Minor cat wounds

sohni

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*I know that serious wounds need vet care as they may abscess*

I am wondering if minor cat wounds are all similar. Last year Tsekani came up to me and he had a little bright red circle on his throat. I panicked, but my vet said it was just a small wound from Tsekani and Sohni playing too rough. I was just supposed to keep it clean, and it did close over and the fur grew back.

A few weeks ago, one of my kittens had little red wounds under her front arm, and the vet, again, wasn't concerned. She said it looked like a flea bite that the kitten had worried at. They healed up and the fur grew back just fine, and I have dealt with any fleas.

Now, one of my kittens has the circular red spot on her throat, and my boyfriend is panicking. I have a vet appointment anyway tomorrow, for their final shots, but I told him I am pretty sure it is just a nick from playing too rough.

Now, do all scratches on cats end up like these wounds? They are almost perfectly circular, about half the size of a penny, and the hair falls out. They heal over slowly, and then the hair grows back. I wonder if I am noticing them more on my Egyptian Maus since they are pure white on their throats and tummies.

Also, I do clip their claws, but they are 16 weeks old and little fiends when it comes to running and fighting.
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by Sohni

Now, do all scratches on cats end up like these wounds? They are almost perfectly circular, about half the size of a penny, and the hair falls out.
I've seen several scratches that do, but plenty of others that just make a little scab in the fur and only minimal fur right around the wound (where it scabs) is lost.

The only explanation I can think of for the wounds that lose more fur is licking and scratching at them.



Like your vet(s), I'm usually not concerned about little scratches or small wounds like that. Generally, with proper wound care (cleaning and antibiotic ointment) most of these start looking better in hours or by the next day - which is why I don't worry.

Even adult cats can get too rambunctious. I have three adult males, who all regularly get their claws trimmed, but it's not that uncommon for one of them to come up with a scratch now and then. If I were to go to the vet for those tiny scratches I believe I may honestly get laughed at.
 

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I don't get concerned either when I can tell they've been playing rough. I just keep it clean and watch for infection. My ReeRee bit through his lip and I was just keeping it clean and watching it. He had a checkup at the vet and I asked her if that was okay and she said it's what she would do, so if I am comfortable keeping it clean and putting oitment on it than go ahead. But watch for signs of infection.
 

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So, do they scab over? When I first got Sasha, she was just a baby and she would wrestle like mad with Bayliss. One day, I noticed Bay had little scab wounds all over him, and I assumed Sasha was just going to town on him with her claws. After taking him to the vet, it seems he had an undefined allergy of some sort (likely fleas, since Sasha ended up having to be treated), and after a steroid shot, he cleared right up.
 
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sohni

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Yeah, they scab over and the fur grows back. I was thinking that the one kitten that had sores under her arms may be allergic to fleas. I had brought the kittens to my parents with me for a long weekend and there may have been fleas there. They were locked in the spare room the whole time, but fleas can travel (= There are no fleas in my house.

I just went into panic mode when Yosemite said ringworm, so I called my vet. They think it's simply a scratch, but they will examine her on Wednesday afternoon.
 

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Originally Posted by Sohni

Yeah, they scab over and the fur grows back. I was thinking that the one kitten that had sores under her arms may be allergic to fleas. I had brought the kittens to my parents with me for a long weekend and there may have been fleas there. They were locked in the spare room the whole time, but fleas can travel (= There are no fleas in my house.

I just went into panic mode when Yosemite said ringworm, so I called my vet. They think it's simply a scratch, but they will examine her on Wednesday afternoon.
No need to panic but don't rule it out. As for fleas in your house, if you've ever had fleas in your house and you didn't get rid of all of them, you could still have fleas in your house. The eggs can lie dormant in your carpeting for a year I believe. Also, we humans can walk across our lawn and bring fleas into our house. Even though our cats are indoor they are treated with topical flea medication from April/May through to Oct./Nov.
 
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sohni

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I do treat them with revolution, and I am lucky enough to have no carpeting or even a rug. My chihuahua thinks that rugs are grass and I can't even keep a bath mat without her peeing on it.
 

yosemite

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Originally Posted by Sohni

I do treat them with revolution, and I am lucky enough to have no carpeting or even a rug. My chihuahua thinks that rugs are grass and I can't even keep a bath mat without her peeing on it.
She sounds like a spoiled little dog. That's all good!
 
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sohni

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I wouldn't say spoiled - I go with sneaky. She won't do it when I am around and we let her out 15 times a day.. She is 9 years old and a bit set in her ways. Since she balks at peeing on bare floors, we just find it easier to go rugless.
 
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sohni

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OK - the results of my vet visit.

She wouldn't completely rule out ringworm, but she strongly feels that it is not. We did the fluorescence test and it didn't show up, but she said it will only who up 50% of the time. She thinks that it looked more like an allergic reaction to environmental issues or food, and backed that up by saying that none of the other cats/dogs in the house have showed any spots. She said it reminded her of a dog's hot spot, and that the kitten, and possibly the other kittens, had been overgrooming the spot.

Interestingly, I had been messing around with the kitten's food over the last 2 weeks as my boyfriend and I have been really busy and distracted, and a few times they have been fed supermarket brands. So, I ran to the feed store to stock up on the food they seemed to do well on, Nutro kitten and Go! canned.. but the store closes at 5:30 and I got there at 5:29. They wouldn't let me in.

So.. the vet wanted me to do another round of wormer even though all of my cats and untold generations of these kitten's parents have never set a foot outside (they have done two rounds of wormer already), but I decided to do a round of Revolution on all of my cats and dogs instead. Maybe, possibly, a flea is loose in my house and this kitten is allergic to their bites. The Revolution will take care of internal worms if necessary and any fleas (I'm still pretty positive I don't have a flea problem). I will pick up cat food today at lunch-hour and will make sure they don't get any other kind for the next month. The vet said she could do a steroid shot for allergies, and/or antibiotics, but she'd prefer to give it a few weeks to see if it clears up rather than injecting a baby with chemicals.

I'll keep an eye on her.
 
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sohni

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So.. I had to go to a cat show this weekend and left scabby kitten (pet name) at home with my boyfriend. Her neck wounds were not looking great, so even though the vet said they should heal on their own, I advised him to take her back in if they seemed to get worse. Well, they did. He was panicking on Friday morning because she had been scratching herself all night and they wound was growing. So she went into the vet for an overnight stay, and was diagnosed with a staff infection. We figure it was possibly a flea bit, or a rash from me changing her food suddenly.

Now, she is on antibiotics and we need to wash the site twice daily with hibitane. It is crusting over nicely now, but sure looks AWFUL! I feel so bad for her, but she is running and romping like a healthy kitten.

I am not sure about the washing part, as my boyfriend was told to wash it quite vigorously, and I am wondering if that will inhibit the scabbing process. I am letting him do that part and I am going to the vet office today to pay them for the emergency visit and ask about after-care.

Looking up staph infections on this site didn't come up with a ton of information, and this is new to me. I understand that staph is an opportunistic bacteria, and the underlying cause is probably allergies and an underdeveloped immune system. I have put the kittens back onto the food that they have been on since birth (and seemed to do great on) and they have all been treated with Revolution.
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by Sohni

Looking up staph infections on this site didn't come up with a ton of information, and this is new to me. I understand that staph is an opportunistic bacteria, and the underlying cause is probably allergies and an underdeveloped immune system. I have put the kittens back onto the food that they have been on since birth (and seemed to do great on) and they have all been treated with Revolution.
Pretty much. They're on everything, even your skin at this very moment. I hope the treatment can help the kitten's neck heal up, and that the food switch helps settle down whatever is going on.
 
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