Emergency!! Advice needed!!!

diego · Jun 28, 2007

Originally Posted by Danger_Mouse

Nope highly unlikely, although the best person to answer that would be DIEGO, he's ex military "hope he doesnt mind me telln u that"

I must have missed that post.
If she had been shot, given the size described, it would have to be an exit wound, which means somewhere in the front would be an entry wound.

Originally Posted by Brittany_Nicole

A parasite would have to have been living off of the cat for a long time if that was the case.

Pregnancy is what 3 months or so? thats a long time for a parasite to burrow down that deep. But I haven't a clue, I would imagine absess or spider bite, like everyone else.

This may sound bad but, I am more concerned about the kittens. I mean the cat is being looked after now and I'm certain nothing serious will happen before the cat is taken to the vet. My understanding is Kevin has had the mum for 3 or 4 days at a guess, that means the kittens will be starving, cold and perhaps more likely now, dead. I pray that they are not and that Kevin can find them.

brittany_nicole · Jun 28, 2007

Originally Posted by DIEGO

This may sound bad but, I am more concerned about the kittens. I mean the cat is being looked after now and I'm certain nothing serious will happen before the cat is taken to the vet. My understanding is Kevin has had the mum for 3 or 4 days at a guess, that means the kittens will be starving, cold and perhaps more likely now, dead. I pray that they are not and that Kevin can find them.

I agree. The kittens need to be found as soon as possible. Maybe they were taken in? He said that the mom was left at his door.. maybe the owner dumped the mom and kept the kittens? I hope they are alright.

Pregnancy is what 3 months or so? thats a long time for a parasite to burrow down that deep.

Haha. I forgot about that. I think all I was thinking about was the few days he had her.

I wonder if the hole was there the day he took her in? If it was a parasite wouldn't it have been obvious when he first looked at her? Also, would the parasite leave on it's own? I always thought parasites just stayed there until someone removed them.

diego · Jun 28, 2007

Originally Posted by Brittany_Nicole

I agree. The kittens need to be found as soon as possible. Maybe they were taken in? He said that the mom was left at his door.. maybe the owner dumped the mom and kept the kittens? I hope they are alright.

Haha. I forgot about that. I think all I was thinking about was the few days he had her.

I wonder if the hole was there the day he took her in? If it was a parasite wouldn't it have been obvious when he first looked at her? Also, would the parasite leave on it's own? I always thought parasites just stayed there until someone removed them.

I'm not sure of spider bites, but could anything make a hole that big after the day he took her in? if there is something that can make a hole like that in a matter of days thats scary. If it is/was a parasite it could very well still be there, I think Kevin might have simply missed it at first, while he was trying to settle her in. But only the vet will know for sure.
It would be good to see a picture. Its really intriguing

caitscats · Jun 28, 2007

Hi,
I am not a vet and am only giving my opinion, but it sounds to me as if an animal has gotten at her.
I found a kitten a couple of months back whom had been attacked by a racoon or something. She had holes every where. I took her to the vets office and they stitched her up. BAD IDEA. You'd think a vet would know better then to stich an animal up that was attacked by a wild animal! I didn't know until I talked to my sister who is a vets assistant that you do not sew up a punture wound- only if it is torn- as it will lock the infection in.
This kitten was only about two weeks old. I called him Lukoki and did my best taking care of him. He died because the infection couldn't get out of his body. The night he died I felt a HUGE lump at one of the places that were sown up and when I pushed on it a little bit very fowl smelling puss started to seep out of the other holes that were stitched and out of his nose as well. It was possible for him to still be here today if the vet knew what she was doing and if she had given me some antibiotics (which I requested) to take care of the infection.
Because she was limping and away from her kittens that also makes me suspicious that maybe a wild animal came to eat her kittens and she tried to fight the animal back (getting hurt in the process) and losing her kittens also which is why she left them (which a mother cat VERY RARLEY does).

It's great you took this kitty in- your a very good person.
Take care
Caitlin

MoochNNoodles · Jun 28, 2007

Originally Posted by laureen227

hmmmmm..... if she were a tom, i'd agree. one of the feral toms in my colony had a wound right between the shoulder blades that i feel certain was from a fight. but i've never seen one on a female...

My RB girl Glory had a large hole (I could see muscles and stuff!) under her neck, but not the shoulders. I hope you've been able to get the kitty to a vet!

libby74 · Jun 28, 2007

I just found this thread, and I have to say you are an angel for helping this poor girl. I'm afraid some people would have discovered a problem and said 'out you go!' (the body stocking was a great idea, BTW)

My first thought was an infection from a male's 'love bite' as well. The suds when you washed it have me puzzled, tho.

Hopefully, by the time I've posted this you've had your new girl to the vet and been told she's going to be ok. Sending (((healing vibes))) to her, and (((BIG HUGS))) to you; sounds like you're going to be a great cat-Daddy.

skoshkie · Jun 28, 2007

Just wanted to offer support! I hope everything is going well and that the vet has some answers for you.

brittany_nicole · Jun 28, 2007

Originally Posted by DIEGO

I'm not sure of spider bites, but could anything make a hole that big after the day he took her in? if there is something that can make a hole like that in a matter of days thats scary. If it is/was a parasite it could very well still be there, I think Kevin might have simply missed it at first, while he was trying to settle her in. But only the vet will know for sure.
It would be good to see a picture. Its really intriguing

I'm pretty sure Brown Recluse bites can eat away the flesh in a really short amount of time, but a hole that deep? Maybe the reaction to the bite is worse in cats than in humans.

Hi,
I am not a vet and am only giving my opinion, but it sounds to me as if an animal has gotten at her.

That is a good theory but I would think the cat would have more than one hole and other signs of being in a cat fight. I still the the 'love bite' idea but as libby said, where did the suds come from?

beandip · Jun 28, 2007

Originally Posted by Brittany_Nicole

I'm pretty sure Brown Recluse bites can eat away the flesh in a really short amount of time, but a hole that deep? Maybe the reaction to the bite is worse in cats than in humans.

Once those bites are left untreated for more than say, 24 hours...one can expect some major tissue damage within days. I would not be surprised to see the muscle.

sarahp · Jun 28, 2007

Just checking for updates, hope she's ok!

danger_mouse · Jun 28, 2007

hows your new pet doing? any update about what was wrong?

kevin63 · Jun 28, 2007

Thank you guys for all the help. I did take the cat to the vet this morning and they knew exactly what it was - a blow fly! They didn't close the hole up, so I do still have to take care of her at home for awhile to keep it clean and watch for infection. She has decent odds if it doesn't infect. She's got some antibiotics to take daily and I'm hoping for the best. The hardest part is just looking at that hole. I have a weak stomach and it's very hard for me. There is a hole all the way into her body cavity. When she's standing up and that big muscle moves out of the way, you can literally see what appears to be organs way down inside this hole. It's not bloody or anything. It's actually hollow in there and it's enough to freak me out. It's not something I ever want to see again in my life. I did try to take some pictures, but they didn't turn out very well. I just can't stand to look at it. If you want to see the ones I've taken, I put them on Photobucket. The pink you see is a large muscle that runs from her head towards her tail that sits right inside. I don't know officially what it is, but definitely a large muscle about as thick as my thumb. You may also be able to see two pink things sitting side by side in one picture. Not sure what they are. They move out of the way when she's standing up, so maybe part of her shoulders? Like I said, the pictures aren't very good.

http://s203.photobucket.com/albums/aa274/Kevin63photos/

I'll try to get someone else to take some better pictures if you guys REALLY want to see this thing. Maybe it would help someone in the future to see what kind of wound these blow flies can leave on a small animal. Apparently, these larvae know to exit animals in places they can't reach to scratch - so between the shoulder blades was a dead give-away to the vet. Most likely the cat's leg never had any injury at all. It was just the larvae between the shoulder blades causing pain and discomfort to her front leg. The larvae was probably erupting from the skin and the cat scratched it out and killed it leaving behind the sticky stuff I found on the back of her neck. It kind of reminded me of that sticky mess that slugs leave all over my porch. All of the hair that was sticky has now fallen out.

The cat has not shown any sign of being sick. Her gums are pink, she's eating like a horse, drinking water, using the bathroom, (and it's perfect) and purring and cleaning herself. She weighs six pounds and didn't have a fever when she was at the vet. They guess she's about four years old. I'll be watching her closely and hopefully she'll just heal up and this will be over. I'll definitely let you know if anything changes. You guys were so great to give me some advice and ideas and support last night and I hope this information might come in handy if anyone else ends up here with the same symptoms in their animal. The best description I can give is that it looked like this cat had a very clean bullet hole in her body. These blow flies apparently are common all over the United States. Scary..

Thanks again for all the help and I'll keep you updated.

Kevin

zissou'smom · Jun 28, 2007

Wow. I though flies laid eggs only in dead animals? Learn something new every day!

I'm glad your new kitty is doing so well! I would have a hard time looking at that too. Did you ever figure out what happened to her kittens?

What are you naming her?

karmasmom · Jun 29, 2007

I am so glad she will be okay

. You are doing a wonderful thing for her. So what is her name? Do you plan on keeping her inside from now on?

I did a little searching and found a link about Blow Flies. From what I read she probably had a superfisial wound and a fly layed her eggs and they matured, hence the whole.

Here is the link and a quote from the page.

http://ipm.ncsu.edu/AG369/notes/blow_flies.html

"As a rule, most blow fly larvae do not attack healthy tissue. Mature larvae of green-bottle flies, however, have been known to burrow deep into healthy tissue after spending earlier developmental stages in superficial wounds. Fortunately, this particular species is usually of minor importance in North Carolina."

brittany_nicole · Jun 29, 2007

A blow fly never even crossed my mind. Hopefully it heals quickly and you don't have to stare at that hole more than you need to. She really seems like a sweetheart.

epona · Jun 29, 2007

I've just seen this and am so glad that you got her to a vet and have antibiotics for her.

If there had been no clue yet I was going to suggest bot fly - the larval stage is parasitic and requires a warm body to hatch from the egg, then usually emerges from the neck or shoulders (in cattle and horses at least) leaving a large hole.

laurie314 · Jun 29, 2007

I never seen or heard of anything like this...a blow fly? New to me!
I hope your kitty gets better..and i hope you still are going to keep her.
Poor thing has been through the ringer. it is wonderful of you to take care of a stray like you did...alot of people do not want to bothered. Hats off to ya
Your great!!

lsulover · Jun 29, 2007

Originally Posted by Kevin63

Thank you guys for all the help. I did take the cat to the vet this morning and they knew exactly what it was - a blow fly! They didn't close the hole up, so I do still have to take care of her at home for awhile to keep it clean and watch for infection. She has decent odds if it doesn't infect. She's got some antibiotics to take daily and I'm hoping for the best. The hardest part is just looking at that hole. I have a weak stomach and it's very hard for me. There is a hole all the way into her body cavity. When she's standing up and that big muscle moves out of the way, you can literally see what appears to be organs way down inside this hole. It's not bloody or anything. It's actually hollow in there and it's enough to freak me out. It's not something I ever want to see again in my life. I did try to take some pictures, but they didn't turn out very well. I just can't stand to look at it. If you want to see the ones I've taken, I put them on Photobucket. The pink you see is a large muscle that runs from her head towards her tail that sits right inside. I don't know officially what it is, but definitely a large muscle about as thick as my thumb. You may also be able to see two pink things sitting side by side in one picture. Not sure what they are. They move out of the way when she's standing up, so maybe part of her shoulders? Like I said, the pictures aren't very good.

http://s203.photobucket.com/albums/aa274/Kevin63photos/

I'll try to get someone else to take some better pictures if you guys REALLY want to see this thing. Maybe it would help someone in the future to see what kind of wound these blow flies can leave on a small animal. Apparently, these larvae know to exit animals in places they can't reach to scratch - so between the shoulder blades was a dead give-away to the vet. Most likely the cat's leg never had any injury at all. It was just the larvae between the shoulder blades causing pain and discomfort to her front leg. The larvae was probably erupting from the skin and the cat scratched it out and killed it leaving behind the sticky stuff I found on the back of her neck. It kind of reminded me of that sticky mess that slugs leave all over my porch. All of the hair that was sticky has now fallen out.

The cat has not shown any sign of being sick. Her gums are pink, she's eating like a horse, drinking water, using the bathroom, (and it's perfect) and purring and cleaning herself. She weighs six pounds and didn't have a fever when she was at the vet. They guess she's about four years old. I'll be watching her closely and hopefully she'll just heal up and this will be over. I'll definitely let you know if anything changes. You guys were so great to give me some advice and ideas and support last night and I hope this information might come in handy if anyone else ends up here with the same symptoms in their animal. The best description I can give is that it looked like this cat had a very clean bullet hole in her body. These blow flies apparently are common all over the United States. Scary..

Thanks again for all the help and I'll keep you updated.

Kevin

Please keep us updated on the cat Kevin, you are an angel for helping out this kitty, I do hope that she is doing better.

renny · Jun 29, 2007

I've seen this before...we call them bot flies. The larvae burrow under the skin (between the skin and muscle) and leave the hole to breathe through. The eat the connective tissue between the muscle and the skin. The can grow to be about 1.2 inch wide and maybe an inch or so long. The reason the hole is so big...is because the bot has exited. That means it stretched the skin to get out. The host is rarely affected by the bots. I mean I've caught chipmunks and squirrels (bio research) with 4 or 5 at a time of these on their bellies.

The problem can come with kittens if they pick them up near their face or neck. I almost lost one kitty who had one near his neck and I didn't know. HE was given drontal and the larvae reacts badly to this and starts dying and secreting chemicals which almost killed the kitty. Luckily the bot fell out and the kitty recoved.

The good news for your kitty is: 1) you found her and are taking care of her and 2) that the bot is gone. With antibiotics and a clean environment she will recover fully from this.

thank you for caring for this kitty!

libby74 · Jun 29, 2007

Wow, I never would have thought of that! The poor baby; does she have a name yet?
I assume there's no drainage from her wound. Since it sounds particularly nasty to look at (nope, I'm not checking out the pics, thanks very much), maybe she could wear a doggy sweater?
I said it before, but it bears repeating--I think you're going to make a great cat-Daddy. Hopefully, your new girl will be an inside only cat (hint, hint) and recover from this ordeal with no problems.
BTW, did the vet confirm that she'd recently had kittens?
Sending loads of (((healing vibes))) to your girl.

Emergency!! Advice needed!!!

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