help cat attack!!!!!

[blazinreps]

I come up the stairs and what do i see but my damn cat runing from my room woth somthing in his mouth. thinking is one of my breeder mice i run down the halla nd corner him in the kitchen and make him drop it to realie its 1 of my juvi leos. now im really mad and the leo has droped its tail an dha sit in its mouth i throw the cat out side and then relize the leo is bleeding quite a bit. fliping him over i see 2 puncture wounds neer hios back legs i thought he was already dead. i scuped him up and put him on the counter witch he draged him self across. i ahve him in a small container hes breathing fine and is walking but draging his back legs i dont know what to do now.

[marisa]

Nothing anyone can say here will help. You need to take the leopard to the vet.

Marisa
P.S. I am also moving this to the leo forum for better answers.

[BoidKeeper]

I'd give him back to the cat or put him in the freezer and then find some way to make sure this never happens again. I have a cat to and the second I leave the snake room door open and turn my back my cat goes in there. So now when I'm no in the snake room even for a second I keep the door closed.
Trevor

[fairyfires]

I had the same thing happen to me, my cat got my gecko but there was a huge hole in her side and her in-sides were hanging out, she had dropped her tail as well. I put her in the freezer to end her suffering.

[BoidKeeper]

BTW, giving it back to the cat was a joke. The leo does sound like it's paralized though so once you confirm that I would not prolong its suffering.
Trevor

[clint545]

That's a shame. I've got a cat too that likes to snoop, but he's only allowed in the room if I am. Once I leave the room the door is closed. Most of the time, if I'm in here He just sits at the doorway. He's more interested in the odd cricket that gets loose from time to time. But definitly take your leo to a vet as soon as you can.

[Clownfishie]

Make the leo as comfortable as you can, and then take it to the vet tomorrow -- be prepared for possibly having to put it down though, it sounds like it's been injured fairly severely if it isn't able to move it's back legs at all.

In the future, I would make sure to keep the door to your room closed if you're not in there to prevent a reaccurance. I'm curious as to how the cat got at the leo if the cage has a proper lid on it though -- my cats can LOOK into the cages, but with the lids on they definitely can't get in to get at anything.


Jen

[Dan and Kandyce]

Damn, it looks like i got very lucky with my cats. They don't bother anything. Once one of my scorpions got loose somehow, and my cats didn't even bother it. If I take one of my 3 leo's out and sit down on the couch, my cats will just sit there and pay no attention to them. Even when i put them close to the cat to see their reaction, nothing. Now the crickets on the other hand they love.

[blazinreps]

all my outher cats are not like this. its only the one devil cat it keeps getting in my room i kick it out even when im in there. i alays find him on my tabnsk and continuasly throw him out. he got in cuz h some how got to the highest shelf in my room. the top of the tanks is screena nd sits in the lip he forced his wiat on it enough to pop it in. i can believ he wnat for the leo it usually never runs around.
im misting him keeping him comfy seeing if its just shock. really dont wnat to have to freeze him.

[SadisticPsycho]

Aww.. poor thing... :(

Hopefully you won't have to put your leo down, but if it is suffering really bad you might have to.

[augerdvm]

Sorry bout your gecko...
be aware..cat's mouthes are heavily infested with bacteria nad the likely hood of internal infection is very high

if the gecko isnt permanently damaged then agressive antibiotic therapy is warranted

you need to seek veterinary attention ASAP



BTW: to those recommending putting the animal in the freezer...realize that studies have shown that that is a VERY PAINFUL way for herps to die. Ice crystal's actually form in the organs before death occurs. I personally havent felt my liver freeze but i think it would be very unpleasant. THere are more humane ways to euthanatize your animals.

[beanersmysav]

Cats and reptiles dont really mix at all, cats will naturally go after most things smaller, after a cat killed my parot when I was a kid I've never owned one since. Don't have anything against them I just love my reptiles way too much to jepordize having a cat around. When I clean all 17 cages I don't have time to shut the door when I have a 3 ft water dish full of monitor poo in my hand so I couldn't take the chance of evening owning a cat besides my girls allergic to them which is good that way she never has the idea of infesting my house with such creatures. Sorry about your leo man, I'd either ditch the cat or keep it in its own room so you can freely do things with your herps without worrying about it.

[Double J]

The way look at it is this... you cannot blame a cat for being a cat.
Every time a cat gets into any of our herp rooms and wreaks havoc, it is our fault. I have two particularly mischievious cats, and a collection of over 80 animals. I do the following things.
1) I mist my cats with my spray bottle when they attempt to play on or around any tanks.
2) The only time the cats are in my frog room or gecko room is when I am there, and even then they are watched like a hawk.
3) I always do a thorough check when leaving my herp rooms to make sure the cats are out.
4) The doors are always kept closed

That said, I have a dart frog vivarium and a large bearded dragon enclosure in the main hallway and the living room respectively, and the cats leave them alone for the most part., at best, they will sleep on top of the tanks near the warm lights.

Sometimes I am glad when my cats follow me into my herp rooms. They are great to have around when you drop a cricket, or two, or ten on the floor.

[peterm15]

ya my sisses cats are like that.... my chameleon cage is entire screen with a full lngth screen door... duel locks and stuff... and the leos cage is a tight fit top... between the top and the room( not much) to open it i dont have a prob... doesnt mean i allow the cats in... i dont... unless im in there... i made sure there not comfortable... every time they come in i give them a scare... i hiss or clap or give them a squirt.. s when they are in there they are nervous... they dont even go near the cage... ive locked them in my room once and they just scratched at the door...

im very sorry to hear about your loe... i hope its just shock.... but i personally would spend the money to have it put down... freezing its is just cruel... would anyone here freeze there dog or bird or mother... lol... no... there still your pet... and that makes the difference...

[Jeff_Favelle]

How could a cat open a secured cage that your Leo was in???

[Shad0w]

Yea I agree.. put the poor thing out of its misery...

[little_dragon_]

I agree if you bring it to the vet you will be paying a lot of money for the inevitable. It's a tough lesson to learn but next time you'll be able to prevent it. sorry for your loss.

[splizzy]

The leo will have to be seen by a vet within 24 hours from when the bite occured. Like augerdvm said cats mouths are filled with bacteria and most animals that are bitten ( even humans can get fatal infections ) will die. He will need to be given an antibiotic. This past summer I rescued a warbler from the jaws of my cat. He was such a tiny bird. I got him to a local girl who does wildlife rehab. She is the one who informed me that cat bites are fatal if antibiotics are not administered within 24 hours. The little warbler survived my cats bite, and is now wintering at the Toronto Zoo's aviaries.

Please don't freeze your gecko. Take him to the vet - he has a chance.

Best of luck to you and the little leo!

[Manitoban Herps]

My house gecko got bit by my cat and it survived for a couple more years, the wound healed nicley, though you should bring her to the vet.

[Topaz]

I unfortuantly had my cat kill a leo before... I was horrified and felt awful... I just couldn't forgive myself but had to forgive the cat (after giving myself and him a time out!) because thats what cats do. I now make sure EVERYONE has secure lids so it wont happen and if the cat goes near the tanks (small one bedroom apartment, hard to have a herp room :P) I yell NO and he knows and runs off. Also I NEVER leave the cats unattended. If I am not home or asleep, they are in the kitchen with teh doors closed. They have their food, water, litterpan, and cat tree in there ;) .
Its unfortunate, all I could do was try and make him comfortable as he was pretty much dead when I found him. Rarely does any animal survive a cat bite when its a lizard or small mammal as infection happens often.

Best thing is to learn from this experience and realise even a tame cat may turn on something small that moves. Never risk it and take measures to make sure it doesn't happen again.
Good luck

[Cookie]

Hmmmmmm i have seen this cat attack to many times now!!! Gee i was thinking of opening a china shop and was wondering if anyone would happen to have a bull oh wait! that would mean disaster! So why do so many people put reptiles and cats together (my opinion) as i would never have a parrot and an atb in the same house. kinda like having a couple of duck dogs then go and build a duck pond exspecting the dogs not to do anything to the ducks because I LIKE THEM !!!! in one word people INSTINCT!!!!!!!!! like seriously here you ever go to a reptile dealer and at the same time you buy your reptile get to pet a cat!!!??? I SIMPLY BLAME YOU BLAZINREPS FOR YOUR SAD AND UNFORTUNATE MISFORTUNE. can't blame the cat!... sorry for this post people and you may find me being hard on this guy but i am sorry i say it like it is! some may be saying is this dude saying we should not have cats with our herps YUP that's what i am saying!!!

[Slannesh]

Wow Cookie, way to bring some common sense to the table. :rolleyes:

I've had cats for decades as well as Herps of various shapes and sizes.

Yes I take precautions to keep them apart, but accidents do happen, and even I've learned the hard way that window screening won't keep a determined cat out of a day gecko tank.

I can only assume that your house and herps are SO safe and secure that it would take the direct wrath of god himself to allow any harm to befall any of them? Please.

How about before jumping on the poor guy for making a mistake that any of us could have made you show some compassion and offer some constructive advice on how to keep such a thing from happening in the future?

[sneaky_boa]

Blazinreps, any word on the leo? Update us as to what has happened since the bite!

[LISA127]

I've been keeping reptiles and cats for 7 years and have never had a problem. Reptiles should be in secure cages, and in secure containers during cleaning. So for everyone who is saying don't own cats if you have reptiles, I have to disagree.

I also have to strongly disagree with the person who said to dump the cat. That's the problem with people. They think living, feeling animals are disposable. There are already too many homeless cats and dogs losing their lives every day. Please don't dump the cat. It's his home too.