels online! What an amazing girl she was! How dare Huang Qi bully her?

Since meeting Lin Ge, Huang Qi has established connections with the Zhanghe Police Station. Coupled with the collapse of the pet hospital where Zhu Wentao worked, many customers, referred by the Zhanghe Police Station, went to Huang Qi's clinic, which improved his life. Later, Li Yiduo, this rich second-generation, adopted over fifty cats. Each cat needed spaying/neutering, vaccinations, checkups, and care, which finally allowed Huang Qi to make a fortune, even enough to renovate his clinic and rename it a pet hospital. In this respect, Huang Qi suddenly became rich, but after only a few days of wealth, he started complaining that Meimei didn't listen to him? He dared to have a problem with Meimei?
Although he knew that Huang Qi was definitely not as wicked as he thought, Lin Ge just couldn't stand him at the moment.

"Ha ha……"

Huang Qi's lips twitched. Lin Ge's eyes were so clearly showing that he wanted to punch him, making him feel like he was about to get scratched at any moment.

"Alright, alright! It's almost time!"

Quickly changing the subject, Huang Qi glanced at the three testing strips on the ground and breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "The test strips haven't changed, so there shouldn't be any problem. I'll check it again and take its temperature. Once it's confirmed to be normal, I can relax." Then, ignoring Lin Ge, Huang Qi began examining the little plush toy. The little guy had been held by him for five or six minutes and had now developed trust and stopped struggling.

After Huang Qi took out the thermometer, disinfected it briefly, applied some Vaseline, and then suddenly inserted it into the buttocks, the little doll still stared wide-eyed in terror and screamed.

Without hesitation, it turned around and swung its claws at Huang Qi, but the one who was prepared blocked it with its sleeve.

"Please calm it down! Don't let it struggle! If the mercury breaks, it'll be a real problem!"

Seeing that the little rag doll was still struggling, Huang Qi quickly asked Lin Ge for help. Together, the two of them managed to subdue the little rag doll and finally calm it down.

However, during this process, Lin Ge felt a slight pain in his buttocks. For some reason, he suddenly thought of what Jiang Yan had done to him a few days ago. Back then, Jiang Yan was much rougher, and Lin Ge was so scared that his hind legs and tail almost cramped up.

"Ok?"

Huang Qi's expression suddenly changed, and she gently touched the little doll's belly twice with her hand, closing her eyes to feel the texture of her fingers.

Huang Qi quickly opened her eyes and stared at Lin Ge with a disgusted look, saying, "What right do you have to look down on me? You had the nerve to lay a hand on such a small kitten, and even got it pregnant. Aren't you even more of a beast than me?"

"My darn thing!"

Lin Ge's eyes widened, about to explode, but then he realized what was happening and paused for a moment. He looked down at where Huang Qi's fingers were on the little doll's belly, then stared blankly up at the guy.

"Is the little doll pregnant?"

"I can feel it now, probably in two to three weeks! If it's a few more days, I should be able to feel it even more clearly!"

Huang Qi confirmed the situation again, then said speechlessly to Lin Ge, "You're such an idiot! You should have told me earlier that it might be pregnant! Luckily, I'm a professional, otherwise what if I had hurt its stomach when I was examining it? This stage of pregnancy is the most dangerous, and cats often have multiple pregnancies, so it's easy for birth defects, stillbirths, or other complications to occur. By the way, when I came over just now, wasn't this kitten still playing around with your two stupid sons? Let me tell you, no more of that! Keep it in its cattery and don't move around too much. Give it moderate exercise and plenty of rest. Also, make sure it gets enough nutrition, like chicken breast and deboned fish with fish oil, you can give it some extra on top of its cat food. And if you have time, you can also go to a specialty store and buy some imported pregnant cat food, it's more nutritious and has enough micronutrients."

Lin Ge nodded quickly, making sure to remember all the things his daughter-in-law needed to pay attention to.

The poor little doll had no idea what her boss was saying to this human, nor did she know why there was something stuck in her butt. She struggled secretly but to no avail, and could only pitifully call out to Lin Ge.

After explaining the precautions, Huang Qi shook his head with a sigh and said, "Hmm... I'm so glad it didn't get feline rhinotracheitis, otherwise, with all the treatments, this litter probably wouldn't have survived. Mimi, you're lucky, you finally got your own son... Ah!"

Lin Ge could no longer hold back and finally slapped Huang Qi across the face, giving him a hard slap.

"Meow~"

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the little ragdoll kicked off the shallowly inserted thermometer with its hind legs, then escaped from Huang Qi and quickly hid in the corner of the cat house where the snow claw tabby was sneaking around, tucking its tail between its legs and hiding behind the snow claw tabby.

"Tch! So she's this guy's new wife!"

Huang Qi finally realized what was going on.

However, he immediately turned and gave Lin Ge a disdainful look, the meaning of which was very clear: you are not even as good as your godson!
Lin Ge wished he could beat Huang Qi up again.

After checking the thermometer and confirming that the little ragdoll's temperature and overall condition were normal, Lin Ge breathed a sigh of relief. He called over the tabby cat to gather the other cats from the previous night, then led Huang Qi away from the police station and back to Xiaoguanyuan.

Despite its small name, Xiaoguanyuan is actually quite large, and with the addition of the Lame family, there are already eight or nine cats enjoying a free life there.

Lin Ge was taken by Huang Qi to the pavilion where the white cat had given birth last time. They were quickly spotted by the other cats in the garden. The lame cat was the first to arrive with the two kittens they had just received the day before, followed by several other familiar cats gathering at the pavilion from various directions. Then, unsurprisingly, Huang Qi diagnosed one of the kittens the lame cat was leading with a feline rhinotracheitis infection, and the condition was quite serious, with pus already appearing in the corner of its eye.

This made Lin Ge feel somewhat guilty. He felt that he should have carefully observed the cats' condition every time he summoned them.

This time, the discovery of the feline rhinotracheitis virus was actually made by the mother hawksbill turtle who led two infected female kittens over, which is how Lin Ge learned about it.

If it weren't for the female tortoiseshell cat, heaven knows how many cats would have died from the infection.

"hiss……"

Huang Qi took another breath, and saw another kitten being led by the lame one, which also had obvious symptoms of conjunctivitis, tearing, and runny nose.

Based on its transmissibility, it can be basically confirmed as feline viral rhinotracheitis infection.

"That lame guy..."

Lin Ge's face darkened. He never expected that the lame couple, who had gone to great lengths to adopt two children, would still be unable to keep them.

Whether the two cubs can be cured is another matter, but even with a high mortality rate, there's still a possibility of recovery. However, treating this thing isn't a matter of a day or two. After they're cured, will the two cubs still want to live with the lame one?

These are all unknowns.

Sensing Lin Ge's emotions, and seeing the man who had been to the police station compound several times and even stabbed himself in the neck, pulling the two new family members together, the lame man suddenly had a bad feeling.

It looked pitifully at Lingo and then let out a piercing, unpleasant cry.

"..."

Lin Ge didn't know how to comfort this guy, nor could he guarantee that the two little ones would be safe and sound. He could only sigh and turn his head away as if he hadn't heard anything.

"Awww~"

The lame dog cried out even more urgently, but it dared not snatch its newborn child back, and could only keep crying out.

To Lin Ge's surprise, this guy's wife had a calm personality. She just squatted quietly beside the lame man, watching Huang Qi clean the kitten without blinking, her tail not even wagging, just like a statue.

"It has been confirmed that the feline herpesvirus has been infected. It cannot be treated on-site. Please send it back to me first."

Huang Qi took two folding cat cages from the back box of his electric scooter, which, when slightly unfolded, became simple airline crates. After putting the two kittens inside, he placed them in the crates. Huang Qi then examined the lame couple and the other underlings who had come to watch the commotion but were startled. A few of the silly creatures even tried to run away, but Lin Ge roared at them and stopped them obediently, letting Huang Qi examine them. Once the physical examination was finished, they took off running.

"Mimi, it's impossible to test every cat with a test strip. You can't afford it, and I can't afford it either. Besides, it's really unnecessary; it's just part of the natural selection process."

Seeing that Lin Ge was somewhat unwilling, Huang Qi could only try to persuade him in a low voice.

"..."

Lin Ge fell silent.

He knew Huang Qi was right; it was impossible to protect all his cats from getting sick.

He can feel compassion and pity for his subordinates, and he can help poor kittens treat feline rhinotracheitis that has already been diagnosed; but to say that he can protect all cats from getting sick or that they can receive immediate treatment is too difficult.

but……

“I’m not a saint! But I’m not a cold-blooded person either! I can’t help those cats that weren’t in front of me if something happened to them; but since it happened right under my nose, how can I just turn a blind eye?”

Lin Ge let out a "woof" at Huang Qi and raised his tail to show his firm attitude.

(End of this chapter)