How do you know when to take your animal to the vet? I went home for lunch and noticed something odd about Chloe's back leg. I finally got a good look, and what I had seen from a distance was a gash her in her leg. No longer bleeding, but apparently fresh - it wasn't there when I left this morning. I have no idea what happened. She is not limping, no crying.... do I let it go and heal itself? Do I do anything to help? AAUUUUGGHHH !!! I don't know what to do!
Daily Kitten Chat Forum » Cats & Kittens
Injury question
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I would take her to the vet, at the very least to put her on antibiotics. Is is possible she had an abcess that burst?
Posted 4 years ago by CatRancher #
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If I were you, I'd try to clean it up a bit and put on some antibiotic ointment. You should try to get a better look, and see if it looks deep or shallow.
If it's shallow, it'll cause her some discomfort, but chances are it won't be dangerous to her as long as it's kept relatively clean.
If it's deep, but she's not limping or showing obvious discomfort, I'd clean it and put on ointment daily. If it shows *any* sign of becoming infected, such as pus, drainage or inflammation, I'd take her to the vet and probably pick up antibiotics.
If it's a puncture wound, I'd keep a very close eye on it. These are the ones that tend to abscess, since the infection doesn't really have anywhere to drain. Luckily, cats seem to be pretty good about healing, but puncture wounds can be problematic. Clean it as best you can.
Posted 4 years ago by anncetera2 #
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OP, I have used neosporin on my cats and have had no ill effects. Clean it with peroxide. Depending on how thick her coat is you might want to trim away the hair from around the gash. Keep a very close eye on it and when in doubt, take her to the vet. Also look around the house and see if you can find what she cut herself on and deal with it.
Poor chloe you will need to give her some treats for being a good girl after you get her leg cleaned and dressed
Posted 4 years ago by KYKAT 12 23 #
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OK.. I have peroxide and Neosporin. She has short hair, so that should help. I have already searched the house and can't come up with anything... unless she got in the recycle container under the sink. I use an empty kitty litter bucket... and there was a can with open lid there. I don't see any blood anywhere though. Only on the cloth that covers the sewing machine where she likes to lay and look out the window, and the amount is minimal.
I'll see if I can get a better look and do the cleaning/medicating tonight.
Thanks ppearson...
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One Popoki, I'd cut the peroxide 50/50 with water (sterile water if you've got any). Straight peroxide can be a little harsh on living tissues, and the amount of bubbling might startle your cat a bit.
Posted 4 years ago by anncetera2 #
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Oh poor Chloe. Sounds like you have it all covered. Healing thoughts for Chloe.
Posted 4 years ago by SylvesterMiasMomma #
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if you don't have sterile water boil it for atleast 10 min
Posted 4 years ago by TheKnittingNinja #
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Also watch for any drainage, clear is good, as that means it is just body fluid, But if you get any cloudy or colored drainage take her to the vet ASAP as that is an infection. BTW if it is a puncture wound take her to the vet, that requires antibiotics and punctures are perfect breeding places for anaerobic bacteria which are much harder to kill.
Posted 4 years ago by TheKnittingNinja #
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I'll have to get a good close look ... the wound is about 1 to 1 1/2 inches long. The only other possibility I can even think of is she got burned on the iron this morning. I need to look at the iron when I get home.. see if there is any clue there.
I'll check back here later. Time to go home, and then off to visit Dad and on to class. Thanks all for the words of advice.
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OP,
If you have or can get Panalog is what I have always used on my pets. It's and antibiotic for animals whether deep or not, and apparently won't hurt them if they lick it.
I know this is late.
Good luck.Posted 4 years ago by artistabobbi TX 1/17 #
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Putting on ointment and a dressing didn't work. LOL plus she licked the ointment off and started it bleeding again. I'm going to let her be tonight and see how it goes tomorrow. She doesn't favor it and has stopped licking it for now. I'll check into Panalog tomorrow.
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I had help last night cleaning it (peroxide and water) and trying to wrap her leg in a bandage.. uh... that was interesting. No wrap on her leg. LOL Looked at this morning and it looks pretty good. For now I'll just watch it for infection.
I was also the 'nervous mom'... the cut isn't as long as I though.. maybe an inch at the most. Friend who helped is a nurse and she didn't seem to think it was that deep.
No more active bleeding and it hasn't stopped her from running and jumping. Thanks again !!!
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I don't generally apply a bandage unless I'm also going to use an Elizabethan collar. I just try and paste as much antibiotic ointment into the wound as possible, figuring the cat won't be able to lick each and every molecule of it out. Bandanges just drive them completely nuts, and it's usually more hassle than it's worth, except for large surface injuries (in which case you'd be taking the cat to the vet).
I've never tried something like Bitter Apple spray on the outside of a bandage. I wonder if that would work any better (bitter) than an Elizabethan collar...
Posted 4 years ago by anncetera2 #
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Update... leg is doing great. Healing on it's own, no sign of infection. I finally found the cause ! I had large glass candle holder on the floor... she must have jumped off of the speaker or the shelves and hit it just right; broke the glass and cut her leg. No blood at the site though, so she didn't bleed a great deal. If she did, she licked it clean rapidly !
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I'm so glad to hear Chloe's doing well! It sounds as if it was a very clean and shallow cut (a shard of glass slices much like a scalpel), so she should heal up well with minimal to no intervention. Just check it morning and night to make sure it doesn't look like it's getting infected.
Posted 4 years ago by anncetera2 #
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