Kitten with sores where swelling is going down *pictures included*

Delilah my little rescue has been sick for a few weeks but she is improving. You can read about everything that has been going on here if you need more information. I noticed her foot and face swollen about a week and a half. The swelling is finally starting to go down, her nose seems completely down and her paw is smaller than it was. The problem I have now is the skin is starting to peel away leaving behind sores and it looks awful. I can take her to the vet tomorrow but a friend thinks I am over reacting and it will heal up on its own. What do you think?

here are several pictures, I wanted to give you the best idea possible

Oh my word, the poor baby!.

No your not over reacting at all. I would take her in today if you can if only to have your mind put at rest.

Poor cherub. Lots of healthy healing coming her way, but let us know what the vet says?

Anytime the skin is stretched to an abnormal amount, you run the risk of losing that skin. When I had the cat bite on my finger, I lost all the skin as the swelling subsided and it looked nasty, raw and very unpleasant. I would take her to the vet as she may need some antibiotics to control or prevent any secondary infection.

Poor girl.

Just finished at the vet. She thinks Delilah was bit by a spider and that is why the swelling happened and that the tissue is damaged from it. She says the skin will just fall off and then begin to heal again. She needs to remain on antibiotics until it is better to prevent a secondary infection. Poor baby has been through so much in the last 2 weeks. The vet was surprised she was still alive and doing better considering how she was last time she saw her. We are still not out of the woods yet, but hopefully getting there.

GOOD ON YA for taking her in!!! She desperately needed medical evaluation and help, and I hope and pray the antibiotics will speed her healing.  Spider bite sounds very possible.  Keep her safe and protected indoors only (always) and she is in our thoughts and *PRAYERS*.  Please keep us updated on her progress in recovery!

No worries on taking her in, we are frequent visitors at the vet (5 times in less than 2 weeks), everyone there has been pulling for her recovery just as much as I have. She almost died a week ago, completely limp in my hands when I picked her up to syringe feed her, but she still kept swallowing everything I fed her so we kept pushing, and I am so glad I did because she is making a recovery.
 

She has been indoors only since I rescued her, so I could for sure rule out snake bite and didn't think that she could have been bit by a spider the when the swelling first started, but maybe one got in the house and got her when I wasn't around.

Her poor little face is peeling away more as she grooms it, but hopefully she recovers from this quickly.

AWW, hun, . My heart goes out to Delilah :heart3:, she has been through SO much. :rub: OMgosh - that is just awful. It does look like she was bitten by something much larger than a spider though. OH massive, gigantic vibes to this little one. And as always, thank you for all of the babies that you take in to help. You have a generous and loving heart. :heart2:

I know what you mean by being a frequent visitor to the vet's office. The front desk people usually greet me with wide smiles on their faces as they chorus "well, hasn't it been a long time since we saw you here, two whole days!"

I live in the PNW area and my cats only go out onto a large back deck that is very high off the ground so the risk of poisonous wildlife getting to them is minimal. However, many summers ago I saw a Persian kitten foster on the deck pawing frantically at his mouth. A spider had bitten into his tongue and was hanging on. Fortunately, my vet is only five minutes away and even though it was closing time they saw him. They had a hard time getting the spider out of his tongue and they gave him a shot of cortisone just in case of a reaction. I'm so glad your Delilah is doing better and will one day be a glossy plump cat.
 

Feralvr said:

AWW, hun,

. My heart goes out to Delilah

, she has been through SO much.

OMgosh - that is just awful. It does look like she was bitten by something much larger than a spider though. OH massive, gigantic vibes to this little one. And as always, thank you for all of the babies that you take in to help. You have a generous and loving heart.

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I at least can say I know nothing big got her. That sore opened up when I was washing off her face after a feeding that night. It got worse overnight while I waited for the vet to open. They didn't understand what I meant by her nose looks like it is falling off until I brought her in. All the skin in those areas is rough, the vet said it is probably dead and will just fall off, probably soon. She did warn me that she might have a scar when everything grows back, she might not I guess in time we will see. I just cant wait till she is playing again with Penelope.

Thank you, my mom has always told me I have too big of a heart, I have always loved can cared for all the animals around me, and will sacrifice something on my end if I need to, to make sure they are helped.

Simka said:

I know what you mean by being a frequent visitor to the vet's office. The front desk people usually greet me with wide smiles on their faces as they chorus "well, hasn't it been a long time since we saw you here, two whole days!"

I live in the PNW area and my cats only go out onto a large back deck that is very high off the ground so the risk of poisonous wildlife getting to them is minimal. However, many summers ago I saw a Persian kitten foster on the deck pawing frantically at his mouth. A spider had bitten into his tongue and was hanging on. Fortunately, my vet is only five minutes away and even though it was closing time they saw him. They had a hard time getting the spider out of his tongue and they gave him a shot of cortisone just in case of a reaction. I'm so glad your Delilah is doing better and will one day be a glossy plump cat.
 

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They should give you reward points like frequent flyer lol. The vet always jokes around with me too that I cant stay away. I find it funny when there is a new receptionist who doesn't know me checks me in and one that has been there for a while answers for me when they ask for my name.

The thing that baffles me is I never saw a spider even in the house, let alone one that would kill the tissue like that. This area is bad for black widows and brown recluses as far as poisonous ones go, but I am sure I would have noticed if one of them was around, plus I think it would have killed her if that was the case. Would the spider have to be one of them, or would a common garden spider like a wolf spider or something be capable of that. I was thinking today, I wonder if her getting sicker while Penelope, her sister, just got stronger was because she was bit by a spider and not an unknown sickness. She did almost die a week ago, but has been coming back slowly but steadily ever since she hit rock bottom which was the same weekend that I noticed the swelling begin.

No frequent flyer miles! But I do get a 7% discount for multiple pets (I take my fosters to them as well as my own.)

I guess cats vary in their response to bites just like people. Small children, elderly people, and those with compromised immune systems or other health problems are most likely to have a very severe reaction to various bites. I remember a woman at work having to rush her granddaugher to emergency because of an extreme reaction to a spider bite, and we don't have "fancy" spiders in the Seattle area. Most insect bites barely show on me but when I'm bitten by the very common black garden spider, I know I'm going to have a large swelling, redness and itching for a week.
 

It looks like all of the skin/ tissue around Delilah's nose will fall of here shortly, there is a large chunk that has lifted away and is just sitting there. I am tempted to pull it away but the vet said to let it fall off naturally so I am just leaving it alone. It is really nasty under there so it is a good thing she is on antibiotics.

It must be difficult to watch that slowly peeling away. I'm sure you want to move on to the next stage of rawness followed by healing as soon as possible. I'm amazed by how some cats can recover from major wounds and even show little scarring.

How is Delilah in general?
 

Oh, I am so ready for it just to be raw so it can heal, it is going to be a good sized patch affected. The skin is coming off from the bridge of her nose all the way to the entire tip of her nose, and it spreads out a little beyond on both sides.

As far as how she feels in general I don't think this is even bothering her much. She is eating well and she started to play just a little for the first time since she started getting sick a few weeks ago. She even ran away from her sister briefly. She is not a nut like her sister yet, but if she keeps improving the way she has she will be soon. She continues to get a little stronger everyday, making me so glad I did not give up on her when it looked like she wasn't going to make it.

I am glad to see this update in that Delilah is starting to play a little more. Good sign. It is a miracle that she has kept eating. That nose really does look so awfully painful. I am thinking of her daily :rub: AND another miracle - YOU... for never giving up on these babies. :heart3: :nod:

What a cute little thing and what a mess she's been in.  The pics you posted look like she is healing to me.  Nice, sensitive pink skin is usually a sign things are headed in the right direction.  A spider bite is entirely possible, even for house cats.  None of my animals have been bitten by one but I got it from a brown recluse once.  That was a huge mess with skin sloughing off etc.  I am glad Delilah is on antibiotics.  Hopefully she will heal completely soon and get on with the business of being a kitten.  Good on ya! 
 

Those pictures I posted are nothing compared to what her poor little nose looks like now. I am worried her nose might be a bit deformed under it all, it looks like one of the nostrils is affected. I am on my phone so I can't post pictures, but when I get the Internet running on my computer again I can, it is really nasty looking though.

wow, I am so glad she is healing and doing better.  She has been through an ordeal, and it sounds like she is in good hands ...

My thought and prayers go out to her.  And to you.....
 

CatNamedPanda said:

Those pictures I posted are nothing compared to what her poor little nose looks like now. I am worried her nose might be a bit deformed under it all, it looks like one of the nostrils is affected. I am on my phone so I can't post pictures, but when I get the Internet running on my computer again I can, it is really nasty looking though.

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hno: I am not surprised to here this. :shame: To me, it looked really, really bad and that most of her nose was going to come off and I was thinking about her nostrils being deformed as well. I am so sad to hear that might be the case. OH poor little Delilah... she is such a little fighter and my heart goes out to her. :rub: :heart3: More blessing to you, hun, for all you are doing for her and the other kitties. Massive vibes to Delilah tonight.....

Everything that was peeling away fell off Friday night. The tissue under it is a bit yellowish but the vet said it was ok because she is on good antibiotics and it is going through necrosis so some may still fall off but it may start healing from here. All the fur on her foot is gone now too. There is still a bit of swelling so maybe her nose might have a chance at recovery but it does look right now that it is probably damaged from all this. There is no guarantee it will heal and look normal but she will survive this. She is so playful now you wouldn't not know that a few weeks ago I thought she was going to die.

AW hun, thank God that Delilah is making it through this awfully painful ordeal with her nose and paw. You have saved this little one. :rub: I bet there is a GOOD chance that in time her nose will heal over completely and possible look normal. :cross: I do hope that her nostrils will not be blocked and will return to their normal function too. Please keep us posted on the little sweetheart. :heart3: