What attacked my cat

thad

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Hello,

My wife and I awoke this morning to find our front porch covered with blood and our two cats nowhere to be found.  

I have two cats that are indoor/outdoor.  I usually only let them out for a few hours at a time, but sometimes at night they don't come back after a few hours so I fall asleep before I can let them back in.  This generally hasn't bothered me as I always find them hanging on the front porch when I wake up in the morning.  

Back to this morning - after frantically searching around the house, I found my big cat, Wally, sitting on our back porch with blood coming out of a number of wounds.  I found his little brother hiding out in the bushes nearby, unscathed.  We immediately rushed Wally to our local vet.  He treated all his wounds - scratches on head, belly, broken claws and the worst -> a massive bite wound around the jaw/neck.  The vet instructed us to apply warm compresses routinely and said that the bite would continue to drain for the next few days and the swelling would eventually go down.  Basically, we dodged a huge bullet.

With the immediate crisis somewhat under control, my mind has shifted back to WHAT could have done this to my cat.  The vet suggested another cat, but I'm skeptical as I've actually never even seen another cat in my neighborhood in the 8 months I've lived here.  It seems like the most likely culprit was a raccoon.  Below are the facts I've compiled on the case.  I'm curious what anyone else thinks:
  • The attack almost definitely happened on our front porch while my cats were sleeping/lounging there.  There is a lot of blood there, my cat's fur, and also claw marks in the concrete.  Makes me think the predator was quite audacious.
  • The bite from the canine teeth are on my cat's neck
  • Below images of bite. Mind you, these are AFTER Wally was released from the vet.




Any thoughts as to what might've happened would be very helpful.

Thanks!

Thad
 

misterwhiskers

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Oh, my god, poor kitty!!!!.... You must have been terrified!! Not to mention Wally!!!

The teeth marks look too close to be a coyote...but I'm not sure. A raccoon does seem possible, esp if you've seen them around. Seems to me a cat would have left claw marks, right? Does he have claw injuries?

(Have your cats had rabies shots...? )

Are you planning on keeping them 100% inside now? I don't think your cat would survive another attack, honestly. So glad they didn't die, but please, don't let them out again.
 
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thad

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Thanks for your reply misterwhiskers!

Yeah, we were very scared.  To see him covered in blood was a horrible feeling.  Thankfully he just had his rabies shot in June.

Re the claw injuries - he does have some fairly shallow scratches on his head and his  belly.  I forgot to mention that I was a little suspicious of his little "brother" Andy at first.  The two are not real brothers, but have been together since they were kittens for over 6 years.  He is much smaller than Wally, but the two are very close and loving.  The two do wrestle a lot - especially when they are bored and cooped up in the house.  Usually Wally trounces him because he is so much bigger.  As I mentioned earlier, Andy did not have a scratch on him or a piece of fur out of place, so it was hard for me to think it was him.  However, in looking at the canine bite marks again, they do look to be identical spacing to Andy's mouth.  Additionally, I've never actually seen racoons in my neighborhood (although I'm sure they must be around), so it's hard for me to comprehend what would come up onto our porch and launch such an attack.

In any case, we are definitely keeping both the cats inside until we figure out what is going on.  Ideally, I would hope to be able to let them out for a few hours during the day under supervision.
 

Sarthur2

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It sounds like a stray dog attack. My sister's cat was killed by a stray dog attack on her front porch a couple of years ago. Torn to pieces and very upsetting in an otherwise quiet neighborhood.

It's hard to imagine that your other cat could have done this and not be scathed. It also could have been a stray male cat who attacked.

I would not let either cat out anytime soon at night.

Did the vet give you antibiotics for the wound to prevent infection? I would think this might be a necessary protocol for such a wound.

Your cat is lucky he survived. This must be very traumatic for both of your cats and you. I'm terribly sorry this happened.
 
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thad

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Hi sarthur2,

Thank you for your input.  We are definitely on the lookout for any stray dog or cat.  We will not let them out at night, although it will be difficult because they love to be outside when it's dark.

 Yes, the vet did give him an antibiotics injection to fight infection.  I was actually surprised this morning how much the swelling and redness had gone down in just 24 hours.

Appreciate the concern,

Thad
 

mazie

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The size of what looks like teeth marks makes me think of a very large stray dog. Last fall I had a cat killed by a large dog in the middle of the night, also right on the front porch. He went straight for the throat on that poor cat, I could hear a dog bark about 4 times, a very deep bark so obviously the animal was large. The unfortunate thing is I could not get to the cat in time. I found the little guy in the lawn, about 10 feet from the front porch, where I assume the large animal dropped him. Please, please keep your cats inside!! Nightime is the most dangerous time for them to be outside, that is when any predator that is out there is on the prowl. Humans are asleep inside and traffic is at a minimum or in some cases, in small towns like mine, non extistent. Prime time for wiild life and stray animals to be out looking for food/prey. Our cats outside are a perfect target for them in such instances.
 

Willowy

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Depending where you live, it could have been a fisher. I understand they're quite nasty when they feel the need to defend themselves/their territory. And they're known to fight with cats. If you don't live up North it probably was a more common critter like a raccoon or another cat.
 

kskatt

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Those teeth marks are WAY too small for a large dog, seriously way too small. There is also no possible way the other cat could have done it, no way Wally would have just laid there and taken that kind of a beating.

Recent Rabies vaccination gives your cat a great chance, but nothing is 100%. Your boy is probably fine, but please do some type of quarantine for 10 days. 

Cats are in great danger at night, that is when the predators are out. Raccoons, Fox, Hawks, to name only a tiny few. I hope your vet also recommended testing for diseases after your boy is better. Rabes is not the only fatal disease around.

I beg you not to let them out at night. A little daytime, maybe; night absolutely not.

I have lived in the country for 37 years, dealing with several ferals and and lots of strays, watching group behavior. In my heart and mind the scenario that I see is Wally protecting Andy. Everything you have said about the two and their relationship  makes me positive Wally would do whatever it took to protect his "little brother"
 
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thad

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Thanks for your input Mazie.  Sorry to hear about your cat last year.  I can understand the pain and frustration of thinking they are safe on your own front porch.  I definitely won't be letting them out at night.
 
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thad

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Thanks for your supportive words KSKatt.  I think your scenario about Wally protecting his brother is very possible.  I also agree about the teeth mark sizing being too small for a dog.  I'm leaning much more towards a stray cat ambushing him while he slept.  My wife and I did recall seeing a much smaller cat a few times this summer.  It's hard to imagine a cat smaller than him could inflict that kind of damage, but if he was asleep thinking he was in a safe zone, he could've been very vulnerable.  
 
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