Any idea what this could be? (re: cat)

My little sweetheart is having some problems, and I'm curious as to whether or not someone might have experienced this with their cat, and could offer some insight? Long winded, bear with me.

First off, during the cooler months, my cat is an indoor cat completely. She won't step foot outdoors. But when the weather heats up, she wants to roam about outside, so we let her.

Thing is, a few weeks ago she came home with her right eye super swollen, bloodshot, oozing discharge. I kept treating her by gently cleaning her eye with a wet cloth (no soap!) and also gave her some eye ointment to ease the swelling. Within a few days, the swelling and discharge stopped, however, the other eye started to have some discharge (but not swelling).

Okay, I kept cleaning her eyes throughout the day when I would notice accumulation, and after a few days, they seemed much better, and now her eyes appear fine.

HOWEVER, then I noticed a spot on her hind leg where it looks as though the hair is worn off, and there was a small gash. I cleaned her up, and made sure she stayed inside for several days so I could keep an eye on things. The cut healed well, and it appears to have some hair growth coming in.

But today I noticed another spot, this one on her front left leg, and it appears like another little gash, opened, a bit bigger than the other one. My older son told me he noticed her licking the wound, but I'm somewhat worried that perhaps she's biting at herself?

From the things I've researched, much of her symptoms tend to point to some type of allergies, something she's coming in contact with causing her to itch (bite) at herself. She wears a flea collar during her outdoor months and also had a flea bath treatment here at home last month. But maybe she has fleas despite? She's had fleas before, but if this (the missing hair and open gash) is from fleas, this is definitely something new for us!

I'm concerned though. Has anyone else had this happen to their cat? She's eating/drinking decently...she's acting normal, but I don't know!

We're keeping her indoors right now and she's so upset. She sits at the window, looks over at me and keeps meowing, comes over to me, looks over at the door and then back at me. She wants to go out and play so badly! But with everything that's been happening to her lately, I'm afraid to let her out!

Any thoughts?

 

Sounds like allergies or some other cat from around the neighborhood is beating her up! If her eye swells again and continues to bother her you can take a normal tetley tea bag (orange pekoe) and soak it in mildly warm water and place it over her eye, the tannins (sp?) will pull the infection out and help with the swelling.

Keep a eye on expiry dates on your pets meds. It can cause blindness up to a month before the date on the box if not kept in IDEAL conditions!

Good Luck!!

 

I would let her outside to alleviate her anxiety, but only while you are there to supervise and protect her from any harm. In terms of the allergic reactions, you might want to try using a small amount of a benadryl allergy tablet crushed up and placed in with some wet food.

Good luck and always remember, cats are really dogs in disguise...

 

Thankyou both for your responses!

The getting into fights thing, that's very possible. There are quite a few cats roaming about the neighborhood and I've seen (and heard!) her get into it with them. A few weeks ago I was sitting on my front porch and another cat came up and approached me, so I started petting it. Well out of nowhere MY cat jumps up on the porch, arches her back up and starts hissing like mad at this other cat. It was like, this is my territory, my mama, get the heck out of here!

She's a really sweet and gentle cat around the kids and I, but I have seen her get into it outside with other cats. So it is quite possible that her marks may have been a result from that, although from the combination of everything that's been happening, I'm thinking it may be allergy related. But you never know, it could be both!

I did end up letting her go outside for a bit the other day. She didn't stay out long before she came back to the door and meowed for me to let her in, but she seems more calm now that she's been able to get out for a bit.

Her eyes are still looking good, the gashes on her seem to be healing better. I'm just hoping we don't get any more of them. If so, I think I will try the Benadryl as suggested, see if it helps her out.

Thanks again!

 

Pleeease don't try this. I take that because I'm allergic to cats, giving it to your kitty could do some real damage internally. Antihistamines disable receptors that respond in crazy ways to cat dander (among other things) and your cat has plenty of it's own dander. Cats don't have the same allergies that humans do and an animals internals are so much more complex than ours.

My cats (yes, I have allergies and I keep cats) regularly have sore eyes. Unfortunately I got a kitten (a Sphynx that cost a bloody fortune) who came to us with a kitty flu and infected my other cats. They're all fine now, but a weather change or stress can make their eyes swell and weep. Her sore eye may just be from coming in to contact with another cat in your neighbourhood with infected eyes or a cold/flu. She may also have poked it or had a very fine cut, but since it then spread to the other eye I would have thought it would be a bacteria. I'm worried that maybe the eye ointment you used may not have been for cats? Especially since you don't mention anywhere that your cat has seen a vet. Your vet will give her something to clear the bacteria completely. Just because you can't see a sore eye, doesn't mean there isn't something lingering and lying dormant in there. Other than that, just clean the eyes gently with a cotton wool pad (one per eye) soaked in cool boiled water.

Sore eyes aren't usually related to skin problems when it comes to allergies. Her cuts don't sound like they are caused by allergies. Cats get up to all sorts when they go out and are very delicate. The two cuts one after the other may just be coincidence. Or she may be lying in the same sharp bushes, jumping the same sharp fence or fighting. It's good that she's licking herself to keep it clean and relieve pain. However it can be like telling a child not to play with a wound; you tell them not to but when something's going on, they just won't leave it alone and although playing with it might feel good, it takes longer to heal. If she's licking it to the point that it's not healing because she's keeping the wound open, then she needs to see a vet who will put a collar (huge cone thing) on her so she can't lick/bite it at all. When you clean the would, only use cool boiled water or something from the vet. Nothing humans use on themselves will be good for her skin.

Her hair will just have come away there because she's been looking after the wound. But keep an eye on her to make sure she's not pulling her hair out unnecessarily or it could be another reason to need a collar.

Since she's eating and drinking normally, she doesn't sound sick. They just sound like wounds. But if it's on going, she needs a blood test and perhaps a skin scraping to test for mites and other nasty things. Your vet will also better be able to see for any signs of fleas, just incase something didn't work. You could also try changing her food to see if that helps.

The stress of keeping her inside could be doing her more harm than good. She doesn't understand why you're keeping her in, especially if she feels healthy herself. Let her out but check her thoroughly when she comes in, and if you have any reason more to be concerned then she definitely needs a trip to the vet.

 

I thought you should know that you are absolutely wrong regarding Benadryl, since is very safe and effective for use with kittens, cats, puppies, dogs, pigs, goats and sheep.

I should know too, since my wife has been a certified veterinary technician for nearly 20 years and we have used benadryl many times under the direction and advice of the three veterinarians she works with and who are some of our very best of friends and one of them is even from your neck of the woods being from London.

We have 10 cats, 8 dogs and numerous other large animals on our 4 acre ranch, while my wife rescues and places 2-3 litters of abandoned and usually very sick kittens each year; raising them up from even only several days old, getting them healthy and then getting them all very good homes. Of course, every kitten she adopts out is required to get altered, receive all their shots and be brought into my wife's veterinary clinic for their yearly check-ups.

Anyway, I have seen pretty much every ailment a kitten or cat might contract over the years and allergies (usually to external irritants, never their own dander) are one of the biggest problems. If you still don't believe me, I suggest you call any veterinarian office in your area and they will confirm that I am telling you the truth.

 

Well since you know what you're doing for your cats, it's fine. You might say my years of experience are a lot less than yours. But since I was brought up with cats of my own and many adopted, we have at times had what has felt like an entire cattery. I only have 5 cats right now, which is enough for me since I'm about to take on a breeding queen of sphynx's, which are all the more delicate than a kitty with fur. If your personal vet recommends Benadryl then fine, but if you look up Benadryl and maybe even contact them, it was never approved for use in animals. Benadryl also claim to have a unique ingredient. This may however just be a claim, perhaps they just gave it their own name.

I have had a cat with allergies before, but it was to food. I also have a cat who's skin reacts to dust mite. My vet told me both times that it's more rare for a cat to have an allergy to pollen than to food or something from skin contact. And believe me I asked, since my cats had the symptoms of a cold (and some sickness) both times. Honestly, I've never looked at the Benadryl ladel, and maybe I should if I'm going to talk about it. The decongestant in some allergy tablets can be deadly for any animal. I looked online just now to see if there's a decongestant in the ingredients of Benadryl and some say there is, some say there isn't. I will however check myself. Regardless, I would imagine that Benadryl would produce excess stomach acid. That's just what I think though, and if I'm very wrong then that's okay, only a vet will know for sure.

My sister too, is a vet tech. I asked her her opinion, and all I got was 'See a vet.'

Since you have experience with many cats who have allergies to pollens, maybe that's down to our differences in location. I don't know.

HippyChick's cat has no current symptoms other than who cuts which could be absolutely anything. A cat with a cut from a knife would itch, scratch and bite the wound. They may well be allergies, but without a skin test and/or a blood test, there's no way to tell. I personally wouldn't medicate without seeing a vet first.

 

P.s. Are they your cat and dog in your sig and avartar? I love them! I have pro pics of my animals but unless I photoshop them they'll never come out as good as those.

 

Just so you know, there are LOTS of medication that was made for humans and is currently used for animals, Amoxicilan (spelt wrong I'm sure) is a anit-biotic that is used in humans to treat tooth infections and commonly used with dogs and cats for just about any infection. Asprin is commonly reccomended for elderly dogs who have arthritis.

I worked at a vet clinic for years, and I can tell you just because it's not made for a animal doesn't mean that it's not suitable. My own vet gave my old shepherd bitch Pepto Bismol after she had the runs for 5 days that we couldn't stop, and she lived to over 14.

So yeah, don't jump all over people because you aren't sure, if you google it like you suggested up top you would also find that Benadryl is used to treat Pox in squirrels.

 

Thanks for the heads up. But just so you know, I was only talking about cats. I only have experience in cats, not dogs and certainly not squirrels. I don't doubt that lots of the same ingredients are used in both human medication and animal medication.

Amoxicillin is prescription only here. I think it is there too. Amoxicillin for humans and animals is prescribed in different amounts. Eg. I had an ear infection and was given tablets of 500mg and a small cat would only get 50mg. Different antibiotics are for different types of infection, so only a vet would know to prescribe it or not.

Aspirin is as safe for dogs as it is for humans. In humans it can cause serious illness and death if used in the wrong way, and although it's not common it's not unheard of. Dogs actually respond incredibly well to aspirin, so since they respond all the more to it, it's definitely best only when prescribed by a vet. It can be deadly for cats.

Pepto Bismol is fine for dogs with upset an upset tummy, but can also be deadly for cats.

So yeah, just like you said- Don't jump all over people.

 

Don't be mad because you were corrected.

 

I wasn't mad. I was dry.

 

It was never my intention to hurt your feelings or squash your ego in contradicting your words in offering my advice. It is simply that I love my wife and my critters more than anything in this world. I trust what she tells me since she went to school for a couple of years and was certified as a veterinary technician and has been working in the field ever since, which is where I met her while setting up a computer network at their veterinary clinic in my spare time one weekend from my government job.

Anyway, I completely trust my wife and our veterinarian friends who we spend a great deal of time with either camping, going to concerts or having barbecues at each others' homes. Also, over the years, I have never seen an adverse reaction to any of our animals in the use of Benadryl and it really bothered me that you would make an offhand comment that it would harm anyone's beloved animal companion.

I must add that my wife has been rescuing animals since the age of five according to her Mom when she rescued a baby squirrel that had fallen out of a tree and she has rescued and rehabilitated everything from possums, raccoons, to baby deer and every other domesticated animal I could possibly name. Her sisters tell me that they used to call her Dr. Doolittle when she was a kid and this is only one of the many reasons I love her so very much since she has a most special gift of healing animals.

I have not had to pay any type of veterinary bill for many years, whether for my dogs, cats, horses, etc., and therefore the advice I receive from my wife and our veterinarian friends I know to be honest and from their hearts, but even so, I would spend my last penny insuring my critters well being and would willingly sacrifice my very life defending them from any harm.

I do apologize if I offended you in any way...

 

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Well here's an update. So far, so good. Her wounds have healed over nicely, no more eye issues, and she seems to be in good shape! I've still been cautious with her being outside, but she's only been going out for a little bit and then she comes right back to the door and wants in (course, it's been kind of hot lately!)

But she's doing well, I'm so relieved! I was worried there for a while. She's my little baby girl!

Thanks everybody for the advice!