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Conference misery::feline

Title:	Meower Power - Where Differing Opinions are Respected
Notice:	purrrrr...
Moderator:	JULIET::CORDES_JA

Created:	Wed Nov 13 1991
Last Modified:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	1079
Total number of notes:	28858

520.0. "do cats bruise/heal on their own" by RHETT::LACORTI () Wed Mar 17 1993 12:45

    Once again, Chief seems to have gotten in some kind of trouble/
    adventure.  
    
    Here in GA we got about 9 inches of snow last weekend.  Chief would
    cry to go out and I would let him go out by opening the garage door
    6 inches and he would look outside and come right back.. Sunday
    we let him out for about an hour, but he did not like the snow.
    He keep sinking in the drifts.  Same for Monday... By Tuesday
    everything was a melting mess so I let him out.  Last night around
    8:30 I am came home from my workout and he was covered from head
    to toe with wet dirt.... Like he fell in a dirty puddle.  Well
    try bathing a cat that has never been bathed before.. Did not work..
    So I let him clean himself off while keeping him locked in the
    bathroom...  He is now clean and almost new... I say almost because..
    
    on one side near his rump, the fur is still sorta tangled a bit
    in a few spots.. It is pretty clean though around the 2-3 knots.
    I went near it and he would cry. I looked for any puncture wounds
    and did not find anything.  He is walking fine, eating fine, etc.
    He does not seem lathargic at all.  I have a feeling that the
    way he got dirty was that in what snow was left he slipped and 
    fell and got into a mud bath.. He could have fallen on that side...
    Do cats bruise at all... Is there anyway I can tell if he has a
    bruise.  Now I know why he hissed at my husband when he took
    a wet paper towel to him last night to try to clean him up around
    that area....I would like to avoid a trip to a vet since that
    tramatizes him even further....I guess I should watch and see
    how he feels in a day or two...

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
520.1	chief	DELNI::PIERCE		`Thu Mar 18 1993 10:33`	18
	Sounds like Chief may have gotten in a fight of some sort with another cat or small animal. This happens ALL the time to my tabby - covered with dirt and fur all tangled. Look real closely around the area for any sign of a small puncture (could be a small tooth puncture). Chief may have gotten bitten there but you can't see it very easily. If you see anything, wash it in warm water and douse with hydrogen peroxide - then a layer of bacitracin. My cat just got nailed the other night in a fight and this always works to battle any infection. It may be why he's growling at your husband. If you don't see anything, then I'm sure it is a bruise....and they do heal on their own so don't worry about it. Just check real closely for any marks. Jeanne
520.2	feeling better -thanks	RHETT::LACORTI		`Thu Mar 18 1993 13:02`	11
	I did check for wounds and did not see anything. Besides, when he gets into fights they always go for his tail!!!!! He does seem to be better about the area as when I looked at it this time he did not put up as much a fight.....He also seems energetic (especially at 6am) so I dont think he has an infection... Anyway my husband deserved the hiss.... he did not even call the cat while I was out....he said he thought that cat was in sleeping somewhere......
520.3	Glad to hear Chief is better	DELNI::PIERCE		`Fri Mar 19 1993 09:29`	15
	Glad he's feeling better....and hubby did deserve the hiss for not finding him! I'm sure then it's a bruise - just takes a couple of days to feel better. If Chief was lethargic, then he might have had an infection inside that you could't see. My tabby is in rough shape - got the daylights kicked out of him once again! He has so many wounds on his head right now he looks like a freak! Whole patches of fur gone with gashes....but they're healing. He's really sick of the bathin, peroxide, and antibiotics! And my Calico is on antibiotics for a bladder infection....does she ever hate taking the drops!!!!!!!!! Needless to say - it's a zoo at my house!
520.4		DAGWST::BROWN	everybody run Prom Queen's Gotta Gun!	`Mon Mar 22 1993 11:21`	6
	If the cat has two or three knots in his fur (matts?), then he may have been crying out because they are pulling on his skin. Matting can cause pain to the underlying skin. Try removing the matts and see if that doesn't help with the pain. Jo