My cat was injured in the face in a fight. It looks like it is just swollen from a claw scratch. This morning I was able to squeeze some pus and blood out of it and I used rubbing alcohol to clean it. Is this a safe way to doctor him or should I use something else? I also would like to know if I should get an antibiotic of some kind.

-- robin h.deel (r_deel2000@yahoo.com), April 18, 2001

Answers

If it is abscessing very badly, it should probably be drained by a vet. I would definitely recommend antibiotics too. If the would is very big, cleaning it with peroxide a couple of times a day should keep it open well enough to let it drain. If it's a puncture would, it will probably need to be drained by a vet.

==>paul

-- paul (p@ledgewood-consulting.com), April 18, 2001.

Paul is right. Facial wounds, especially on or very close to the cheek bone can become infected very easily. Plus, once infected, they can spread into the brain.

Hydrogen peroxide would have been the first choice.... Have you ever poured alcohol into an open wound? Plus... get the alcohol into the bloodstream and it can create problems.

-- Sue Diederich (willow666@rocketmail.com), April 18, 2001.

You can rinse out the wound with Benedine and warm water. Take a syringe (without the needle) and insert it into the hole that the puss was coming out of, then flush it. You would have to pick the scab off and do it the next day if needed until there is no more puss.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), April 18, 2001.

Dee, did you mean "Betadine"? If so, I thought straight Betadine would burn the tissue.

Anyway, my personal opinion is that you should take the cat to the vet. Fight wounds are VERY likely to abscess, unless thoroughly cleaned out, and it's hard to be thorough on a cat all by yourself.

-- Joy F (So.Central Wisconsin) (CatFlunky@excite.com), April 18, 2001.

One of my four cats gets abscesses every time he gets a scratch, I think he's just prone to them.After getting the first one dealt with by the vet,I've dealt with all the others. Make sure you keep the wound clean and open for a couple of days, I put a little antibiotic cream on the wound, but the cat usually licks it off if he can get to it. Generally once it has burst the cat's pain decreases, so if you can touch it without kitty getting concerned, the healing process has started. Just keep a close eye on things, if the wound starts to heat up again or heals too quickly you may need the vet.Good luck.

-- Carol Koller (ckoller@netsync.net), April 18, 2001.

Cat scratches and bites can get infected very easily. If topical antibiotics don't work, take the kitty to the vet. And don't use tea tree oil. I thought since it works for people it would work for cats. I caused the poor thing a lot a pain & could have lost him. Good luck and God bless.

-- Bonnie (stichart@plix.com), April 18, 2001.

We have an outside cat that always gets beat up defending his turf. I buy penicillin from the vet (dry, mix with water when needed). Our cat Fuzz loves canned food, so no problem getting the medicine down him. He won't let us pet him when he's not sick, so there's no way in the world we could work on an injury. The last time he was in a fight, he stayed away from the house for several days, came in with one eye swelled shut, from abscess on side of face. Penicillin fixed him fine. The vet thinks we should give him boxing lessons! He's almost 8 years old and that's pretty good for coyote country.

-- ruth in s.e.Illinois (bobtravous@email.com), April 18, 2001.

I would ask if he is neutered, which helps but is no guarantee. We have a neutered cat and his joy in life is to fight with the neighbor's tomcat. He comes in all banged up sometimes but so far has not abcessed. When I worked at the vet's we saw this quite often, especially this time of year. All most vet's usually do is lance the abcess and send you home with antibiotics(amoxicillin)and maybe some topical antibiotics. Occasionally they have to have a drain tube but very rarely. Good luck, LaDena

-- LaDena (kjohnson@wcnet.net), April 18, 2001.

I found from my son, the vet, (but too late, I'm sad to say) that cats can get kitty leukemia by fighting, getting bit, and so forth.

My cat croaked, after wasting away from this disease for several months

My new cat (also a Tom)--he's fixed, and has no interest in fighting.

JOJ

-- jumpoff joe (jumpoff@ecoweb.net), April 18, 2001.

JumpOff Joe, not only can they contract Feline Leukemia from fighting but also Feline AIDS. There is a test for both that requires a small amount of blood but it is an inhouse test and takes about ten minutes to get the results. You can vaccinate against the Leukemia but not the AIDS. Sorry for your loss, LaDena

-- LaDena (kjohnson@wcnet.net), April 18, 2001.

After taking some of my cats to the vet in the past to have fight wounds taken care of, I now do it myself. Always have injectable penicillen on hand, seems to work better than the oral. Lance the abcess with a clean razor blade and clean thoroughly with a cotton swab and peroxide. If the cat can reach the wound himself, he will keep it cleaner than you can. Otherwise, you'll have to clean it for him. And, yes, feline aids and/or leukemia are very likely. Good luck!

-- Marcia (HrMr@webtv.net), April 18, 2001.

I agree with Marsha. Some moron dumped 7 cats on my road and before I was able to trap and fix them all I ended up with 17! When they had abcesses I cut it with a razorblade And cleaned with poroxide. Funny after a while they seemed to not mind this treatment at all! I would have been broke if I used a vet each time. Oh don't forget the large dose of love after each treatment! I'm down to 1 kitty now but I must have cut and cleaned over 50 times all with good results....Kirk

-- Kirk Davis (kirkay@yahoo.com), April 19, 2001.

Joy,

Yes, it was late and I wish this forum had spell check. I also said to mix with warm water, never said to use straight, although it doesn't burn as much as iodine would. I used to work for a vet and this is what we would do to clean out abcessed wounds.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), April 19, 2001.

A bottle of generic (Wally world) contact lense rinsing/soaking solution (2.00 +/-) is really good for rinsing out wounds, and the cheaper saline is also effective, but not as cleansing. You can get the kind that says "no enzymatic cleaner needed with regular use of this product". THat means that it contains a chemical that eats protein (like pus and other gooky stuff) as well as cleaning and rinsing. Since the tip is small, the contents stay fresh and sterile for a long time, and the pressurized stream that you can get if you squeeze hard is good for dislodging dirt and stuff. I use it all the time, and they puddies have never shown more than their normal aversion to foreign substances when the stuff hits them. Plus, if they lick it, it won't hurt them.

-- Soni (thomkilroy@hotmail.com), April 20, 2001.

Cool idea Soni.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), April 21, 2001.