Cat problem-medical attention

[nolagurl]

I'm calling around to local vet clinics tomorrow but I thought I'd ask everyone here for advice as well.

I have a few outside (feral) cats. I feed them everyday and if I ever moved I'd take them with me. They are strictly outside cats but I do let them come inside the house often.


One of the cats has been bullying the other cats. He's been picking fights with them and now the other cats are scared to death of him. A few days ago I woke up to the sound of cats fighting. Keep in mind my bedroom is upstairs in a two story house! The cats were fighting outside.


Tonight, just a few hours ago, I was holding the bully. I couldn't help but notice a big scratch and a large patch of hair missing. I'm assuming he knawed off the hair while scratching the itchy spot.

The scratch doesn't look infected. It seems that it's trying to heal but I see a clear pus like substance oozing out. What bothers me the most is the bald patch actually.

Keep in mind these are outside kitties. They are pretty tough. I can't keep them inside because they'll freak out if they feel *trapped*. When inside the house they have to have at least one door open so they can come in and out as they please.

I'd imagine the vet will give me some topical cream for the wound, and maybe give the cat a shot of antibiotics.

Anyone have a clue about how much this will cost/how to treat, etc...?

I'll attempt to get an appointment with a vet this week, ASAP. Until then is there anything I could apply, like neosporin?


Thanks!

[ohh_kristina]

Both of my cats venture outside, but come inside to eat and such. One of them is an manx cat that has a very bad attitude problem. He will attack ANYTHING..humans, other cats, even really big dogs. Anyway, he has this thing about pulling out chunks of his hair when he gets mad. We have taken him to the vet to see if he had mites or something, but he was clean. The vet said that it was probably due to stress, kind of like those cases where people develop an obsession with pulling out their own hair when stressed. Maybe it's the same case with your cat? Boots (my cat with the attitude problem) didn't start doing this until a few years ago. He's probably 9 years old now. It's a stab in the dark, but I figured I would mention it anyway. Boots walks around with bald spots on a regular basis.

Good luck with your cats!

[nolagurl]

Well he's never done this before. The bald spot is only around the wound so I think it's more wound related than anything. He seems pretty stress free since he stresses the other cats out. One of my cats (Puma) was/is so intimidated by him that Puma stopped coming to the house for about two months! He finally came back looking pretty slim.

[sapphire_moon]

Put some neosporin on it (I know I say that in every post that has an animal with a minor injury lol. but it really does work!) the regular kind. 2 times a day if possible. Wash it off with a wet wash cloth. In a week you should see major improvement. The hair probably just got ripped out during the cat fight. and while you have that male at the vet if you take him try and get him fixed It might help calm him down plus you won't end up with hundreds of cats running around (if you haven't got him fixed already).......

Good luck

[chas*e]

I have 4 cats and one is a "outsider" that comes in only to eat and heal from all his fights. Believe it or not he(chuckie bronson) is really affectionate also. Anyways, he always suffers from huge puss balls and missing fur spots. The puss balls are caused by cat bites. Cats have needle like teeth and the initial bite heals almost overnight but the internal infection swells. I usually give my cat a dose of baytril (used for my snakes) 10mg/kg and open/squeeze the puss ball and apply polysporin...The cat rests for a day or two and is right back at it......another example how snakes help cats....lol....ps...this is only how I do it and I am not a vet.

[Auskan]

It sounds like it could be an abscess which should really be opened and drained under anesthestic by a vet. It won't take that long and vets usually try to keep the costs low as this is such a common affliction for cats. I agree that while you have him there you might consider getting him neutered which will calm him down and reduce the amount of fighting he does (since the fights are over territory and access to available females), which will reduce the number of times you have him to the vet for abscesses.

[chas*e]

Ya, that is a good suggestion ,but, it is an outside cat that really is a free spirit and for all intensive purposes is using me for my food..lol..so it is on it's own....If it becomes really sick and I can't treat it myself I would bring it to a Vet....

[nolagurl]

I had all of my outside cats spayed and neutered when they were kittens.

[sapphire_moon]

If it is an already open absess then go ahead and clean it 2 times daily and put neosporin on it...
We had a cat (it was in the most filthy of living condtions) and we were able to clean an open absess on her forehead, 2 times daily, and within 3 days it started to heal from the inside out (making sure to use a Q- tip to gently push the neosporin into the absess) and if it is an absess it will probably smell like something rotting. (it is a really really gross smell)

[Jungle Jen]

I am not a vet, but I am a vet tech and I'm just taking an educated guess by your description. As others have mentioned it sounds like a cat fight abscess. It needs to be opened, maybe try a warm compress until you can pull the scab off and drain out all the pus. This needs to be kept open if it is indeed an abscess until the pocket the pus is filling gets a chance to heal. You can use hibitane soap (available at any drug store) to clean the area twice daily, you can dilute it with water and use it as the compress as well. Good luck, and seeing a vet is generally the best idea.

[nolagurl]

Well the cat is a little stinky. It's not a rotting smell, more like spit from him licking the wound.

[Oliverian]

Jeez, I really should learn not to eat while reading these forums! Good luck with your cat, nolagurl.
Hopefully it doesn't get badly infected.
-TammyR