Wounded in Battle

[Lilith]

=( Well guys my Kitty Widget has gotten himself in to a fight a few weeks ago...... He a few wounds all seemed to heel...... then we found one little bump behind his ear that seemed okay for a few days then it got bigger and bigger. Well i had to wait untill today to take him in to the vet.......

I woke up and his wound was weeping all over.... really gross, He had a very large absess, they removed all rotten flash and infection and he has this huge gapping wound about the size of a tennis ball. HE is okay for now but still has a chance of not really making it. The wound is similar to those of a diabetic and extreamly hard to care for and to get to heel well. So much possiablity for infection

I have anitbioctics for him and a cleaner for his wounds ....He has a pretty blue cone collar......

Does any one have any expreince with this sort of thing? Any tips or tricks to make the healing process more effictive?

I just dont want to have to loose my kitty =(

[pharoh]

Did they stitch him up any? and was he outside when he was scrappin?

[Lilith]

they can not stich him up....... they explained why but i forgot what she said i mean this wound is about the diamiter of a tennis ball and he has this huge Dip in his flesh........ I actually have to pull the skin away when i fluch him casue there is like a huge pocket of missing flesh/tissue under the skin............ I can see his muscles

And yes he was out side..... so wehn i take him back in a week they are testing him for Cat HIV and Lukiemia ro something like that anyhow....

I was trying really ahrd not to vomit when they were doing al lthis and just tried to rmeber everything about the medication and home care and when the next appointment was......... Oh and i was praying it would not cost me a Fortune or have to put him down....... so some of the details are kinda fuzzy.......

[Lilith]

oh to save me $ they did not sedate him.... and this sweet heart just sat there and let the techs n vet work away and clean him up, he did not scratch meow or bite at all, the ladies were really impressed with him and how well he took all the care. The only thing he did was pee in the cage on the way there, it was stinky.

Just had to give my tough little guy the kudos he deserves

[pharoh]

Well hun there isn't much you can do in this situation, it sounds like the flap might be what saves it from infection, but at the same time make sure you clean it well. Vit E gels tabs help humans heal.....all you have to do is break them open and rub it on the wound, but you might wanna check with the vet if it's ok to do that for a kitty

[Lilith]

Well i have a solution they gave me to Flush it with, and of course the anitbitotics....... I was just wondering if there was anything else i could really do....... What type of things helped with Rubbing and rashes arounf where the collar is, good ways to get the cat to take its medication, He hates people food, and the medication is a liquid.

Has any one been through this and found that it was not as bad as the vets makes it sound? They said They might have to do a skin graph..... I asked if it would heal on its own and she explained the ugly scar, i told her i did not mind a scar and i dont think the cat does either.....

[Brenda Starrr]

This is what happened to Trixie. They didn't stitch her up. They gave her antibiotics to kill the infection. Her hole was smaller, though. I wish I knew what to tell you, except to do exactly what the vet suggested. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

[Steven]

Clowney (my psycho boy cat) has had these types of fighting wounds abcess soooo many times, in fact he recently had an extremely larger and disgusting one right by his little butt hole.

Here's the thing to do with these cat fight wounds when you first notice them:

1) Scrub the wound gently with warm water and soap and a washcloth.

2) Pour a small amount of Hydrogine Peroxide on it.

3) Add a dab of Neosporine ointment.

4) As the wound continues to weep disgusting stuff - or seems like its filling up and ready bto burst - warm washcloth compresses help the process.

Most abcesses look extremely vile but they almost always heal up.

Sorry about your kitty.

Steven

[Lilith]

this all happened like in a week and half......... it went from a small bump with one small red spot in the center to this huge Black Lump that would get smaller and then bigger it was like as soon as i thought he was looking better it would get bigger....... Then bam this morning all gross and weeping........ Luckily i had the appointment and $ for it today..... I am one broke chickie but happy my kitty is home with me.

We had been doing the peroxide and neosporen, he actually had many wounds on his head and all healed well except this one..... this is my first cat fight thing..... All the cats i have had except this one and the other balck one we have now, have allways been indoors cats.... and our Black one does not fight much, will hunt the hell out of birds but never come home with wounds like this grey and white one does.......

Just worried....... it is hard to get animals to Be calm for there own good......

[Ginevra]

Zinc will also help with the immune system and helping get rid of infections and such. The best thing for him now, as stated in other posts, is to do everything exactly how the vet has said to do it. The cone, obviously is for his own good. I would keep a close eye on him for any further developments in addition to not letting him outside for *any* reason other than in a carrier to go to the vet to minimize exposure to infections.

[Steven]

oh - one other thing.

go to the vet or to a pet store and get a tube of those animal vitamins (they have them for dogs and cats). Its basically malt flavoured amdn most cats like the taste.

The instructions say to only give them about a teaspoonful but when my cat is in healing mode I give him tons of the stuff - its good to help pump up his imune system.

Never heard of the Zinc approach, I'll have to try that in the future...

[Lilith]

he has been sleeping allot and when awake he fights withte cone... really silly and sad at the same time, When Brian left for work he just looked outthe door with bright eyes.... did not try to bolt out or anything. I dont plan to let him out and every one in the house knows he cant go outside. Hopefully he will convert and stay inside for ever!

I did not even think about animal vitamins..... TY

Zinc huh? Did you use an oral type or a cream?

With the Zinc, should i do an oral type or should i do a cream?

side note:

From my experience i have had nothing but wonderful things happen at the Michigan Humain Society. If you are low income they have programs you can sign up for to get low cost routine care. They totally worked with my budget yesterday, i had $150 to work with and my bill came to $152.00 thats was for the meds, the visit, the removal of the yuckies etc.... They look at all aspects of the animals and the owners situation. The vets are allways loving to the animals they get on the floor with my big genie dog and they snuggle my kitties when they are brought in. They seem to love each n every one of them.

Michigan Humain Society

[Fierce Critter]

=(

[Homicidalheathen]

I had a cat go through something like this. Getting those antibiotics down his throat after wasn't easy.

He tangled with a squirrel and I guess rodents have some nasty bacteria on their teeth. Well this tiny cut got so abseste I took him in and they had to cut a huge chunk of his face off. My vet said he nearly died. His fever was high......I just felt his nose. I did not stick a thermometer up his ass.....had I then I probably would have figured out he was infected allot sooner. By the time I got him in there it was swollen full of puss....they had to put him out and operate on him.

I never ever let my kitties out now. Ever. It saves time and trouble for all of us.

[Ginevra]

With the Zinc, should i do an oral type or should i do a cream?

Definately oral and definately check with the vet first.

Also, garlic is known to help with cleansing the body as well. It also makes a nice, natural alternative to flea collars. (Fleas hate garlic.)

[Lilith]

Definately oral and definately check with the vet first.

Also, garlic is known to help with cleansing the body as well.  It also makes a nice, natural alternative to flea collars. (Fleas hate garlic.)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

no shit Garlic.........hmph....... Garlic is good for everyhting it seems......

i dont know about the animals but i know i wll be hitting up the garlic to keep those little fuckers from bitting me next time!

Here is a picture of what i am dealing with, i took it right after we flushed his wound and we gave him a break fro mthe collar for a bit. I wrapped dressing sponges around the edge of the colar for comfort and he seems to tolerate it better. He is eating and drinking. He does not like t otake the antibiotics, he give us the eveil stink eye and spits but is fairly good when we flush his wound. He is really being soo good......I have not gotten one scratch or bite or even a meow out of him from this. Last night right befor bed he started to purr again :cheerful

v extreamly gross picture

v not so gross but he looks so sick n sad

[Steven]

porr kitty.

the "Gross" picture looks exactly like Clowney's ass last month, yep - you got yo a good old fashiond abcess.

Looks bad right now babe - in another month or so you'll never even know it was there.

PS - some vets (ours does) will let you give your cat antibiotics via a syrenge if your cat is fighting you on the oral. Both my cats hate oral antibiotics. Clowney - even though he is huge and psycho and bloodthirsty - will swallow them if I can get them in the back of his throat. But Lilly, my baby girl delicate would not hurt a fly kittie - is freakin impossible with them. She pukes them up, spits them out, fakes swallowing, you name it. Soi I have to inject hers.

dont forgret those vitamins....

Steven

[Brenda Starrr]

Aww! That poor, sweet baby! He's going to tough it out. Kiss him for me.

[Lilith]

He is seemingly getting better as the days go by, he is Meowing at us almost like normal, and the purring is back in full swing..... he is pushing for attention more often now, asking for food as befor and every tiem we wash the wound it looks healthier has a better color then the day befor etc......

I take him back in on Friday and i fully expect that he will get a good report.......

Oh on Firday i wll Buy vitamins too, i would have already but serioulsy just taking him to the vet wiped out any extra cash that i had wich was low to begin with.......

Thank you all for the advice, it made me feel better knowing i was not neccisarly an asshole pet owner that let this happen but its more of a thing that happens to cats if they get into fights.....

[SomeDanGuy]

Antibiotics and cleaning the wound are the most important things. If it looks like it's improving rather than getting worse, that's great news. Every day without a reinfection it heals a little more and becomes a little more resistant to another infection.

Abcesses are dangerous, but it sounds like the poor guy is out of the most dangerous part.

Dealing with infections and healing wounds both taking a lot of energy, so make sure he's got all the food he can eat. Vitamins.....eh, I guess he might have an increased need. Most cat foods have plenty, but if they're not too expensive then it couldn't hurt to make sure.

If you have any other cats, don't let them be 'helpful' and groom his wound. Those oral bacteria are exactly what caused this horrible thing in the first place. (Did you know that the mouth is even more heavily colonized with bacteria than the ass? Fun fact.)

[SomeDanGuy]

Thank you all for the advice, it made me feel better knowing i was not neccisarly an asshole pet owner that let this happen but its more of a thing that happens to cats if they get into fights.....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Oh it definitely happens. Oral bacteria are super damaging if they can find a way in. And it's amazing how fast they progress with binary reproduction. It's exponential, so it can get crazy really quickly.

[Cemetarystarr]

AWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! poor kitty!!!! I don't have much knowledge in this situation.....but i do hope he makes a swift and complete recovery!!!!

[Lilith]

Well the Hole itself is looking a tad smaller and the tissues are still looking the nice shade of pink instead of that raw dark red color.....

I think in some ways we have gotten lucky, because of the location of the wound and the Cone collar, it is almost impossible for anything to Groom/scratch the wound. The Collar also keeps the little guy calm, he cant go about jumping and playing, and even though it is boring i know rest is alos a very good thing for him right now.

We go to the vet tommorow again.... i am excited cause i think she will say keep up the good work and we will see you in XX weeks. :grin

Oh another fun fact.... Your Bathroom has les bacteria then your kitchen ...... I heard that on Myth Busters when they tested the bacteria on toothbrushes

[Lilith]

Ahhh so the vet visit today :cheerful

Went pretty good, He looks better and the tissue is beging to look the ay htey like it to (looks like it is healing like they expected) I now wash the wound twice a day and i have a gel drop to put in the wound and i also have a new bottle of antibiotic sryup, and becasue i found a Flea on him :blink She gave me a month dose of those flea drops that go in the fur (i foregt the name) He goes back again next week and she informed me if the skin looks like it is making pocket they wil lwant to remove it all and they wil lwant to fix him atthe same time, I told her i dont mean to sound rude or anything but iti s christmas time and this is killing my budget and she said if they have to do the surgery o nthe skin they wil ldefiantly work out a payment plan. Other wise today cost me $48 which for two new bottles of meds, the flea stuff and she cleaned his wound while we were there i did not think was too bad.

[pharoh]

Sounds like your past the roughest part hun, although a pic of him with the cone on would look cute =)