Our cat had a little accident. :( Advice please!

Hi,

Our 2 year old tabby Jinx hurt himself somehow during the night and I
was hoping for some advice, specifically whether we should take him to
the vet. I figure pictures speak louder than words so I took a closeup
of the wound:

http://krystek.net/JinxCut

It's on the back of his neck, and is a cut along with about a
half-dollar sized area of missing fur. He seems irritated at not being
able to lick it, and unless I distract him he'll try to scratch at the
area. The area is very tender and he winces when it's touched. It
looks like he might have been crawling under something and had a tuft
of his fur caught then ripped out - he's an indoor-only cat. He's also
extremely jumpy and hates going to the vet so I'm hesitant to take him
there if it isn't necessary, but I'm worried about potential infection.
Is there anything I can do or should I pack him (and his brother, they
go everywhere together) up to visit the doc?

Thanks,
- John

"John Krystek" wrote :
Our 2 year old tabby Jinx hurt himself somehow during the night
http://krystek.net/JinxCut


First I have to say, what a gorgeous boy!!

As for the cut, it looks so painful. I understand that cats
have very thin skin, too. I could not rest until I had taken him to the vet
if he were mine. Remember that they mask pain very well, so he is probably
in pain even if he does not show it. Poor baby.

John Krystek wrote:
Is there anything I can do or should I pack him (and his brother, they
go everywhere together) up to visit the doc?

We've had the exact same thing happen to one of our cats, it wasn't a
big dead. I would wash the area with disinfectant, iodide solution works
well because it doesn't hurt. Monitor for infection. In case of pus,
call vet.

Victor

ps- he is gorgeous!

--
Victor M. Martinez
Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM)
Send your spam he
Email me he

John Krystek wrote:
It's on the back of his neck, and is a cut along with about a
half-dollar sized area of missing fur. He seems irritated at not being
able to lick it, and unless I distract him he'll try to scratch at the
area. The area is very tender and he winces when it's touched.
I can't see the injury on the picture but I would take him to a
vet/animal
hospital as a precaution. Maybe it needs stitches/cleaning/
maybe internal injuries. An xray may be needed.

Any sign of blood anywhere (throwing up, in the stool, etc.?)

snip

It's on the back of his neck, and is a cut along with about a
half-dollar sized area of missing fur. He seems irritated at not being
able to lick it, and unless I distract him he'll try to scratch at the
area. The area is very tender and he winces when it's touched. It
looks like he might have been crawling under something and had a tuft
of his fur caught then ripped out - he's an indoor-only cat. He's also
extremely jumpy and hates going to the vet so I'm hesitant to take him
there if it isn't necessary, but I'm worried about potential infection.
Is there anything I can do or should I pack him (and his brother, they
go everywhere together) up to visit the doc?


the cut looks rather minor...
just keep your eye on it...and it should get better within a few days.

if there is *any* sign that things are getting worse...
take your cat to the vet!

Victor Martinez wrote:
We've had the exact same thing happen to one of our cats, it wasn't a
big dead. I would wash the area with disinfectant, iodide solution works
well because it doesn't hurt. Monitor for infection. In case of pus,
call vet.
It may need stitches, the cat may also need an elizabethian collar.
Cleaning and infection is a possibility.

I would also suspect hidden internal injuries.

Thank you to everyone that replied. I had an opportunity to look at his
injury a little more closely and it looks like the cut is fairly
superficial, more like a scrape, and probably was caused by the pulling
action of whatever he was caught on as opposed to contact trauma. I
can't imagine what could've caused this injury but I'm sure my wife and
I will turn the house over trying to figure it out.

I've decided against going to the vet at least initially because I
don't want to needlessly traumatize him. I'll be home all day and will
take him to the vet immediately if anything changes.

DW, you might need to scroll down to see the 2nd picture. Victor, you
mention washing with iodine, which I don't have on hand - what about
hydrogen peroxide? I should be able to run a stream of it over his
patch and to reduce any possibility of infection. Is there a danger of
using hydrogen peroxide on a cat?

Thanks again,
- John

If you want to see a couple great pictures of our babies around 2 years
ago:
http://www.krystek.net/JinxTeddy
Jinx has definitely grown since then.

"John Krystek" wrote in message
oups.com...
Victor, you
mention washing with iodine, which I don't have on hand - what about
hydrogen peroxide? I should be able to run a stream of it over his
patch and to reduce any possibility of infection. Is there a danger of
using hydrogen peroxide on a cat?

Thanks again,
- John

If you want to see a couple great pictures of our babies around 2 years
ago:
http://www.krystek.net/JinxTeddy
Jinx has definitely grown since then.


John, there was recently a thread on peroxide. Look for the "peroxide and
cats" thread. Here is a quote from Megan (*very* experienced in feline
care) from that thread: "I prefer a 50/50 solution of Betadine and water,
either as a soak or topically. A few times in the past I've had to use it in
a syringe (w/no needle) to flush an abscess as well. I always blot
afterwards so it can't be ingested and have never had a problem."

MaryL

Photos of Duffy and Holly: 'o'
Duffy: http://tinyurl.com/cslwf
Holly: http://tinyurl.com/9t68o
Duffy and Holly together: http://tinyurl.com/8b47e

Peroxide sounds good to use...I used that on my cats when they had
scrapes...
"MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote in message
news:mP4bf.4878$AC.3498@dukeread10...

"John Krystek" wrote in message
oups.com...
Victor, you
mention washing with iodine, which I don't have on hand - what about
hydrogen peroxide? I should be able to run a stream of it over his
patch and to reduce any possibility of infection. Is there a danger of
using hydrogen peroxide on a cat?

Thanks again,
- John

If you want to see a couple great pictures of our babies around 2 years
ago:
http://www.krystek.net/JinxTeddy
Jinx has definitely grown since then.


John, there was recently a thread on peroxide. Look for the "peroxide and
cats" thread. Here is a quote from Megan (*very* experienced in feline
care) from that thread: "I prefer a 50/50 solution of Betadine and water,
either as a soak or topically. A few times in the past I've had to use it
in a syringe (w/no needle) to flush an abscess as well. I always blot
afterwards so it can't be ingested and have never had a problem."

MaryL

Photos of Duffy and Holly: 'o'
Duffy: http://tinyurl.com/cslwf
Holly: http://tinyurl.com/9t68o
Duffy and Holly together: http://tinyurl.com/8b47e

John Krystek wrote:

Thank you to everyone that replied. I had an opportunity to look at his
injury a little more closely and it looks like the cut is fairly
superficial, more like a scrape, and probably was caused by the pulling
action of whatever he was caught on as opposed to contact trauma. I
can't imagine what could've caused this injury but I'm sure my wife and
I will turn the house over trying to figure it out.

I've decided against going to the vet at least initially because I
don't want to needlessly traumatize him. I'll be home all day and will
take him to the vet immediately if anything changes.

DW, you might need to scroll down to see the 2nd picture. Victor, you
mention washing with iodine, which I don't have on hand - what about
hydrogen peroxide? I should be able to run a stream of it over his
patch and to reduce any possibility of infection. Is there a danger of
using hydrogen peroxide on a cat?


If you have hydrogen peroxide on hand, I'd say go ahead and use it to
clean out the wound now. Better to get the wound cleaned out now I think
instead of waiting to obtain betadine. (Years ago, a vet told me to use
hydrogen peroxide on a cat with a sore on it's neck/back, so that's what
what I've used on the few occasions I've needed to do so.)