Rat got her tongue!

nekochan

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I had an awful scare today! Harlequin one of my "foster kittens" likes to lick the cage bars of my rats' cage for some reason and I always pick her up by the scruff and put her on the floor to discourage her. Well she did it today and I put her down and told her she better stop or she was going to get bitten. Well she jumped back up a few minutes later and then she was suddenly yowling and struggling! I ran over and one of the rats had Harlequin's tongue clamped in her jaws, the tongue was pulled through the cage bars and the rat was pulling and would not let go! I banged on the cage and got Harlequin's tongue free but she was bleeding all over... She leaped away and ran into the kitchen. I followed her and grabbed a paper towel. There was a trail of blood leading to the kitchen and a puddle underneath where she was crouching. I got to her and tried to stop the bleeding but there was so much blood I couldn't find the source to press the paper towel to it... I tried to put pressure on her tongue but it was very difficult. I finally found where the bite was, it was the underside of her tongue... There were splashes and puddles of blood all over the place.
I held paper towels on her tongue and it stopped bleeding as much but was swelling so I got the phone and called my vet, unfortunately she was in surgery so I couldn't talk to her but I told the receptionist I was bringing Harley in... When the vet looked at it there was a huge blood blister type thing underneath Harley's tongue and it was still bleeding a little. She said it can take quite a long time for it to fully form a clot. She gave Harley an anti-inflammatory shot to bring the swelling down and an antibiotic shot and sent us home with Clavamox. Poor Harley is resting on my bed now. I offered her some food but she wasn't interested. The vet didn't give her any painkillers because she thought if it didn't hurt Harley would probably get too rowdy and end up opening the wound again.
 

addiebee

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I'm sorry for your trauma and her's too! Unfortunately she had to learn the hard way that you were removing her for a good reason. Sighhhh...
! Kittens!


for her recovery.
 
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nekochan

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I feel so bad for Harley... She is obviously hurting. She hasn't drank any water or eaten that I've seen since we got home, she just is laying around (she's normally very active as she's a kitten). She also keeps making this little whining noise under her breath like she wants to cry but it hurts too much.
 

katgoddess

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Having been bit by hamsters before, all I can say is OUCH!!! Poor baby Harley.

I hope she feels better soon!

P.S. My hamster bites were always on my hands and they hurt.... a LOT! I can't imagine on the tongue, ouchhh.
 

jellybella

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That is a painful lession to learn!

that she bounces back and learns that licking the rat cage is a
 

tab

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poor little mite! sending tons of healing for a quick recovery.

i'm not surprised she doesn't want to eat or drink, when i had my tongue pierced i didn't eat properly for a week!
 

snake_lady

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OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!

Poor kitty. I can soooo sympathasize with how much pain Harley is feeling.

I was bit by a pregnant rat, my own fault as I did not know she was close to delivering... she latched onto my finger just above the nail and wouldn't let go. I pulled my hand from the cage and she was hanging off my finger. Man that hurt, and bled alot too.

Hopefully Harley will be able to drink some today, maybe even eat a little of her favorite wet food. The not drinking would be my big concern... need her hydrated.

that she feels better soon
 
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nekochan

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Thankfully Harley drank some last night finally. If she didn't I was going to ask the vet for some sub-q fluids. I am going to buy more canned food today to give her a lot of choices and hopefully spark her appetite...
I looked at her tongue when I woke up, it looks awful poor baby... It's not like a blood blister anymore, now it looks like a large triangular section of the underside of her tongue is missing 'skin' in a big slash. She is either holding her tongue up or it is sticking to the roof of her mouth which is good for me because it allows me to take a look at the wound without touching her tongue.
 

forensic

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Rat bite fever is a very real risk for humans, however, hopefully in a kitties mouth the wound is being cleaned enough.

I had one of my boys bite into the fleshy portion of my hand and my entire hand swelled up like a balloon once, not comfy, but healed just fine.
 
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nekochan

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Originally Posted by carolinalima

Is there a risk for disease?
I don't think so, since the rats are clean pet rats and not sick. There could be bacteria but the vet gave Harley an antibiotic shot right away and gave me oral antibiotics for her so hopefully that should prevent an infection.
 

catsknowme

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Sending prayers and vibes that Harley recovers quickly
Years ago, my daughters had a pet rat named Sarah who latched onto my border collie's nose. The poor dog took off about the house in pain; the rat didn't drop off until a piece of the dog's nose came off
The dog wasn't after the rat, he was just trying to give a friendly sniff, poor guy. He did heal and they did make friends, but it was painful for him for awhile & it healed pinkish grey on a black nose
 
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nekochan

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Aww poor Border Collie. My previous two rats were friends with my Golden Retriever who loved other animals. They would crawl around on her and cuddle up between her paws to take a wash...

Harley must be feeling a little better because she is rubbing on the computer screen right now. She seems to be able to eat and drink ok but I am sure it hurts poor girl. I am about to give her the antibiotics.

My brother has a scat mat, I might borrow it if she still tries to go too close to the rat cage...
 

laureen227

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Originally Posted by JellyBella

That is a painful lession to learn!

that she bounces back and learns that licking the rat cage is a
i'm sure she'll think twice about that behavior, now!
sending healing & - try some meat baby food. it's soft & won't hurt as much to eat. it's also got more liquid to help w/hydration, too. 4 out of 5 cats in my household think it's fabulous-tasting, as well!
 

punkygirl0101

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Aww! Poor girl!

Two of my dogs have been bitten by my rats when they mess with them through the cage bars! And the bar spacing is pretty wide, because its a ferret cage. One of the dachshunds, Elliot, got his paw pad bit, and Charlotte (JRT mix) got her nose bit. Wasn't too bad though! The rats know not to bite my fingers, cause I don't feed them through the cage bars, but they bite the dogs and cats if they mess with them. Luckily the cats don't bother them at all.
 
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