paw surgery

I took my cat Mozart in for follow up shots this weekend (our vet holds weekend hours) and to look at his paw. The padding on one claw was swollen three to four times larger than normal and filled with pus and blood.

The vet said it was absessed and that the claw (nail part) looked dead. He told me the best thing to do would be to put him under, shave it, drain it, remove any foreign object that might be in there (sliver, etc.), and then he said something I think about blood stain. Whatever it was had to do with whether or not he would need to remove the claw.

He told me if it were to remain untreated and get worse, it may have to be amputated. I don't know if he meant the individual finger or the whole paw. (It's his front right paw, the equivalent of our forefinger.) He told me that an antibotic might not penetrate deep enough to treat the infection.

So, I opted to leave Mozart there for paw surgery over the weekend. I will be picking him up this afternoon and will find out then whether or not he kept his claw (nail). Needless to say, this is costing more than I was prepared for and I still have to come back next week for the shots.

I'm not looking forward to dealing with any bandages. I tried to put on triple-antibotic and bandage it myself, prior to going to the vet, but he kept shaking the bandage off and I didn't want to put it too tight. I also wasn't sure on the e-collar. We'll see how things go.

Oh poor baby!! At least he is in good hands and will eventually feel better! It was good you let them do the surgery. I know it must be hard/will be hard to treat that wound Hang in there!

Sending get-better-quick vibes to Mozart! Ouch, sounds like he's got one sore paw!

Hey Krista had some paw issues also. One of her paw pads had a tumor, it was benign thankfully, but she had to have one claw and one pad removed, and she is great, dont worry your cat will be too. Now the bandages shouldn't be an issue. I would just watch to make sure that he doesn't pull it off. Keeping extra sports tape - that tape you use to get casts, and big bandage wraps together - that white stuff...sorry I dont know what its called, anyway, its good to keep that on hand because you know cats tend to want to take things like that off of them so use that to keep the bandage on and together and you should be fine!

Poor Mozart. Sending get-well vibes his way.

AWWW Poor Mozart! That's a real bummer. Hope he's feeling better soon.

Sending **healing vibes** to Mozart.

If you're not comfortable with the bandages, best thing to do is ask the vet how they do it and any tricks of the trade so to speak.

Well, Mozart did have to have the one claw removed. He's got a bright red bandage. It looks like it is on pretty tight. I can take it off Wed night and I don't have to re-bandage it.

I have to give him a dropper full of amoxicillian twice a day orally. The vet said not to mix it with his food because he might smell it and refuse it. But so far it has been easier to give then I expected.

On of the vet assistants told me they thought my cat was a sweet guy, so they gave him the pain-killer shot for free. (It's normally a $15 shot.) My guess, knowing Mozart, is that he probably whined a lot and they felt sorry for him.

Right now he's limping around and I'm keeping him indoors, probably at least until we go back to the vet on Sat. I felt guilty leaving him alone in the house. He normally has his cat family to play with in the laundry room and outside. He has plenty of water and food. I also left several toys. I'm not sure how he'll react to this. He started whining from the minute I took my dog out this morning. (She stays out during the day with the other dogs.) I may leave her in the house tomorrow if it makes him more comfortable.

Thanks for all your well-wishes!

Oh, the poor baby (not to mention the poor momma who had to deal with her worry). Hugs to both of you! :flash:

Good luck.

I'm now sure how Mozart is reacting to Amoxycillin but when Russell was on it, he had diarrhoea. So you may want to watch out for that.

I haven't noticed any diarrhea in his litter, so far. I'll keep an eye out, though. He's drinking plenty of water and seems to be staying hydrated.

Update on Mozart's paw.

Last night the bandage came off. It was not easy. Then Mozart wanted to lick the site nonstop. It wasn't until I started distracting him with treats that he finally stopped. His paw does look a little weird without the one claw. But it looks like it is healing well.