Question for pet people - UPDATE post 22

[Bensmom]

A new cat adopted my family several months ago. We had him neutered and got his shots. He is young and healthy. Because we already have three indoor cats, Junior stays outside. (He has a lovely heated cat house).

 

Three weeks ago he was in some sort of fight during the night and he was injured. I heard it and went outside but didn't see any other animal. He seemed fine the next morning. About a week after this nighttime altercation, he was limping and I noticed a small sore on his foot. (He has long, thick fur so maybe it was there all along and I missed it?) I took him to the vet and it turns out this rather small wound on his foot was infected. The vet cleaned it and gave him a shot of antibiotic. He seemed much improved and has been running around and the wound looked like it was healing. Yesterday the area around it looked red and angry and he started holding it up and was unwilling to put weight on it. I called the vet and made an appointment for early this morning. During the night the wound came open and was weepy this morning when I took him in to the vet.

 

The vet just called and apologized. She said she was ill today and had to leave work without examining Junior. She did give him another antibiotic shot. She has him crated and will see him in the morning.

 

I didn't want to ask her too many questions because she hasn't had a chance to really look at him yet and she was feeling pretty miserable. I am concerned though. Can any pet owners offer some BTDT commentary? Any thought on why a small wound hasn't healed in almost 3 weeks even with antibiotic 2 weeks ago? Is this normal? It seems odd to me. Years ago we rescued a cat with injuries that didn't heal because he had an autoimmune disease (diagnosed after death). We had to have him put down. I guess I am just extra worried that something like that is going on with Junior😕

Edited March 9, 2017 by Bensmom

[Catwoman]

I wouldn't be happy that my cat was being left alone all night without having been examined, and I think the vet should have offered to let you pick him up and take him to a different vet tonight.

[OneStepAtATime]

Did you have blood work done to confirm if he has Feline Aids?

[Bensmom]

I wouldn't be happy that my cat was being left alone all night without having been examined, and I think the vet should have offered to let you pick him up and take him to a different vet tonight.

I am not thrilled about how she handled it either. She has been our vet for years and nothing like this has ever happened. I think she was just really ill today and not thinking clearly. When she called me, she was not at the office anymore; she was driving home. She was that anxious to get home and in bed.

[Bensmom]

When we had his shots done, he tested negative for feline leukemia. The cat we rescued several years ago also tested negative but had another disorder that prevented healing.

[fraidycat]

I'll tell you our crazy "the cat came back the very next day" (do you remember that song?) story.

 

We lived on a farm and had strays show up that became our barn cats. One got sick and my little sister would not stop playing with it. It kept getting worse over a couple weeks, so my Dad took it to the pasture to the rock pile to "put it down". He shot it clean through the neck. That dang cat showed up for supper at the barn about 4 or 5 days later. You could see where it had been shot, because whatever infection she had had drained right out of the gunshot wounds down her neck and crusted her fur. She was suddenly healthier from the illness, no more snotty nose and eyes, or general puffiness, and healing from the gsw. We cleaned her fur with a warm, wet cloth and she happily lived for another several years being hauled around the farm by my little sister like a baby. The open wound allowed her infection a way "out".

 

I hope it's the same outcome for Junior.

[Bensmom]

I'll tell you our crazy "the cat came back the very next day" (do you remember that song?) story.

 

We lived on a farm and had strays show up that became our barn cats. One got sick and my little sister would not stop playing with it. It kept getting worse over a couple weeks, so my Dad took it to the pasture to the rock pile to "put it down". He shot it clean through the neck. That dang cat showed up for supper at the barn about 4 or 5 days later. You could see where it had been shot, because whatever infection she had had drained right out of the gunshot wounds down her neck and crusted her fur. She was suddenly healthier from the illness, no more snotty nose and eyes, or general puffiness, and healing from the gsw. We cleaned her fur with a warm, wet cloth and she happily lived for another several years being hauled around the farm by my little sister like a baby. The open wound allowed her infection a way "out".

 

I hope it's the same outcome for Junior.

 

 

 

OMG!😳. That is amazing. Kinda creepy, but amazing!

Edited March 7, 2017 by Bensmom

[J-rap]

Maybe he was licking it and that's what opened it up again and caused it to become infected again?  He may need to wear one of those plastic shields for a few days to keep him from licking it, and kept in the garage or somewhere during that time where you can keep a closer eye on him.

 

Keep us posted!  

 

 

[OneStepAtATime]

When we had his shots done, he tested negative for feline leukemia. The cat we rescued several years ago also tested negative but had another disorder that prevented healing.

What about Feline AIDS? Did they test for that too? Normally they test for both of they run that kind of blood work but not always.

Edited March 7, 2017 by OneStepAtATime

[Bensmom]

What about Feline AIDS? Did they test for that too? Normally they test for both of they run that kind of blood work but not always.

Hmmm. I thought feline leukemia and feline AIDS were the same thing. I guess I am not sure what tests he had then. I just remember he was given a clean bill of health. Maybe they didn't test for both?

[OneStepAtATime]

They are not the same disease. I would have them run blood work again anyway. Outside cats are highly susceptible to both.

[OneStepAtATime]

And hugs. Hoping kitty gets better.

[Terabith]

Most of the time when my cats have had to get a shot of antibiotics, it's been followed by a course of oral antibiotics, too.  May just not have been enough to knock the infection completely out.  Abscesses from cat fights are nasty.  I wouldn't jump to their being ill with kitty leukemia or AIDS or whatever. 

[Jann in TX]

Seems to be the normal progression for a puncture wound...

Vets try antibiotics first-- but (in our experience) it is not uncommon for them to need a 'surgical drain' in order to heal.

 

Our cat is 18 yrs old and has had his share of puncture wounds... all but one needed a surgical drain of some sort.

 

 

[nevergiveup]

There could be something stuck in the wound that is keeping it from healing.

[Pawz4me]

Abscesses are more often difficult to get cleared up than easy, and how they heal has a lot to do with how well the area is cleaned and drained initially. I don't know, but my guess is the foot area would present some challenges cleaning and draining. If he were my cat I would assume this is a relatively normal complication to a nasty abscess. I hope he (and your vet) are feeling better soon!

[ktgrok]

Abscesses are more often difficult to get cleared up than easy, and how they heal has a lot to do with how well the area is cleaned and drained initially. I don't know, but my guess is the foot area would present some challenges cleaning and draining. If he were my cat I would assume this is a relatively normal complication to a nasty abscess. I hope he (and your vet) are feeling better soon!

 

Yes, they are a pain. Basically, the skin tends to heal faster than the underlying wound, so bacteria gets trapped under there. The best course of action is to flush it on a daily basis, to keep it open while it heals. 

[Catwoman]

Any updates on Junior? I hope he's doing better today!

[Cinder]

Most of the time when my cats have had to get a shot of antibiotics, it's been followed by a course of oral antibiotics, too.  May just not have been enough to knock the infection completely out. 

 

This is what our cat got when he had an infected open wound. He was also a stray that adopted us and when we took him to the vet, the vet found a bb pellet in the cat's leg and he thought that's what caused the infection. Anyway, cat was given an antibiotic shot and we had to give oral antibiotics as well. His infection cleared after one round of treatment. (Side note: the bb was never removed and caused no further infection.)

[xixstar]

We have an indoor/outdoor cat that decided we were its family one day. She gets into a lot of fights and has had quite the list of injuries.

 

She has gotten some infect absesses before that we're pretty gross. We just cleaned them the best we could and use an antibiotic ointment. It took a couple weeks to fully heal and that was on top of her head. I imagine a foot injury will take even longer to heal but will eventually with care.

 

Sorry you don't have the option to keep the cat inside until it gets better - that has helped our cat heal (we could make her stop scratching and also prevent further injury from more fighting) but makes the cat annoyed because she wants to be outside.

[Reefgazer]

Could be anything - resistance to the antibiotic, needs a longer course of antibiotics, re-injured the wound....

A new cat adopted my family several months ago. We had him neutered and got his shots. He is young and healthy. Because we already have three indoor cats, Junior stays outside. (He has a lovely heated cat house).

Three weeks ago he was in some sort of fight during the night and he was injured. I heard it and went outside but didn't see any other animal. He seemed fine the next morning. About a week after this nighttime altercation, he was limping and I noticed a small sore on his foot. (He has long, thick fur so maybe it was there all along and I missed it?) I took him to the vet and it turns out this rather small wound on his foot was infected. The vet cleaned it and gave him a shot of antibiotic. He seemed much improved and has been running around and the wound looked like it was healing. Yesterday the area around it looked red and angry and he started holding it up and was unwilling to put weight on it. I called the vet and made an appointment for early this morning. During the night the wound came open and was weepy this morning when I took him in to the vet.

The vet just called and apologized. She said she was ill today and had to leave work without examining Junior. She did give him another antibiotic shot. She has him crated and will see him in the morning.

I didn't want to ask her too many questions because she hasn't had a chance to really look at him yet and she was feeling pretty miserable. I am concerned though. Can any pet owners offer some BTDT commentary? Any thought on why a small wound hasn't healed in almost 3 weeks even with antibiotic 2 weeks ago? Is this normal? It seems odd to me. Years ago we rescued a cat with injuries that didn't heal because he had an autoimmune disease (diagnosed after death). We had to have him put down. I guess I am just extra worried that something like that is going on with Junior😕

 

[Bensmom]

Thank-you for all of your responses. Junior spent another night at the vet's but is back home now and doing well. The wound looks bigger than before because the vet had to cut away some dead skin (it was yucky under the surface), but she feels confident that he is well on his way to a full recovery. He will be on antibiotics for another week and will be crated in the garage at night from now on.

My Dh just rolled his eyes and mumbled something like, "Here we go again." Dh is convinced that the natural progression is: 1)stray cat appears in yard, 2)we feed stray cat, 3)we decided to get stray neutered and shots, 4) we build stray a new climate-controlled delux cat house, 5) delux cat house is not good enough so stray needs in the garage at night, 6)stray occasionally comes inside for brief periods, 7)stray stays inside for longer periods, 8)stray is sleeping in my bed at throwing up hair balls for me to step on in the middle of the night.

 

Yep. "Here we go again!"😽

[Ailaena]

I'm pretty sure that sequence is how most cats join families, except people usually tend to skip the whole outdoor, heated thing and go straight to garage then house ;)

[Catwoman]

Thank you for the update, and enjoy your new house cat! :laugh:

[Anne in CA]

I'll tell you our crazy "the cat came back the very next day" (do you remember that song?) story.

 

We lived on a farm and had strays show up that became our barn cats. One got sick and my little sister would not stop playing with it. It kept getting worse over a couple weeks, so my Dad took it to the pasture to the rock pile to "put it down". He shot it clean through the neck. That dang cat showed up for supper at the barn about 4 or 5 days later. You could see where it had been shot, because whatever infection she had had drained right out of the gunshot wounds down her neck and crusted her fur. She was suddenly healthier from the illness, no more snotty nose and eyes, or general puffiness, and healing from the gsw. We cleaned her fur with a warm, wet cloth and she happily lived for another several years being hauled around the farm by my little sister like a baby. The open wound allowed her infection a way "out".

 

I hope it's the same outcome for Junior.

My dh had a favorite cat as a teen. One day he came home from school and was told that his cat had been run over. A neighbor who saw it had put the cat in a shoe box for him and he buried it in the back yard. The next week his cat came back. On Halloween. It was solid black. He was seriously freaked out. He must have buried someone else's cat, but the neighbor had seen the cat escape from his window before it got hit by the car so... super weird. But your story even tops his, lol.