RenandTaff Posted January 21, 2004 Report Share Posted January 21, 2004 I wanted to title this "Husband for sale-cheap" but decided to control the impulse. Okay, I have this little stray cat. He has been wandering around the place, off and on, for about a week. Yesterday he shows up with three cuts or punctures in his back paw. I washed them out with peroxide and put antibiotic cream on them but I can't get to the vet until Saturday morning. Is there anything else I can do or need to do until then? Thanks, -Ren (BTW - I am selling the above mentioned husband..."oh no honey, he probably just went hunting a female cat..he will go on home"...followed by "you can't take him to the shelter...who is going to adopt a cross-eyed cat? Let me ask around the neighborhood first." And then the inevitable, "But I only fed him a few times because he looked so hungry.") Now we have injured stray cat now thinking we are home and requiring a trip to the vet. Sigh. Does anyone want him? (the husband that is - not the cat. I think I'll call the cat Clarence.) -R Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK dog doc Posted January 21, 2004 Report Share Posted January 21, 2004 I'm going to guess that the punctures indicate that another cat bit him on the foot. Unfortunately, this MAY set him up for an abscess. You can hotpack it, if the cat will tolerate it - hot wet washcloth on the foot for five to ten minutes two to four times daily (if the washcloth is comfortable on your skin, it should be okay on his.) That'll bring the circulation in, and circulation brings healing... but three things about this kind of wound: One, cats are EXCELLENT abscess-formers, so he may do it anyway; two, cat bite wounds are notorious for forming abscesses, so ditto; and three, the foot is a complex structure, so may be a bit more prone to abscessing than another body part. Neosporin topically two to four times daily may help prevent an infection. (Don't use the pain control kind, just the original recipe). It won't hurt him if he licks it, but obviously it'll do more good if it stays in place for a while. Peroxide is pretty harsh on the tissues and will delay healing, but in this case I'd say having done that is not the worst thing you could have done... punctures are often by their nature deep contaminated wounds, and one of the reasons cats are so good at abscessation is that their skin heals so rapidly that it tends to trap bacteria under the surface... so if you delayed that a little and cleaned out some of the bacteria, that may actually have helped. However, I don't generally advise repeating it even on puncture wounds, since it causes cell death and dead tissue is a REAL favorite of bacteria. In general, I advise not to put anything in an open wound that you wouldn't put in your own eye. This means that if the cat will tolerate it you can soak it in hot water with betadine (to the color of iced tea), or in epsom salts (be sure to rinse the foot off afterwards, since epsom salts can cause diarrhea if ingested). A lot of animals - especially strays new to you - will not let you dunk their foot into a bucket of hot water, though, and it's not worth torturing the cat or getting bitten or scratched over. It may take several days for the foot to decide if it's going to abscess, so the vet visit is still a good idea. Good luck with that... and with the sale of your slightly-used husband! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted January 21, 2004 Report Share Posted January 21, 2004 Ren, If I'm reading your post correctly, then it's your husband who enticed the cat to stay? If so, I'm sure there are lots of women who are quite envious of you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RenandTaff Posted January 21, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2004 AK dog doc - Ack! The cat book said to wash the wound with hydrogen peroxide. Wonderful. Now I am damaging the poor ugly thing. At least I know better now. On the plus side he is pretty mellow so I should be able to soak his foot. He let me rub the neosporin over the wounds without fussing. (Thank you, btw..I was worried I wasn't getting him in to the vet early enough) Julie - It is always my husband. He finds them at work, or at the gas station, or at a job site, or in an alley he was taking as a shortcut, etc. They come up to him when he is out in the yard. (On afternoon while we were grilling outside a dog walked up to my husband, kinda woofed at him, then flopped down on his shoe and went to sleep) And it is not so much that he finds them as it is that they cost money...in food, in vet bills, in trying to find their owners or new homes for them. I keep telling him we cannot afford to run our own personal 'rescue of wayward animals' farm but he never seems to listen. And (the real reason I complain) -I- am the one that gets stuck taking care of them. You don't suppose I could trade he and Hobo for a few sheep? -Ren Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northof49 Posted January 21, 2004 Report Share Posted January 21, 2004 And it is not so much that he finds them as it is that they cost money...in food, in vet bills, in trying to find their owners or new homes for them. I keep telling him we cannot afford to run our own personal 'rescue of wayward animals' farm but he never seems to listen. And (the real reason I complain) -I- am the one that gets stuck taking care of them. Hey, I know atleast a dozen women right now that would gladly trade you for what's sitting on their couch - and trust me, you wouldn't want them!!! Even with you getting stuck taking care of them, it's still better that he cares enough to bring them home, rather than you being the one bringing them home and he just bitches and complains about it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piper Posted January 21, 2004 Report Share Posted January 21, 2004 Cross-eyed cat owners unite!!! You mentioned that the stray was a cross-eyed cat...well, I did adopt two cross-eyed kittens 10 years ago this coming summer and now they've turned into fat cross-eyed cats, oh and get this the especially curvy one can't smell either I love them (mayne not as much as Piper tho)and I love that when people come over and first see the cats, they always ask..."is your cat cross-eyed?" Keep the cat, they provide good conversation starters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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