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Old June 11th, 2008, 02:13 PM
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marko marko is offline
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Posted for sheribaby45840 -

Hi Marko and everyone else!
I am new to this and can't post a new thread so i want to know how to help my cat.
I can't find a forum that covers this topic so I'm hoping some one will reply to this and help me out:

Ok, an orange calico male came to our doorstep last month and had obviously been injured. It seems to be his left hind leg or hip, so i think he might have been hit. For the first few days, he didn't eat and he couldn't tell when he went potty, so we put him in our dog's vet trip cage to let him rest.
He is now a happy, seemingly healthy and well-fed little guy. He can jump again and can run away from our dog and play with the other outside cats now... seems happy and healthy and loved
EXCEPT for his tail... he has always (since we've had him) had a droopy tail, probably because of his injury... but his tail drags on the ground outside; and now it has a sore and the hair is completely gone from the last three inches. I figured the hair would rub off, but I'm worried about the sore. It is right above the hairless part and i don't know what i can do the protect it.

It looks like a rugburn-type boo-boo that my son might get from his daily chaotic adventures... the kind that you put a band-aid on and let heal.

I just don't want it to get worse and get infected. I'm wondering if we can have the portion of his tail that drags docked by a vet so he doesn't have to have sores all the time. But how do I protect it until then? I'm scraping up the money for a vet visit, and it may take two weeks or so before we can afford it.
He does not lick it or seem worried about it, but of course it freaks the kids out and my son will cry about sensitive stuff like that at the drop of a hat. I mostly just don't want his tail to hurt.
Any advice to temporarily protect him from any pain from it? Or anything I might be able to do without a vet bill?
Thank you!
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Old June 11th, 2008, 02:22 PM
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badger badger is offline
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Ow, that must be damn painful, the quicker he sees a vet the better. Anything you might wrap it in would be reduced to threads, although those elastic bandages that you can get at the dollar store might work. I think it will probably take at least two people to carry out this operation ; they might protect him for a few hours, depending on whether or not he objects.

Docking sounds like the best solution but the vet will tell you. Have you asked him about a payment plan, so you can take the cat in sooner?
You are so kind to watch over this guy, he has obviously crept into your hearts!
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Old June 11th, 2008, 03:31 PM
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sugarcatmom sugarcatmom is offline
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I would also suggest putting some polysporin on the sore to try to prevent any infection. The bandage might not be a bad idea, and it's possible the cat doesn't have much feeling in its tail anyway, which means he may not be bothered by having it wrapped. By the way, are you sure it's a male? Calicos are almost exclusively female.
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Old June 12th, 2008, 01:37 AM
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growler~GateKeeper growler~GateKeeper is offline
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Yes if the vet feels that the end of the tail is "dead" & unresponsive s/he most likely will amputate it. Payment options are an excellent idea badger

Put a bit polysporin on the sore spots of the tail, wrap lightly (but not tight) a few times in gauze, then with VetWrap. The bandage would need to be changed probably every day or 2 days to allow the wounds to be cleaned & to breathe a bit before rewrapping.

Any chance of a pic? As sugarcatmom says Calicos are 99.99% female

for the little guy - what's his name? let us know how he does

and welcome to pets.ca sheribaby45840
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