Cat been in the wars - advice please.
Discussion
Got back from work to find the cat looking very sorry for himself having had a scrap.
He's been bitten on the neck and has an open wound around 3mm - it's oozing which has made his fur matted and really stinks.
Have been washing it out with tepid salty water - is there anything else we can do?
He is eating but is sitting under the radiator rather than on his box where he usually hangs out.
He's been bitten on the neck and has an open wound around 3mm - it's oozing which has made his fur matted and really stinks.
Have been washing it out with tepid salty water - is there anything else we can do?
He is eating but is sitting under the radiator rather than on his box where he usually hangs out.
Ours had similar earlier this year - which turns out he'd been in a scrap and got an abscess on his front shoulder that was well hidden by 3 metric tons of fur, and burst - vet knew what it was straight away by the smell.
Trip to the vets, course of antibiotics, and he'll be right as rain in no time. If it's an abscess, it'll take a bit longer, cost a bit more, and you get to laugh at a shaved cat*, but the outcome is the same.
Trip to the vets, course of antibiotics, and he'll be right as rain in no time. If it's an abscess, it'll take a bit longer, cost a bit more, and you get to laugh at a shaved cat*, but the outcome is the same.
- exhibit A
For emergency ooh yes maybe (though poorly cats still eat!!) but would advise it still needs to be seen. Sounds infected not fresh. Cats heal well but even they need help from antibiotics at times. If not it's likely it will seemingly heal only to burst open again several days later. I'm not saying this will happen but it is possible.
Edited by bexVN on Wednesday 23 November 07:58
dropped him off today as, ironically, he was due to go in tomorrow to have a couple of broken teeth taken out
whilst he's under he's having the hole stitched, the vet opened it up and a load more puss came out
cheers all
now, how to make a severely pissed off cat a little less sore and grumpy - anyone?
whilst he's under he's having the hole stitched, the vet opened it up and a load more puss came out
cheers all
now, how to make a severely pissed off cat a little less sore and grumpy - anyone?
Puss shouldn't be too sore and grumpy, even teeth out can be managed with some painkillers. The most important thying is to have got rid of the pus that acts as a reservoir of bacteria, that should make a big difference. I wouldn't have stitched the abscess but it maym be the wound that is stitched rather than a separate abscess.
Just getting home to familiar safe area is usually a relief to cats, but may want to be left in peace to recover.
Have to say that I disagree with "as long as cat is eating, it'll be fine", as proven by the pus draining that you have mentioned. Abscesses are often very painful and can grow to significant sizes, which can leave much bigger problems to deal with if not rectified early. After all the rubbish we hear on the news about the public wanting antibiotics for viral colds and flu, it's ironic that when there's a straightforward case for antibacterial therapy in an animal, the opposite seems to happen.
Hope the recovery is uneventful.
Just getting home to familiar safe area is usually a relief to cats, but may want to be left in peace to recover.
Have to say that I disagree with "as long as cat is eating, it'll be fine", as proven by the pus draining that you have mentioned. Abscesses are often very painful and can grow to significant sizes, which can leave much bigger problems to deal with if not rectified early. After all the rubbish we hear on the news about the public wanting antibiotics for viral colds and flu, it's ironic that when there's a straightforward case for antibacterial therapy in an animal, the opposite seems to happen.
Hope the recovery is uneventful.
Our very quiet butter would not melt in the mouth etc comes home every now and then with bites and scratches. Around the neck or on the face. Soooooo, off to the vet for a look see just in case and usually a jab. The vet reckons this end of the animal he was the winner and he will be seeing the loser at some stage, he says they will have rear end and tail wounds.
Who ever won, we get him sorted.
As for after, let him find his own way but where you can keep an eye on him. Check with the vet for food after having a few gnashers out. One of ours was OK to eat straight away but he was out for the count in a cage with other injuries (lost a fight with a car) at the time so did not eat for a day anyway.
Who ever won, we get him sorted.
As for after, let him find his own way but where you can keep an eye on him. Check with the vet for food after having a few gnashers out. One of ours was OK to eat straight away but he was out for the count in a cage with other injuries (lost a fight with a car) at the time so did not eat for a day anyway.
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