Garfield...Baby...

I'll move this to the health forum.

What did the vet say they were?. They must have had an idea if they gave him cream and meds?

Can you take a picture of the sores on Baby so we can see them?

From the sound of things it might be a good idea to get a second opinion from another vet?.

Oh my goodness!!. That looks so painful

Do you mean the sore is spreading when you put the cream on?

If it was me i would be taking Baby back and telling the vet what you've just told us about it spreading, so is there anything else they can do?.

Keep looking in here because some of the others may have an idea what it could be after they see the picture.

Poor little boy, he must be so fed up if he's moping around Is that the only sore, or is there more on the other side of his face?.

Lots of healthy, healing coming over for him

I would definately ring the vet at least and explain what is happening. Is he scratching it? If so maybe one of those collar things could help to stop him doing it. My sisters cat had a problem with fleas as he had them but was allergic to them and he was not a very happy cat. I do think you should get back in touch with the vet if you can.

Your not bad at all. You took him to the vet and that's what counts.

Can you not ring the vet just to explain?

My cat looked exactly like this a few weeks ago. My vet also determined it was allergies, however she is thinking a food allergy. I really don't understand how your vet can make the assumption it is an allergy to grass with no testing.

My cat was given a steroid shot, prednisone, put on allergy medication and given special food.

Have you changed your cats food recently?

Firstly, stop putting the cream on it- he could be having a reaction to it, especially if it looks worse/ is spreading.

Can you please tell me the name and strengths of all the medications he's on? That would be really helpful!

Until you get him to the vet again (preferably another vet who can give you a second opinion!) please keep the cat inside. There are many pathogens/etc outdoors that will make an already sick kitty, worse. Also you do not want flies to get near your kitty right now because they can and will nip at the wound (Fly Bite) and can also lay maggots in the infection and well....trust me you don't want that!

How often is your kitty outside hon? Is he indoors/outdoors or completly outside? You're going to need to keep him inside until he heals. If the wound is spreading it could very well be the result of fly bite.

It looks to me right now that it has absessed (a very bad infection.) When it drains, is there any white, yellow or green puss comming out in addition to the bleeding? Also, do you have a way of taking your kitty's temperature. My guess would be he is also running a fever with this infection...if that's the case he will need some good fluids to keep him hydrated.

Until you can get him to the vet, go ahead and give him several droppers full of Pedialyte (i'm not sure if you have that in South Africa or not- but it's an electrolyte replacement fluid you can usually find it in most drug stores/grocery stores in the baby isle (the clear one is best so it won't stain the fur.) When you're ready to give him the fluids, use one hand to gently, but firmly scruff his neck and put pressure on him so that you're holding him down on the floor....then use the other hand to slowly put the dropper in the corner of his mouth and give him the fluids that way. (If he won't cooperate for you that way, wrap him in a blanket with only his head poking out- then give him hold him in one arm while giving the fluids with the other hand (it helps if you have two people- one to hold, one to give fluids.)

Can you do me a favor? Gently pull up on the scruff of your kitty's neck. Does his hide go back down quickly or does it stay up for a while? (If it stays up he's dehydrated). Also, peek inside of his mouth....what color are his gums right now? White means he's dehydrated.....pink is good. If he is really dehydrated he needs to go to the vet for eithor Sub-Q fluids (given under the skin) or an IV of fluids preferably with IV antibiotics as well.

Until you can get him to the vet you absolutely need to get an E-collar on him.
http://www.petplace.com/dogs/elizabe...ars/page1.aspx

If you can not afford an e-collar (you can get them at most vets offices and pet stores, they're not too expensive) then you can make your own temporary one. Get yourself a piece of very flexible plastic or cardboard then fashion it around your cat's neck. - you want it to be long enough that it hangs over his head quite a bit so if he tries to scratch at the wound he can't. Put a regular cat collar on your cat then poke holes in the bottom of the handmade collar (two right beside each other works best). Then take a Zip tie or a piece of string, pipe cleaner....and tie the e-collar to his regular collar (this will help prevent him from taking it off). Your cat needs to wear an e-collar be it storebought or homemade until he's completly healed. You also need to keep him indoors while wearing this because he will not be able to hunt or defend himself outside with this on. If you want to make a homemade e-collar, this website has some good suggestions in the last paragraph. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-e-collar.htm (Be sure whatever you secure it to his regular collar with, you trim the excess so it doesn't poke or irritate him )

While he's wearing the e-collar be sure you elevate his food and water so that he can get to it. If you have a covered litter pan - take the top off of it while he's wearing the e-collar. (he'll be clumsy with it on, so expect him to run into things...he'll get better with time). Also, is he eating/drinking like normal? What and how much are you feeding him right now? What kind of kitty litter are you using in his litter box? (it can matter if he has allergies.) Also, are you feeding/watering him out of a plastic dish or a ceramic or stainless steel ones? Sometimes cats can have allergies/irritations to plastic....so stainless steel and ceramic are usually better.

Please get him to another vet asap though hon....he needs to have that wound cleaned at least 3-4 times a day with a good surgical wash....(Betadine works well if they have it) and he also needs a topical antibiotic steriod ointment for that wound. If I were his vet I would also give him a liquid or pill antibiotic like Amoxicillin (Amoxi Drops), Clavamox, Baytril, or Cephalexin (K-flex). He needs to be treated ASAP though before the infection spreads. If it's not treated promptly, it can spread internally into his blood stream and make your kitty septic and very ill. (Not trying to scare you, just help and make sure you understand the concerns). This kitty also needs to have the fur around the infected areas clipped off so the wounds can heal better.

If you need anything please feel free to pm me!

Excellent!! We can clearly see how much Baby means to you, so your doing the right thing. Nikki (StarryEyedTiger) will be back on at some point to look over your answers

You are not stupid! You are a concerned pet owner who is trying to help her kitty I'm glad to hear you're going to take her to a different vet- that's wonderful! Please keep us posted how that goes hon! Lots of vibes headed that way for the new vet to give him something that works well!

Please go ahead and switch his plastic food bowls out for eithor stainless steel or ceramic if you can.

I've never heard of eithor of those medications, but it could be that they're calling it by a different name than what we have here in the USA.

Betadine is best to clean his wounds with - be sure you dilute it with water (it only takes a little betadine!) and apply it very gently to the wounds to clean them out 3-4 times a day. I ALWAYS add a little bit of sugar to my betadine scrubs when i'm dealing with open wounds- it makes the healing process much quicker! If some of the sores are in areas that you can gently wrap then what I'd suggest if soaking a few pieces of gauze in the betadine/sugar mixture and then applying it to the wound and gently wrapping around it. It will very rapidly speed up the healing process. I've usd that mixture numerous times when dealing with severe wounds/absesses when I used to work for animal control. (make sure the vet shows you how to do this, otherwise if you wrap the wound wrong you can cut off the circulation).Make sure the new vet clips the areas around the wounds before you do this though so you're not getting fur into the infections.

As far as his food goes, neithor Friskies nor Wiskas are that nutritionally well rounded judging based on the ingredients of the products sold here. Do you by chance have Meow Mix Market Selects in your pet or grocery store? Those are a little less expensive than other soft foods, and have very good ingredients. They're a great comprimise! Also if you have access to something like Iams or Hills Science Diet- those are good too. (I personally feed mine Nutro, but i'm not sure if you have that there- it's a very good mid-price ranged food....if it's a little out of your budget tough, Iams and things like that are good too!) If you switch foods, do it very gradually so you don't upset the kitty's stomach....add a little of the new one each day to the old food then slowly increase the new and decrease the old over a few days so kitty adjusts better. It is perfectly fine to give them wet food in addition to their dry foood (wet is acutally prefered depending on the situation and the nutritional content).Keep in mind that the cat could also have an allergy to glutin or something else in the food, so you may have to do a glutin free diet if need be...talk to your vet first and see what he says though. As far as cat food goes though, I am not the expert on it...just judging based on knowledge/research. If you want to talk to someone else on TCS about feline nutrition, i'm sure that Jen (Sharky) would be more than happy to help you out! She is wonderful as far as nutrition goes

As far as his neck goes- is it an open wound or just rough, irritated skin? If you can not get an e-collar on his neck, you can get him a cat harness (it goes around their body) and fashion the e-collar so that it goes around the harness in a modified way instead. Please put an e-collar on him though he needs one. If the skin around his neck isn't broken....you can apply a topical ointment to it (like neosporin) and then very gently put a layer of soft gauze between him and the e-collar/collar.

What a brilliant update!! Yes, we have some wonderful, helpful members on this site You should spread the word about TCS at your vets, you never know they may pay us a visit

So who gave you the bowls and the food, was it the vets?.

We look forward to seeing more of Baby

Oh my goodness what a huge improvement!! I love the sound of this vet, so stick with him

Wait until Nikki sees the update and new picture

Your story has brought tears to my eyes. What a lovely and caring vet. If only there were more of them around.

Aww Sharon- I am soo happy to see such a wonderful update! You just made my day! I was worrying over your kitty all day yesterday and hoping everything went well at the vet's office!

Your new vet sounds like a terrific and very compassionate person. We need more people like that in this world! What a wonderful thing he did for you and your baby! I bet it feels like a huge weight lifted off of you

I am glad the new vet thought enough to clean the wounds properly! (that makes such a huge difference in the recovery process!). He already looks a lot better in the new picture!

You're kitty is lucky to have you and your husband (and a wonderful new vet) to look after him! Many vibes headed that way for a full recovery!! I am soo thrilled over this update

Also glad to hear about the new bowls and food and that he was thorough enough to run bloodwork (that will really help!)- that is so great!


You're right Susan! I was soo thrilled to see this update!!!

How's Baby doing today?.

That's fantastic Sharon! Give Baby a hug from all of us for being a brave little girl