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Old April 7th, 2012, 09:54 PM
Molly&Lilly Molly&Lilly is offline
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Mysterious Injury & Sores

Hello,

I need some help. We noticed about a week ago that my cat Molly's arm (or leg) was swollen, right below her elbow. It was about twice the size of her other one, but she was still bearing weight on it. She was hiding for a couple of days (which worried me) not really eating, and sleeping lots. But after that she was eating walking around and seem to get back to her usual self. Her arm was still a little swollen, but not nearly as bad. When we first noticed her injury we (my husband and I) examined it extreme close, looking for any wounds or any sign of what could've happened, and we found nothing. About 3 days ago we noticed that she had a wound on the inside of her arm, but it was scabbed over. Now she has a gash on the outside of her arm that she won't stop licking, and I know that wasn't there before. I live in a very small town, and there is no vet open this weekend, probably the closest is about 3 hours away. I pretty sure she has created this gash and I don't understand why, and I am wondering if there is anything I can do to help her until I can get her to a vet.
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Old April 7th, 2012, 11:24 PM
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14+kitties 14+kitties is offline
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Sounds like she has an abscess she is trying to drain. Cats open up sores and lick it to try to heal it. She needs to see a vet asap but until she does a warm, wet washcloth applied to her leg may help ease the pain and drain some poison out. Please make sure she gets to the vet for antibiotics. She could die if the poison is not removed.
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Old April 8th, 2012, 01:27 AM
Molly&Lilly Molly&Lilly is offline
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Poision from what? Where I live we still have tons of snow, so no insects or snakes could have bitten her. I will be taking her to a vet asap!
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Old April 8th, 2012, 09:18 AM
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Myka Myka is offline
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I agree with 14+kitties. Sounds like an abscess. The poison 14+ is referring to is the pocket of infection. Your kitty may have had a wound on her leg weeks or even months ago that closed up and has slowly festered ever since.

My dog Myka was punctured by a wheelbarrow handle which went in her flank and punched a hole right through her hide. Luckily she didn't damage much inside, but was bruised up and sore pretty bad. The vet closed the puncture and put a drain in her flank and out her belly which drained quite a lot. She still had blood pooling along her belly and down her hind legs. Anyway, long after she seemed all healed up, about 4 months later the original puncture mark broke open with a small abscess that healed on its own with some cleaning. You explain your cat's leg as being quite swollen though which makes me think that you're likely dealing with a much larger abscess if that is indeed the ailment.

Make sure anything you clean the wounds with are cat safe, both topically and internally (of course they will lick it). Cats are sensitive to many medications.
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Old April 8th, 2012, 03:39 PM
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RUSTYcat RUSTYcat is offline
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Hi Molly&Lilly and welcome to the forum!

Abscesses are generally painful...so, if it turns out to be that, make sure you ask for a pain relief med.

And - on that topic, be careful about what you may get, There's one pain med that's very often prescribed nowadays which has caused no end of misery for cats - a fact that seems to escape most Vets. The drug is called Metacam...it's an anti-inflammatory chemical which, in cats, kills kidney cells. You can read all about it here http://www.metacamkills.com

There are alternatives...an easy alternative is a liquid which is dropped into the corner of the mouth (not swallowed) and is absorbed through the buccal tissue.

A second medication caution: if the problem is an infection, an antibiotic will certainly be prescribed. Again, there is one to be avoided if at all possible. It's called Convenia...get it? "convenient", because it's a long-acting injection...no pilling required, etc.

Well, Convenia has been far from convenient for many cats and, IMO, would be something to avoid, especially as there are safer alternatives. Here's one reputable Veterinarian's take on Convenia http://www.catinfo.org/?link=convenia

People here at Pets.ca have had their own horror stories to share as well http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread....light=convenia

Hope this helps - keep us updated!
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Old April 8th, 2012, 03:58 PM
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I agree with 14+ kitties. It can be even an ingrown hair that can cause an abscess. If you add table salt to the warm water it will help in the healing and drawing out of the pus until you can get to a vet.

Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Old April 10th, 2012, 08:58 AM
Molly&Lilly Molly&Lilly is offline
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Thank you!

Thank you all soooooo much for your replies!!! You guys are wonderful, I am taking Molly to the vet this morning (they are finally open), but I wanted to thank you for your help!!! I have been stressed over what I can do, and it is a relief to be able to get some good information somewhere!!!

Thank you 14+ kitties for the speed advise!!

I will let you know how it turns out!
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