Question about My Cat

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My cat got bit in the neck by my other cat awhile ago, pretty bad. I took her to the vet and he gave her antibotics and cream. It healed up a little but everytime her hair starts to grow back, she scratches it and gets it bleeding again. I have tried to bandage it with no luck, she pulls off the bandage. Was wondering if anyone had a natural remedy of some ointment or ideas to heal it completely? Thanks

-- Carla Hoy (hoycarla@hotmail.com), December 29, 2000

Answers

Tape up the foot and the cat has no claws to scratch. We do this quite often. The wound will heal this way.DW

-- DW (djwallace@ctos.com), December 29, 2000.

I have found that Vit. E (the oil in the capsules) squeezed onto the area promotes healing. And yes, tape up the foot.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), December 29, 2000.

Might try clipping the claws on the 'scratching foot' in addition to doing the taping. And the Vit E will help.

j

-- j (jw_hsv@yahoo.com), December 29, 2000.


Does anyone else use BAGBALM? I keep a tin of it in the house,a tin at the barn,and a tin of it in our camp gear.We use it for all manner of wounds for ourseves and fr the critters.In my backpack/purse I even refilled a carmex container with BAGBALM mixed with some Vicks Vaporub and it works too...the eucalytus is a healing agent as well but I doubt the cat would appreciate it's healing qualities!!

-- Tammy S.South in Western KY (w-feather40@webtv.net), December 29, 2000.

Tammy-I to use bag balm all the time! Just the other week, one of the barn cats got in a fight with our puppy, and got her neck cut open...out came the balm!! It started to heal, but got infected, so I took her to the vet, who told me that the balm might not have been the best thing to have put on it, because it is sticky, and dirt and dust can get stuck to it, infecting it worse! So now I guess I will have to be a little more careful where I use it! I do still use it on my hands, which dry out something terrible in this winter weather, though!

-- Joe (Threearrs@AOL.com), December 29, 2000.


When cats get a puncture wound the wound tends to heal over on the top but fester underneath. Check to see if this is happening. It might be the reason she won't leave it alone. If it is infected under the skin you'll have to wash the wound often to keep it open (so it can start to heal on the inside first) and then put whatever the vet recommends on it. You can tell if it's infected if there is a soft blister-like area at the wound. You may also have to drain the infection-nasty job but necessary. Taping the feet sounds like a real good idea.

-- Peg (wildwoodfarms@hushmail.com), December 29, 2000.

Don't know if this would work and depends where the neck injury is, but you might want to make an "Elizabethian" collar (hope that's right, but your vet knows). It's kind of like a large circle with a hole in the center to put around her neck, and it's funnel shaped. Could make it from a large plastic container. That way the cat couldn't scratch at the wound.

-- Marsha (CaprisMaa@aol.com), December 30, 2000.

Please don't ever put greasy stuff on pucture wounds, they need to DRAIN, and the gunck just gets in the way, wash twice a day with peroxide, scrub as firmly as required to draw a little fresh blood, and gently apply pressure to the wound area to encourage fluid drainage (remove pus), and apply fresh aloe vera just squeezed from the plant after the peroxide dries. This will encourage the pucture wound to heal from the inside then outside later. The aloe will keep the area moist and relieve the irritation that is making the cat scratch in the first place, although you might have to tape the cat's foot for the first few days until the infection and irritation subside a bit and she quits scratching.

I have had to do this many times with my barn cats, as they are all spayed/neutered, but my neighboor's tom cat is not, and when he comes over the resident male cats have to make him leave, usually with a few bite wounds that subsequently need doctoring, and this works very well to heal them up. Cats do not tolerate bandaging at all, it is a waste of effort and time, so try to treat as soon as possible before the inflammation gets bad enough to scratch at. Good luck!

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), January 03, 2001.


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