Worried about Onyx

My 3 year old male kitty Onyx came inside yesterday limping I suspect the neighbors cat picked a fight with him again. Both he and Onyx are neutered but they hate each other. Needless to say, whether Onyx likes it or not, hes now an inside only kitty like the rest of my crew. I'm assuming he'll adjust.

Anyways, Onyx wouldn't let me have a look at his leg yesterday, but he wasn't putting any weight on it. I pampered him by bringing him his food and water all day every so often and by making a nice cozy spot to rest on my bed. His appetite is normal, hes alert and is using the litterbox fine.

Today I finally got a look at his leg and discovered puncture wounds and some scabbing , so I'm assuming he got bitten in a scrap with the neighbors cat.

I have an appointment to see the Vet tomorrow morning (thats the soonest I could get in, the Vet is only in on Mon, Wed, and Fri -small town) In the meantime , what can I do to make Onyx comfortable? Will the Vet prescribe antibiotics for him? It kills me to see my baby in pain

My cats were outdoor cats and used to get in scraps all the time when they were younger. It sounds like an abcess. You may want to take his temp, to make sure he's not getting a real bad infection from it. The vet clean the wound and put him on antibiotics - if you are going tomorrow- maybe wait, but what I would do is clean it w/betadine and warm water (make sure you rinse well after you use the betadine!)to loosen the scabs and get them off, make sure it's not pusy - if it is, give it a little squeeze to make sure you get the puss out if he will let you.(yuk!)and get antibiotics for him.

My cat Jake got a good abcess on his leg years ago and this is what the vets had me do. They also put the silly lampshade on his head - that lasted about an hour......:tounge2:

Good luck! Maybe call your vet and ask if you should do anything, although I don't think cleaning it would hurt!

Sorry to hear about Onyx. The same thing happened to my poor little Patches when my ex was taking care of my babies while I was out of town. Evidently he let them out on the balcony for a bit (which is okay) but when he brought them in he thought he had gotten everyone. Well Patches got missed and left out over night and evidently another cat go up there and started a fight with her. She got a couple of puncture wounds on her back along her spine and one on her side. They had scabbed so I cut the fur away from them so I could get a better look to make sure they were healing scabs and there was no puss. Then I put a little bit of neosporin (which the vet said was okay) on them just to be safe. Hope this helps some. Keep us posted on Onyx.

Melissa,
Hopefully Onyx will be ok! I'm guessing they will give him some anti-biotics to make him feel better! Good luck to you and Onyx

Well, Onyx went to see the Vet today. I was right, it was a bite wound from the fight he got into Poor Onyx has top and bottom tooth punctures on his upper leg, so the neighbors cat must have really gotten him good. The Vet said she can feel a lump at the wound site, indicating an abcess. Onyx has been given some Amoxil to clear up the infection and he had a slight temperature. We have another appointment on Friday morning to see if the abcess will need to be lanced and drained. Poor Onyx is in so much pain Please say some kitty get well prayers for him By the way, so far he is adjusting very well to life as an inside only kitty. I'll keep my fingers crossed that the transition is a fairly smooth one.

Melissa, I hope he is feeling better very soon. Poor little guy, he's probable glad to be an indoor kitty after that experience!!

My kitty Opie was an outside cat and we live in an area where there's bobcats seen on occassion. Well, I don't know if you remember, but I couldn't find him for three days and I was coming home from handing out flyers and my neighbor asked me if I was looking for my Opie..YES, so he said he was in the backyard! I said, no, that must be Ninya...he said the orange cat...I said nothing and ran back there. There he was poor baby, let out a weak meow when I called him I scooped him up gingerly and saw the huge puncture wounds in the back of his legs. Brought him into the hospital and they also said that his pelvic bones were broken. Needless to say he was operated on and he's now an indoor cat. I hope Onyx is doing much better. It was/is still very difficult for Opie to accept that he must stay indoors now. I hate to put him in risk of any further injuries...it's so scarey to see that happen to any kitty.
Good luck and I hope he has a fast recovery.

Cat

don't you worry. I'm suprised that they didn't just lance it right there if they felt a lump, but hey - I'm not a vet. Keep a good eye on him and take his temp, to make sure it doesn't get worse!

Personally I think Onyx is taking full advantage of my pity Hes been sleeping in my bed (under the nice soft flannel sheets) and gets his food and water brought to him, not to mention getting carried to the litterbox a few times a day. Could a kitty have it any better? He seems to be doing better today, he just deosn't want to put any weight on his leg. Thanks everyone for your concern :rainbow:

Melissa,
How's Onyx doing?

Thanks for your concern Tigger :rainbow:

Onyx was put under anesthesia, had his leg shaved and his abcess lanced and flushed. He had a bandage on it for three days and now it is completely healed. Hes almost finished his antibiotics and the fur is finally starting to grow back on his leg. I don't think hes too impressed with having a bald leg

Incidentally, the cat he fought with went missing the night Onyx came in limping, so we've come to the conclusion that Onyx probably won the fight and the kitty went off into the woods and died Hes been missing since last Friday, and the nights have been very, very cold. Yet another reason to keep kitties inside. I had to learn the hard way