Injured animals love me...

amercnwmn · #1 (**permalink**) 05-05-2007, 04:48 AM

I am such a sucker..
I was home on my back porch cleaning out my 10gal for Eclipse (the Crestie from Tamara)
and my cat went parading throught the back door...followed by a little striped cat. My cat doesn't get along with ANYTHING..Kids, humans, he even attacks the vaccuum, which I must make a video of..
Anyways so this little skinny pathetic striped stray darts in the door about 5mins after Mojo..So I picked him up and promptly sat him right back outside.
In the meantime I'm back and forth through the back and front door, and I wandered through the living room, and there sat that cat ON MY COUCH!
Soooo...anywhos..Mojo has been off pouting in our room, while the striped one has been living the high life loving on everyone, and checking everything out.
I noticed, however this swelling on his back, which is soft and squishy (not at all hard) and a small, smooth, closed red wound in the center.
Any idea what this might be?
We have a vet appt but not till Friday.

Stargazer · #2 (**permalink**) 05-05-2007, 05:51 AM

My guess is it could be a cyst or even the beginning of an abcess from a cat fight. I didn't see where it was on his back but if near the neck, could also be an irritation at an injection site. I would be very careful letting him around your cat just in case he has FIV or FeLV (leukemia) or something else contagious (it would be good to have him tested for both). Beautiful cat, though. If the lump gets bigger over the next few days it would probably be an abcess and will require veterinary care.

I had a similar thing happen once. My boyfriend and I lived in a townhome with our 3 cats. One of them, Daisy the Demoncat, was the terror of the neighborhood. She beat up all the dogs and even chased the other 2 cats around. One day she came home with a black cat called Knot-head (name on tag). Daisy and Knot-head were the best of friends and she would invite him over all the time. Then she would pretend like she didn't know us, you know, like a teenager would. It was pretty hilarious!!!

amercnwmn · #3 (**permalink**) 05-05-2007, 01:49 PM

Well I've kept them separated but they were outside together earlier before I realized Mojo had found a sidekick.

Kinda funny, Mojo acted like he's the big brother and tolerated the little striped cat lagging around behind him, but you can tell he was none to thrilled.
My husband says no way can we keep both, and I wouldn't be able to find a good home for Mojo unless it was out on a farm, he's so antisocial!! Soooo I will be looking for a good home for the striped kitty.

I called my vet late last night, and he gave me some advice on the phone, but I'm going to try to make an appt Monday for him to look at the cat, I don't know enough about treating cat injuries to deal with this.

The swelling is down a bit, it looks like an injury and the swelling is soft, not red and not hot like infection. It's weird, to say the least. I'm sure a round of antibiotics won't hurt him. I'm hoping the Humane Society will take him in, I hate taking animals to the Animal Shelter when I know they will make wonderful companions.

Stargazer · #4 (**permalink**) 05-05-2007, 02:41 PM

Reptscue would probably know what that bump is. If the swelling went down, probably not an abcess. Maybe an insect bite?

Seriously cute kitty. It's gotta be hard to give him up! I only hope it's a no-kill shelter.

amercnwmn · #5 (**permalink**) 05-05-2007, 04:42 PM

You know, its crazy it looks a LOT like a venomous snakebite.
The vet mentioned lancing it, but I'm scared to do that not knowing what actually CAUSED it. On the off chance it WAS a venomous bite, lancing it would be a BAD idea.
Besides, I'd rather the vet do it..LOL
The vet advised a dosage of benadryl for me to try at home, if that helps, we'll know it wasn't an infection, and just a reaction. If it makes no difference then the vet gave me alternate advice and he'll see him Friday.
They seem to think it's something that will heal easily if I keep it clean and follow their instructions, so I'm going to try not to worry in the meantime.
*sigh*

Stargazer · #6 (**permalink**) 05-05-2007, 04:49 PM

How can you not keep him now? That is just too cute. I am betting you keep him!

amercnwmn · #7 (**permalink**) 05-05-2007, 10:39 PM

LOL!! I bet we don't I wish we could. I really like him better (personality wise) than my cat, Mojo. Mojo was just meant to be a farm cat, and out mousing lol

The good news is the sore was apparently a cat bite puncture wound (probably Mojo)
My mom's neighbor lanced it, and told me how to treat him with a round of antibiotics (she's a vet) At first nothing drained, but she said it would and to keep it clean and let it drain for 24hrs. So I went to a soccer game, came back and the swelling is completely gone!

Although I think I need to rewash the clean clothes, as apparently he took a nap on them and all that gunk drained onto my clean clothes!!!

Reptscue · #8 (**permalink**) 05-05-2007, 11:00 PM

Looks like the classic cat bite abscess... It needs to be lanced in the lowest part of the abscess, but still in the soft area. Antibiotics are needed and a FelV/FIV test needs to be ran in about 4 months.

And I will not scold you for letting your kitty outdoors......

Stargazer · #9 (**permalink**) 05-05-2007, 11:00 PM

How lucky is that, having a vet living right next door to a family member? You can't possibly give little Tigger to the shelter? Especially now that he has a name? lol

Stargazer · #10 (**permalink**) 05-05-2007, 11:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reptscue

Looks like the classic cat bite abscess... It needs to be lanced in the lowest part of the abscess, but still in the soft area. Antibiotics are needed and a FelV/FIV test needs to be ran in about 4 months.
And I will not scold you for letting your kitty outdoors......

Reptscue, could they do the FIV/FeLV tests now and again in 4 months? That cat may already be carrying something before the bite, and then it would be a risk to their other cat.

Reptscue · #11 (**permalink**) 05-05-2007, 11:51 PM

Yes that would be recommended to do, but some people don't have $100 to spend on just the two tests. (that's what we charge)

amercnwmn · #12 (**permalink**) 05-06-2007, 01:33 AM

If my cat is the one that bit him..Honestly I don't know. Mojo is more of a scratcher when he attacks..but who knows? This cat has had this swelling and injury since I've seen him in the neighborhood (about 1wk and a half-2wks ago). Poor kitty.
Well he's on some antibiotics, and the swelling is gone for now. We'll see what happens, although I can't keep him.

There are a few males hanging around, and usually Mojo stays clear of the other strays in the neighborhood. The only cat I let him around is the white one, which is a familiar, and even then THAT didnt go well, he is primarily an indoor cat, and takes opportunities to shoot outdoors when I'm occupied. He never goes far, and this cat just followed him right in..crazy.

Stargazer · #13 (**permalink**) 05-11-2007, 01:12 AM

If I'm not mistaken (correct me Reptscue), Mojo could get FIV or FeLV by biting the other cat (not just the other way around).

So did you decide to keep Tigger? I'm hopin.

RevMojo · #14 (**permalink**) 05-11-2007, 01:57 AM

I thought BB gun wound when I looked at it, but I'll defer to the experts.

RevMojo · #15 (**permalink**) 05-11-2007, 01:59 AM

Oh, and you should not only keep Mojo, but should spoil him thoroughly as well.

amercnwmn · #16 (**permalink**) 05-11-2007, 03:51 AM

Mojo is my black magick kitty :P
The one I've had since he was a kitten. He's not going anywhere, despite his ill temper.

This little tiger striped one, I have determined, belongs to a family up the road. I saw him in their window and I stopped in to ask them about him.

For one, I wanted to find out why the heck the infection was allowed to go a MONTH to tennis ball proportions and I had to be the one to treat him!
I also wanted to make sure they send someone down to get a small dose (enough for 10days) of antibiotics I had for him to complete his rounds, and let them know he needed to be spayed/neutered at the free clinic.

They were not the least bit friendly and threatened me with bodily injury if I messed with "their cat" again. At which point I informed them the cat can essentially be considered a "stray" since it had NO ID, no rabies ID, no one claiming ownership to the signs the kids posted for me, and that the animal was obviously neglected for a month of vet treatment of which I had pictures of...and that I COULD HAVE contacted local animal authorities and informed them of the cat's ownership. They didn't QUITE know WHAT to say, and sent their son down to pick up the extra medicine I had.
I went BACK with him to let them know that if the cat was out and came back to me, I would be keeping him indoors for the rest of the antibiotic round (about 4-5days), in order to PROPERLY treat him for the infection, as well as taking him to be evaluated at the vet and they'd be responsible for the bill (which was sort of an empty threat..but it worked)
I also informed them if I caught him out again, I would be taking him to a spay neuter clinic which I would release him into their care AFTER he was thoroughly treated and they paid me the money back for the vet trip....
However, IF they wanted to, they could treat him, but they needed to keep him inside, and if he seemed to get worse, I'd be contacting Animal control.

I havent seen him out again since. We'll see what happens. He's a good cat, and quite honestly, I'd rather have him been a stray and me pay to fix him up and find him a good permanent home with a nice older family.

By city law, I can pick up any animal NOT ID'd by collar or Rabies vaccinations and take it to the free spay/neuter clinic for a free spay/neuter to prevent unwanted litters of animals. I try to take the cats in, just to keep the strays down in the area. So far I have taken only 1 in for spay/neuter that did not belong to me.

Stargazer · #17 (**permalink**) 05-11-2007, 04:07 AM

You are in the right. Sounds like they are really irresponsible owners. If the cat is not spayed or neutered, it's just a matter of time before there will be more cats around, and they multiply exponentially. It's also neglectful to let their cat be hurt without treating him. It may not be a bad idea to call animal control on them, but I don't know if the cat would fare any better in a shelter. How sad all the way around.

Adrya · #18 (**permalink**) 05-11-2007, 04:17 AM

Aww, that is such a sweet, beautiful kitty. Ya know, that's how we ended up with our 4th cat.. lol he came to us as a stray one night, starved, emaciated and beat up, begging for food, but he was so sweet and he's just a big teddy bear. He's a bit on the fat side and loves to loaf, but he just loves people!

Ursa Minor · #19 (**permalink**) 05-11-2007, 04:29 AM

Maybe a tick bite site???

amercnwmn · #20 (**permalink**) 05-11-2007, 01:21 PM

nope, it was DEFINITELY a cat bite, the puncture looked like someone stabbed him with a pencil. Cat bites are pretty nasty and get infected easily. Abcesses like this are pretty common with cat fights and bites.

If I called animal control, I would ask the cat remain with me and I be allowed to find a home for it. They would just take a report, and nothing would really be done about the cat's condition anyways since he's already on the mend. It was more or less a bluff against the owners, and hopefully it will work.

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