my indoor cat got outside and into a cat fight

the other day my cat got outside...i searched for her for 2 hours and finally she just ran into the house... she didnt act like anything was wrong and was doing fine...for a few days she just layed around, but i didnt think anything of it i just thought that she was being lazy...then on sunday morning i came home from work and noticed that she was laying in the same spot she was in when i had left for work...which is not unusal for her, so i went on and got ready to lay down, when i got back in the room to give her and her sister a kiss before i layed down she didnt kiss me back, so i KNEW something was wrong...when i picked her up she cried out so i put her down and she didnt move...I called the vet right away and they said for me to bring her in...so i drove her there and by the time i got her there her respirations were 200 times a minute...we sat her on the table and found a penny size open wound on her back hind leg, and then there was a pin size wound above it and more on the inside of her back leg. the vet gave me some pain meds, and antibiotic ointment, antibiotic PO and eyedrops, for the scratch on her eyelid. im really worried now, because her rabies shot was a few months overdue, and the doctor said we need to also be concerned about Feline Lukemia. Im just hoping that she will be okay. She is NOT liking taking her meds, and they are REALLY hard to give to her...and she keeps licking off her ointment on her wounds, so I called the vet back again today, and she said that it wouldnt hurt her but that the ointment wouldnt work if shes licking it off as soon as it gets on the wound, but i cant keep her from licking it...does anyone have any suggestions about how to keep her from licking it? im afraid its NOT gonna get better. Thanks! Kayla

Do you have an Elizabethan collar? They can be really helpful in preventing the cat from licking the wounded area.

no but i did think of it just dont know where to get one at...i live in a small town with no pet stores...?

just ask you vet - they should be able to supply you with one

poor darling, glad she made it home though

You probably will need one of those cone collars to put on her to keep her from licking the medicine - call your vet back. I'm surprised they didn't mentioned it when you called about her licking the medicine off the first time around.

Cat bites close up very quickly and its not surprising she got infection quickly. I'd worry too about rabies or FELV from those bites. The rabies being late won't really matter - but as soon as she's better get her shots updated ASAP.

Depending on the cat, or until you can get an E-Collar, a sturdy styrofoam plate works well too, cut a hole in the center, slip it over the head. Maybe have to cut more then just a hole to get it over the head but you can then tape it up.

ill try to find a e collar but if i cant i might try the other thing. thanks a lot.