Tail bite at base of tail not healing

[Marge218]

Hi there all you lovely cat people!
I'm really hoping someone can help end the misery that my kitten has been experiencing for over 8 months (half of her little life!!). I can't believe that it is still ongoing, having seen two separate vets, multiple antibiotics/medications, surgery and not being allowed outside for over 8 months. This has had a huge detrimental effect on her mental health, as well as that of my daughter and myself. We are all so heartbroken that there has been no solution. Any help/advice greatly appreciated xxx.

When my cat, Boja, was 6 months old, in August 2020 she got bitten on her tail my either another cat or fox in the garden. She had 2 bite marks, one on top and one below her tail. I took her to pets at home and they gave us multiple different medicines such as: (All copied from her medical record as I am not sure what these different medications necessarily mean)

• Metacam Inj 0.2% cat (10ml) per ml
• Synulox RTU (100ml) per ml
• Loxicom Oral Suspension For Cats 5ml per ml (5)
• Clavaseptin palatable 62.5mg per tablet (100 )
• Nisamox 50mg per tablet (100)
• Marbocyl P 5mg per tablet (100)
• Metrobactin 250mg Per Tablet (250)
• Convenia Inj (80mg/ml) per ml (10ml)
• Zodon oral solution dog/cat (20ml) bottle

Her wound still wouldn’t heal and abscess had continued to form over her wound, even when it would be cleaned away. I then decided to take her to a different vet and I am now currently with them. We tried different tablets and injections but her wound still continued to form abscess and crust. At one point her wound did start to heal and became tiny but suddenly it puffed up and burst and we went back to square one. The vet then done a swab and sent it to the lab and it came back with Enterococcus faecalis (please see last image). My cat was then put on Amoxicillin-clavulanic acid tablets but there was no progress bearing in mind it is supposed to get rid of the bacteria. We then decided to do opt for surgery of stitching up the wounds and we still had no progress as the abscess started to seep through the stitches and now her wound is exactly the same as the beginning. My vet has told me to now clean her wound with salt water twice a day, but I know this wont fix it as I have been doing this over the course of the past 9 months.
I am writing to you as I am in desperate need of any help of answers as she has been like this for most of her life and she sits by the garden door staring at the birds in the sky and it breaks my heart. I have paid in total £1600 for this whole process and I am trying my best to rule out amputation as I am a student and can no longer afford it, and I truly believe there must be some reason and resolution to why her wound is not healing.
Please let me know your thoughts and thank you so much for taking the time to read this.

 

[Marge218]

Photos of “progress” to date - after stitches were removed looks exactly like it did before the surgery

 

[fionasmom]

This is not going to be a very complete answer as I don't really have one, unfortunately, only a couple observations. Enterococcus faecalis is highly resistant to many drugs no matter what species contracts it. As such, can your vet speak to a specialist or veterinary teaching hospital for some input? I don't know in the UK if getting your cat to a place like that is feasible.

As for amputation, if I am looking correctly at the pictures, the lesion is really very high up on the tail and might be a more involved surgery. I don't mean that the cat would not recover, but it might be more precise and costly. I should also add that another member in the UK posted last week about a very high estimate for amputation of a cat's tail. I was shocked at the quote even with veterinary care costs in Los Angeles. My vet has amputated tails for me for only $50 on ferals who had been in fights and were not going to ever recover from the gangrene that had set in.

Amputation itself can be a huge solution to specific limb and tail diseases and injuries. It can sound gruesome but is often the more expedient solution. After all you have paid, would the vet reduce the cost of amputation if it becomes necessary given that you have tried everything else that was suggested?

 

[fionasmom]

Tik cat's mum V verna davies any advice about lower cost veterinary care in the UK?

 

[Tik cat's mum]

I'm sorry your having this trouble with your cat. I know how much vet fee's can be especially as your a student. The animal trust have set prices for surgery if needed and they don't charge a consult fee so you could get a second opinion. The rspca and pdsa both have vet clinics that offer low cost vet treatments to anyone on means tested benefits like universal credit. A quick Google search should give you the number of their nearest vet clinic and number. Even if you are on other benefits it's worth talking to them they can still help. And I have used the rspca vet's myself when on benefits they are excellent and work with myerscough vet's so have everything you could need. I hope this helps. And your cat is feeling better soon.

 

[Marge218]

This is not going to be a very complete answer as I don't really have one, unfortunately, only a couple observations. Enterococcus faecalis is highly resistant to many drugs no matter what species contracts it. As such, can your vet speak to a specialist or veterinary teaching hospital for some input? I don't know in the UK if getting your cat to a place like that is feasible.

As for amputation, if I am looking correctly at the pictures, the lesion is really very high up on the tail and might be a more involved surgery. I don't mean that the cat would not recover, but it might be more precise and costly. I should also add that another member in the UK posted last week about a very high estimate for amputation of a cat's tail. I was shocked at the quote even with veterinary care costs in Los Angeles. My vet has amputated tails for me for only $50 on ferals who had been in fights and were not going to ever recover from the gangrene that had set in.

Amputation itself can be a huge solution to specific limb and tail diseases and injuries. It can sound gruesome but is often the more expedient solution. After all you have paid, would the vet reduce the cost of amputation if it becomes necessary given that you have tried everything else that was suggested?

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to my post. I will look in to the things you highlighted xx

 

[Marge218]

I'm sorry your having this trouble with your cat. I know how much vet fee's can be especially as your a student. The animal trust have set prices for surgery if needed and they don't charge a consult fee so you could get a second opinion. The rspca and pdsa both have vet clinics that offer low cost vet treatments to anyone on means tested benefits like universal credit. A quick Google search should give you the number of their nearest vet clinic and number. Even if you are on other benefits it's worth talking to them they can still help. And I have used the rspca vet's myself when on benefits they are excellent and work with myerscough vet's so have everything you could need. I hope this helps. And your cat is feeling better soon.

Some really helpful info here - thank you so much x