Cat Nipped

A couple of days ago, as soon as we came downstairs in the morning, Beth noticed that our younger cat Ghost had a slight limp. It was very slight, so we checked for a possible burr or thorn stuck in there. Uh oh, I though I felt something move, possibly a broken toe, and he grumbled (but only slightly).

Fortunately it was my day off, so as soon as the Vet opened (7:30am) I rang them and booked an appointment, and took him in at 10am. He didn't want to go, and it took three goes to get him into the cat basket, even with a sore foot. The vet examined him, shaved his foot in a couple of places, and discovered matching puncture wounds that suggest he was bitten, probably by another cat. A bite from a raccoon or nutria would have been much worse, she told me. There was no break (checked by x-ray) but a fair bit of swelling. He got an antibiotic shot, and two other treatments we do at home. Both the Vet and Nurse said he was a very well behaved cat, submitting to treatment quietly, perhaps resignedly.

The first treatment is a twice daily dose of painkiller, just 0.15ml squirted into his cheeks, which is absorbed through the mucus membranes. Of course he doesn't like that either, but with Beth holding and me squirting the syringe it's soon over.  The second part of the treatment is supposed to be an Epsom Salt bath of the foot, to reduce the swelling. So far we are batting zero on that one, as he is still lively, with several sharp extremities. The painkiller makes him sleepy, but not comatose. Beth and I will be trying again tonight.

Two days on, and he's been kept indoors all this time to reduce risk of further infection. He wants to go out, being such an active outdoors cat, but with our various cat flaps and screen doors we have so far managed to keep him confined, and he seems to be accepting of his lot. I'll be taking him back to the Vet for a check up next week.