Round cut

R

russian_blue_kitten

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Oct 19, 2003
Messages
246
Purraise
1
Location
USA
Anastasia does go outside periodically (we would much rather have her be an indor kitty, but she was always let out, it wasn't our decision; plus we live in a rural park area) and yesterday she came home with a sort of round cut - missing fur and some blood on her stomach area. It isn't that large, only about 5mm in diameter; she seemed fine - eating normal, purring, playing, etc, so we used some antibiotic on it and had her stay home. Today I discovered she had a similar type of thing around her shoulder area, except it was thin and long. Both of the cuts have dried up blood and she doesn't seem irritated when we look at them.
What could this be and could it be serious? I've never come across it before and have no idea about what to do as she seems fine otherwise. All help very appreciated!
 
K

krazy kat2

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 14, 2001
Messages
8,085
Purraise
41
Location
Somewhere in Georgia
BBs or pellets maybe? I had a momcat that had a round injury like you describe. When she was delivering her kittens, she pushed really hard, and a pellet popped out from the base of her tail. I had felt something that felt pretty deep under her skin, but I guess it really wasn't.
A few days later, I caught the village idiot teaching his kids to hunt by shooting at cats.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3
R

russian_blue_kitten

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Oct 19, 2003
Messages
246
Purraise
1
Location
USA
Hmm no I don't think that that would be it, as it's more like someone ripped out some fur. It isn't very deep at all.

Upon inspecting her just five minutes ago, we found a hard scab (possibly not and something else?) type of thing around her shoulders that was not there yesterday and she has been home. Upon trying to inspect it, it came off with the skin (she's long haired and through trying to pull the hair out of the way it came off), so now it's another round-ish (more oval and lopsided) hairless cut looking thing that was bloody. We put anti-biotic on that as well. What could this possibly be? Could it be a type of plant that gets stuck into the skin and causes irritation and bleeding after?
Is this a type of thing that needs to be taken into the emergency vet's? We would take her in already, but she doesn't seem to be in pain or distress. Please, please, please help!
 
Y

yosemite

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Apr 26, 2001
Messages
23,313
Purraise
81
Location
Ingersoll, ON
It's possible she was in a fight with another cat and if so, she really needs to be seen by a vet. Their wounds can heal over on the surface quickly and leave bacteria and infection inside that festers and can get very bad.

What type of antibiotic are you applying? If it's a human antibiotic you may want to check with a vet to ensure it is OK to use. Cats lick themselves and will ingest the antibiotic.

If this were my cat, I'd already have taken her to the vet.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #5
R

russian_blue_kitten

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Oct 19, 2003
Messages
246
Purraise
1
Location
USA
It isn't possible that she was in a fight with a cat as whenever she goes out it's usually in the backyard or right behind it with someone keeping an eye out for her. She's usually not out for more than 30 minutes/an hour. (We would much rather prefer her be an indoor cat, but as she'd be in great distress if we never let her out, it's not an option. We do everything we can to keep her safe). The cuts are not that great as otherwise we would have taken her in to the emergency for sure. The vets around here are usually very packed in emergency and they do not recommend nonemergencies to come in as it causes the cats great stress. The cuts are very minor and upon inspecting the last one and the fur that came off of it, we think that it's likely a plant of some kind and not a scab after all. They are very clean and are not infected at all. We are checking them as well as the rest of her for any signs as we are very concerned.

We are using neosporin and we have checked with our vet and have made sure that it's fine to use.

Believe me, we take her to the vet regularely for check ups and she has all of her vaccines. It seems like you think we're not concerned owners, but this seems minor and the stress that she would get from getting taken into emergency (that is very busy during holidays) would simply make it worse. I am very concerned over the fact that we do not know what this is, but bringing her in over something minor could result in another cat losing his/her life because he or she really was in great danger.
 
K

krazy kat2

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 14, 2001
Messages
8,085
Purraise
41
Location
Somewhere in Georgia
I think you are right, an emergency trip might be more stressful than necessary if she is not in distress. You are a caring cat person, you should be able to make the judgement call on the vet trip. I hope it heals up with no infection. Please keep us posted.
 
Y

yosemite

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Apr 26, 2001
Messages
23,313
Purraise
81
Location
Ingersoll, ON
Originally Posted by russian_blue_kitten

It isn't possible that she was in a fight with a cat as whenever she goes out it's usually in the backyard or right behind it with someone keeping an eye out for her. She's usually not out for more than 30 minutes/an hour. (We would much rather prefer her be an indoor cat, but as she'd be in great distress if we never let her out, it's not an option. We do everything we can to keep her safe). The cuts are not that great as otherwise we would have taken her in to the emergency for sure. The vets around here are usually very packed in emergency and they do not recommend nonemergencies to come in as it causes the cats great stress. The cuts are very minor and upon inspecting the last one and the fur that came off of it, we think that it's likely a plant of some kind and not a scab after all. They are very clean and are not infected at all. We are checking them as well as the rest of her for any signs as we are very concerned.

We are using neosporin and we have checked with our vet and have made sure that it's fine to use.

Believe me, we take her to the vet regularely for check ups and she has all of her vaccines. It seems like you think we're not concerned owners, but this seems minor and the stress that she would get from getting taken into emergency (that is very busy during holidays) would simply make it worse. I am very concerned over the fact that we do not know what this is, but bringing her in over something minor could result in another cat losing his/her life because he or she really was in great danger.
Click to expand...
Firstly, I don't believe you are irresponsible pet owners - sorry if you perceived that to be so.

To clarify my post, I believe that since you have no idea what is causing this and you can actually see the problem, it's unlikely that any of us would be able to diagnose over the internet. Indeed, in cases like UTI and URI, liver failure, etc. we can share our combined experience/knowledge of pertinent symptoms to these problems, but wounds are quite another matter. I also assumed (always wrong to assume) that since the cat goes outside, it's usually quite possible to be in a cat fight. I know from experience that Bijou is only allowed in our yard but that recently I left him unattended for minutes only and another cat came into our yard and they got into a fight. Fortunately I heard and intervened, so it can happen quickly.

If you and your vet are comfortable with just applying antibiotics, then I can only guess that there is nothing to worry about.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top