Another cat bite!!

[Ally Cat's Mommy]

Just as I was becoming complacent and thinking Ally had gotten over her bad habit of attacking me, she bit me again today :(

It breaks my heart that my little girl can be so mean - and also makes me feel so sorry for poor Connor, as he is most often at the receiving end of her attacks:(

I just hope she doesn't bite anyone else - I cover up the injuries she gives me, so my hubby does not get cross with her, but my MIL is here at the moment, and I now have to keep Ally and Granny apart, as my MIL is on Warfrin for blood clots, so the slightest scratch bleeds for hours.

I hope Ally calms down and doesn't bite me again, or anyone else!!

It's very deep, but has finally stopped bleeding - although by tomorrow I will probably not be able to walk on it properly - she tends to damage the tissue quite deeply, and there is usually loads of bruising. She doesn't just bite - it is a savage rip which leaves cuts, instead of just puncture marks:(

[catlover4ever]

Julie...OUCH!!!!!!! I don't know what to tell you about Ally...I'm at a loss on how to make her stop.

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Oh my! Ouchie!!! Ally you naw-tee, naw-tee girl! Please do not bite your meowmie like that!

Julie, I know you know you should go get antibiotics right away - especially with a bite like that. :(

[ILoveMyAbbyGirl]

Ouch!! I remember when Willow scratched me really badly... I probably could have gone in for stitches... I was holding her and the dog came in the room and she was GONE! With her back nail slicing my thumb as she left... :(

Naw-tee kat! No biting your mommy! :(

[AmberLee]

{{{Julie!}}} :( :eek:

Ally! :( :o Don't bite the Meowmy that feeds you... Actually, that should be don't bite the Meowmy!

[sirrahbed]

Oh NO Julie!! That looks very deep and painful. I REALLY think I would go to a doctor and get some antibiotics for that. I mean KNOW I would and I HOPE you will please? It looks very deep and very likely to become infected. Can you do this please??
((((((Julie)))))))
I am sure you already know but the first thing it needs is plenty of scrubbing with soap and water and then some ice for the swelling. Then, a doctor.

[Killearn Kitties]

Oh no! God that looks painful. I'm sure you should have antibiotics for a deep cat bite like that. Is it swelling?

[kimlovescats]

That is awful!!!! Please get a doctor to look at that before it gets terribly infected!!! NAWTEE GIRL Ally!!! :( :(

[Ally Cat's Mommy]

Thanks everyone. I've cleaned it out, and put some antiseptic ointment on it. Now I have ice on it as well, to try and cut down on the swelling and bruising. It's already after 10pm here, so the doctor's visit will have to wait until tomorrow!

[catcrazylady]

Oh Julie I feel your pain and I have tears in my eyes. That looks horrible and I know it hurts!
You know what is the hardest part....it's the hurt in the heart. It's such a shock when for no reason you get slammed like that. You think you're a good meowmie and then they treat you that way.
I know it doesnt' help but Sammy did me that way for years! He would just attack, shred, and disappear! He finally stopped it after he got a little older, thank goodness!
I never figured out why he did it and I can't imagine what makes Ally do it but you have my sympathies.

Please take care of that bite because we all know I was stubborn too and look where it landed me! A whole afternoon in the ER!

[Barbara]

Julie I am so sorry! I have no idea what makes Ally bite you.

I think the most important thing is that you get your tetanus shots up to date. I know that even a small cat slash ( as you can get it when playing) can hurt- and this looks serious.

[CatMama78]

Ally!!! That's not very sweet, at ALL.

Hmm was the MIL there when it happened? Maybe she is stressed by her presence? Not an excuse for Ally, but maybe to offer some reasoning for her actions.

I'm so sorry, I know you're hurting cause you aren't sure why Ally woul do such a thing.

[DJFyrewolf36]

That looks painful!! Ouch! Ally, you really need to chill out! I wish I could give some ideas as to why she is so dern agressive. I know sometimes kitties can get too rough and may break skin but this looks really serious. Sigh, some cats are mean, just like some people. Hopefully little Ally will grow out of this meaness. If you don't mind my asking, what was Ally/you doing just before the attack? A look at the situation surrounding it might be helpful.

I hope you heal quickly!

[jenluckenbach]

:eek: :eek: :eek:

OUCH !!!!

Bad girl Ally!!! :mad: You must not do that.

Julie, have you ever mentioned to a vet that she does this? There might be some help in stopping this bad behavior.

If you can get an anticeptic called Betadine it is the BEST !

[popcornbird]

:eek::(

OUCH!!! That looks SO painful! :( Nawtee-kat Aly!!! Nawtee, nawtee-kat!! Don't bite your mommy. :(

I hope this is just a phase she'll get over with.

[carole]

Aww Ally nawtee girl, gee Julie those bites look sore indeed, I know that usually it is your heart that hurts more than the bite, to think your beloved pet, bites the hand that feeds her.

Ash has given me a few nasty bites and scratches over the years, but the only major one was when I stopped him in a cat fight, so I can understand that, he has gone for my face a few times, when I have put him on the bed and he just does not want to stay inside, but other than that he is not too vicious.

I do feel sorry for you though, as when you can see no reason for the attack, you just are left bewildered, me thinks Ally needs to see a cat therapists, to figure out why she is doing this, any chance of taking her to one, I guess they are pretty expensive.

Take care of those bites, yes a tetanus shot and antibiotics may well be in order, be careful and take care.

[rg_girlca]

OMG, ohhhh I have shivers going from my head down to my toes.
That looks really, really bad. I hope and pray that you DO go and see a doctor and get the proper care that you will need for that.
Oh gosh, poor you.

I probably missed a few posts in regards to this, but has Ally been like this since you got Connor?

[NKBurlington]

Ouch!

You must (MUST!) see a Dr. right away.

I had a cat bite a while ago and it was inflamed and infected and my doctor gave me hell for not coming to see him immediately!

Cats have little holes in their fangs that release a "venom" (for lack of a better word). It's poisonous to humans. My hand swelled up to twice it's size and bruised terribly. My Dr. gave me me antibiotics and warned me to seek attention immediately if it ever happened again.

He had one patient that waited too long long and nearly lost her entire arm! I am not kidding. This is the truth!!

[QueenScoopalot]

OUCH! That looks really painful. :( What brings on Aly's rages like that, any idea? What about getting a mild sedative for her to see if that calms her any? I sure hope you don't get a Magoo style infection from that bite, and that Aly doesn't attack your MIL! :eek: Keep us posted....Jan

[Soledad]

I had no idea cats were capable of that. :eek:

[Felicia's Mom]

Please take care of that and keep us posted!

[slick]

Ewwww, that looks really really painful. Like the others have said, you should seek medical attention right away. When I got bit back in May it wasn't as nearly as severe but today it still hurts. Please take care of yourself.

[DogLover9501]

:eek: That looks very, very painfull :( Hope you get to the doctor a.s.a.p!

Ally don't bite your meowmie :(

[krazyaboutkatz]

Julie, I'm so sorry that Ally has biten you again.:( Like the others have said, please get to a doctor asap. I'd hate for you to become sick from this bite.
I sure hope that Ally can be prevented from attacking you in the future. Does she like your MIL? Maybe she's jealous of her and was taking it out on you. Please take care and keep us updated when you can.

[shais_mom]

That does look very painful. Please be very careful.
Soledad, I didn't know cat bites did that either until one day I was watching Emergency Vets and this lady's cat had been impaled on a fencepost and she went to get it off and it bit the heck out of her hands. And when she took it to the vet hospital, they said "Don't even wait for us to look at your cat, get to the Emergency room now." She did but she still ended up having to go to surgery to have the infection debrided from the joints. She was also allergic to antibiotics so that didn't help matters either. Said that if she would have waited she would have lost her hand!

[NoahsMommy]

I've heard that cat bites are one of the worst animal bites on earth, because of the sharp teeth and bacteria that is always in their mouths. :(

I'm so sorry Aly bit you. It looks painful and would hurt my heart too. :( :( :( Please take care of yourself.

Aly....listen to your PT Aunties. We want to hear no more of this biting mommy stuff. We know you love her and we all take out our frustrations on those we love, but sweetie, you gotta find another outlet besides biting living things. Hmmm....do they make kitty kongs? ;)

Take care, OK?

[Ally Cat's Mommy]

Thank's everyone for their concern, PM's etc - it really means a lot to me!!

I have a doctor's appointment later this morning, so I'll let you know how that goes. Just some background:

- Ally HAS bitten me before - and BADLY. The first time I posted about it was in response to Lisa's thread when Mr Magoo bit her so badly.
- She only started to bite me after Connor came into the house - of course he has now been here for 10 months, so I was hoping she would have settled down a bit by now.
- when she does bite it is totally RANDOM - this one happened whilst I was dishing up supper in the kitchen, the one before was whilst we were relaxing watching TV - one minute she is normal then she goes crazy! I can't connect it to any particular event, and I do avoid excessive excitement / aggressive play with her
-my tetnus is up to date - I checked when I started helping with trapping for the shelter, and I'm still covered from my last jab
- we OFTEN have visitors in the house - very often with several young noisy children, so I can't really see a connection with visitors resulting in her getting upset. She has always had people in and out of the house. My In-Laws are quiet, and my MIL spoils Ally quite a bit - they have "naptime"every day, as my MIL loves Ally to bits, having met her when she was a kitten, so I can't imagine their being here would cause this.
- the vet prescribed an anti-anxiety medication for Ally, but she is the worst cat in the world to pill. The stress level was higher after a couple of days on the meds, as Ally would freak out every time I took a step towards her, thinking another pill was coming, so that just made matters worse.
- I would gladly pay for a cat therapist, but we don't have any on the island
- the vet has suggested hormone injections - but I can't find much info on the web, and I don't know when the long-term side effects are

Another frustration is that all the books I have talk about agression, and the web sites too, but they describe the problem without offering any suggestions as to how to resolve it.

I think that, as some of you have said, the BIG hurt is at an emotional level - Ally is so close to my heart, and I am devastated when she does this! It also erodes the trust I have with her, so for weeks after I will be mentally checking where she is, to make sure I don't turn my back on her.

This morning she is once again as sweet as sugar! I'll let you know how the Doctor goes!

Thanks again to everyone for caring - it really makes this easier to deal with.

[Aspen and Misty]

::hugs::

My cat Buddy bit me once (still have the scars) and my hand blew up to twice the size it normally was and I had to go to the hospital for IV antibitics! BLACH!

I'm glad your getting it taken care of! Keep us updated!

Good Luck with Ally, I really don't know what to say exept what a patient mommy you are being! ::hugs::

Ash

[ChrisH]

Oh, Julie, that is awful. I don't know how I'd cope if Ebbs started doing that to me.

{{hugs}}
Chris

[Ally Cat's Mommy]

The doctor cleaned and dressed my leg, and has given me a course of antibiotics. The whole area was very red and inflamed this morning, so he thought it would be better to take precautions now. (Especially as Thursday and Friday is the weekend here - I don't want to have to pay for an emergency appointment over the weekend if it got worse).

Ally - the little stinker - is back to her usual self today - being as loving and cute as ever. *sigh* - I wish I could read her mind to understand what's going on in that little head of hers!!

[jenluckenbach]

One last thought about the anti-anxiety med. It should be able to be compounded into a cream form that is administered to the ear flap and then absorbed into the blood stream. can you find out if this procedure is available?

[Ally Cat's Mommy]

Originally posted by jenluckenbach
One last thought about the anti-anxiety med. It should be able to be compounded into a cream form that is administered to the ear flap and then absorbed into the blood stream. can you find out if this procedure is available?

Jen, I didn't know that was an option!! Our vet KNOWS Ally is hard to pill, yet only offered me the pills as a solution. I'll ask about alternative ways of administering it.

[catcrazylady]

Julie is there any way to sneak a pill in Ally's treats? That is how I'm able to pill Magoo so easily. I take a soft treat and stick the pill in the middle and then squish it all up like a dough ball. Of course, Magoo is a hoover and will eat anything!
The other option might be if it's crushable you could sprinkle it on about a tablespoon or so of wet food.
Here is one other option if it's crushable and I use this often with my "I'm not gonna take that pill" kitties. Again, if it's crushable, mix the powder in some sticky gel or liquid and rub it into the fur on her front leg. She will lick it off because you know they can't stand to be dirty! If you have some of that vitamin paste that would work great because she would get her vitamins and her meds at the same time! You can also use Jelly or anything remotely sticky. Make sure that you rub it in good on the spot or they just shake it off.
The cool thing about doing it this way is that you can rub it in while your loving them and they really don't know how it got there!

I hope these suggestions might help. I really understand how much worse things get when you have a cat that hates being pilled. It can add more stress than the meds are supposed to help.

Good luck and please keep us posted. You be a good girl Julie and make sure you take all your meds!:D :D http://petoftheday.com/talk/images/our_smilies/biggrin.gif

[catmandu]

Ally, biting is something that Most Humans cannot tolerate,dont be so defensive,its your Meowmie!

[CatMama78]

:( :( ....I'm so sorry a solution seems so hard to find. What about that plug in that supposedly relaxes kitties - Feliway is it called? Or Rescue Remedy? I think those are drops and would be easier than a pill. Also since the attacks seem to be related to poor Connor, maybe in time the bitings will cease. I know you said it's been ten months, but you also mentioned she hadn't done it in a while so perhaps the biting is ceasing. In another year or so, I bet her behavior wil improve even more.

[moosmom]

Julie,

Please see a doctor. I waited 24 hours and the rash was half way up my arm. The ER doctor told me that if I had waited another 24 hours, I would've had to have been hospitalized with an IV drip.

Cat bites are nothing to joke about. They are second to human bites on the seriousness. Please have it looked at before it's too late.

((((hugs))))

[Ally Cat's Mommy]

Thanks Donna:)

I saw the Doc earlier today - and am now on a course of antibiotics. My leg is still throbbing, red and very painful,but I'm sure it would have been much worse by now without treatment!

Lisa - I'll try the vitamin paste trick and let you know! (Sneaky - I would NEVER have thought of that!!);)