Conference misery::feline_v1

    Can you get some antibiotic from the vet to start him on?
    Although how you can give him a liquid or a pill with a cheek
    wound....  he might have a broken jaw or facial bones as well...
    I recollect when my first cat used to go outside that the vet
    prescribed some topical medication for abscesses (Panilog?)
    Try calling the vet for advice.
    
    Please let us know what is happening.
    

    Mayeb it is an abscess on the cheek that was untreated and broke
    open -- this might give teh appearancew your daughter saw....
    

    Sandy, I would have to agree w/ Karen (.2) that the wound is an
    abscess.  When Nippa had her's on her paw.....it was the most
    disgusting thing I have ever seen....I really thought she was missing
    toes or something....we are talking gross!
    
    Since then she has had another on her hind quarter, and it was very
    small. 
    
    Good luck..... 

    I keep a jar of antibiotic sauve that I use for my strays and their
    abcesses.  It is called Fureo-something.  Oh I hate it when that
    happens!  I can't remember the name now.  It is a yellowish colored
    sauve.  We used it on that siamese that had such a bad abcess.  It
    worked well for him.  
    
    Any kind of antiobiotics will be helpful if it is an abcess.  Do what
    you can.  If you have some amoxi or something at home, use it.  Or call
    your vet and ask for suggestions.
    
    The siamese I mentioned had a nasty abcess and I ended up taking him
    into the vet to have it stitched closed.  The abcess had burst on his
    back, and was really very deep.  With the help of another feliner, I
    took him in, had him neutered, Felv/Fiv tested, and had the abcess
    cleaned and stitched shut.  There was literally a 6 inch wide whole on 
    this cat's back.  Abcesses can be very nasty.
    
    Jo

    Sandi,
    
    Do we have an update on Beauty yet?  My goodness that was a terrible
    sounding thing she has!  Please let us know.
    
    Lisa & Flirtaysha

    OK gang,  here's the update......
    
    Beauty was a good boy and came to see me on Saturday morning.  We had
    already taken the pre-caution of putting Grey in the wash room so that
    Beauty could come into the porch.  They fight terribly otherwise.
    
    Beauty came right in and let me take a look at him.  Gross is right!!!!
    It isn't a gash -  it is a huge hole.  He isn't running a fever and ate
    everything I gave him (boy was he starved).  I gave him some amoxi and
    cleaned the wound with hydrogen peroxide.  It was the only thing I had.
    He didn't even flinch.  It doesn't look infected and my daughter says
    it looked better than the day before.  
    
    I didn't see him Sunday but will look for him tonight when I get home.
    Poor Beauty...  He has gone through so much and now this.  I hope the
    people that took him in are still taking care of him.  He was soooo
    hungry, I wonder if they are still feeding him.  I hope so,  It would
    be hard to take care of both Beauty and Grey at the same time.
    
    I'm wondering if vaseline would help???  Any other suggestions other
    than what you have already come up with???  You gave me some fantastic
    ideas.
    
    Oops,  Almost forgot to add that Beauty showed up on Saturday, after
    the Vet had closed for the day.  He isn't stupid.....
    
    Thanks, gang
    
    Sandi
    

    What a good boy Beauty is!  I tried peroxide on the Siamese and he took
    off like a bucking bronco for about 5 minutes.  Once the sting went
    away he came back for more though.  It think that they know that we are 
    just trying to help them.  
    
    Keep with the antibiotics, try to get them into him twice a day.  Are
    you using pills or liquid?  If it is the pills, give him about 100mg
    twice a day.  If it is the liquid, remember that the antibiotic in the
    liquid is only good for 14 days after it is reconstituted.  So, if it
    is leftover from someone else's illness, it may not be good any longer.
    
    Jo

    Can you check with the people who took him in to see if they
    are still "taking care" of him?  It sounds like this thing
    ought to be seen by a vet....
    

    Sandi...
    
    It doesn't sound like the people who are taking care of them really
    are!  Why would he be so hungry and I think he came back to you
    for help.  You are wonderful for caring....
    
    Please keep us update....
    
    Sandy (the other sandy sucker...)

    More questions and info......
    
    The bottle of Amoxi I have was for Thunder.  It says good till 1/91.
    I have another bottle that says good till 11/91.  I have given Beauty
    only one dose of the liquid so far.  That was on Saturday.  I haven't
    seen him since.  I really do hope they are taking care of him.  He
    looks healthy and his weight is excellent so I don't know.  I have no
    way of knowing who has taken him in.  I haven't seen which house he
    comes out of but maybe the boy who shovels my driveway might.  I will
    have to ask him when I see him.  Maybe he had holed up for a while to
    heal and maybe they weren't home when he was hungry.  I really do
    think Beauty is a wonderful cat and would take him in but my Thunder
    and Lightning definitely say no...  Lightning already met him and was
    ready to kill.  She doesn't realize that he is battle-scarred for a
    reason.  I've seen him fight and he can hold his own and usually win.
    
    Will try to keep you informed...
    
    Sandi (S stands for *S*ucker)
    
    

    Sandi,
    
    The expiration date on the bottle is for the antibiotic when in dry
    powder form.  If not reconstituted, it will remain effective until 
    that date.  Once water is added to reconstitute the antibiotic, the
    antibiotic is only good for about 14 days.
    
    Do what you can for Beauty.  That is all you can do.  If he has any
    owners, I am surprised that they haven't taken him in for treatment.
    Sounds like this abcess is pretty nasty.
    
    Jo
    

    Thank, Jo,
    
    I didn't know that about the antibiotic.  
    
    I hope I see Beauty again soon.  I do worry about him.  It took 6
    years to get him to finally trust someone and I am so glad that
    someone was me.  He is such a love.  
    
    Would baking soda (diluted) help in any way???  I know it works on
    us humans.  A salt wash would be good too but I don't think he would
    stand for that...
    
    Thanks again,
    
    Sandi
    
    

    The peroxide is good if you can do that again.  Or better yet, betadine
    would be a fantastic thing to use to keep the wound clean.  I used
    it on my siamese stray.  The peroxide stung too much and he didn't like
    it.  I think that suave I was talking about was Nitrofurazone (??).
    I bought it from a catalog.  It worked wonders.  Another good thing
    might be that Terracotril spray.  Anything that will disinfect would
    be good, as long as it isn't something that can be poisonous to the
    cat.
    
    When I go to the vet with one of my cats, I always ask for tablets
    instead of liquid, and also for some extras.  My vet knows that I am 
    a sucker and that I treat strays, so she obliges me.  She and I have a 
    saying..."well, a little antibiotic won't hurt 'em" when we are dealing
    with my strays. :^)
    
    Jo

    Well, I saw Beauty this morning for a few minutes.  The wound is a
    little smaller.  When I used the peroxide this time, it fizzed, so I
    know there is a little infection there.  He was hungry again, so I
    gave him a bowl of food.  I spent about 15 minutes with him and then
    he left.  I put some food outside for him just in case.
    
    It was good to see him again.  I was worried because I hadn't seen him
    since Saturday.  I will try to get to my vet's tomorrow and ask for 
    some antibiotic pills for him. 
    
    Thanks for all the info and support.
    
    Sandi