Aroara's saga continues...update #77(with graphic picture)

[Moesha]

I would try hot compressing it. Holding a very warm (but not too hot) wet cloth over the wound will help bring infection to the surface. If you have a bowl of warm/hot water nearby you can keep re-warming the cloth to hot compress the two holes. Are the two holes still supposed to be open at this point? I remember reading in an earlier post that they were but not sure for how long. Hot compressing will soften scabs and make it easier to open the area as well. And it will probably feel soothing for her.

I've tried the warm compress a couple times. She tolerates it while complaining under her breath. When I'm done and let her go, she goes and attacks Morgan. LOL

I am almost positive that the "plug" is a result of the pus hardening. The warm compress will be good, also I would put some antibiotic cream in the hole that is open. She may require another round of antibiotics, maybe another type, to get rid of ALL the infection.

That thing in the second hole is stiff. I used the warm compress and then once I thought it would have softened I tried to pull it out. I couldn't do it. The second hole is covered over this morning. I think I'm going to take her back in. Yippee. LOL

Jeez, the way you describe it sounds like a warble but there are two holes instead of one and I'm sure your vet would've recognized a warble. You don't see movement of any kind in that hole, do you?

I don't see any movement at all. I tried taking another picture of her head, but it didn't come out clear enough for anyone to see what it was without having seen her in person.

Thanks for the feedback. I'll keep ya posted!

[Medusa]

[QUOTE=Moesha;2036809] I don't see any movement at all. I tried taking another picture of her head, but it didn't come out clear enough for anyone to see what it was without having seen her in person. [QUOTE]

I should've said that by movement I meant more like can you see something pulsating? When you said that it's at the surface, that sounds exactly like a warble. Nothing to mess with. Since you say you're going to take her back in, please ask your vet about it.

[Emeraldgreen]

[QUOTE=Medusa;2036820][QUOTE=Moesha;2036809] I don't see any movement at all. I tried taking another picture of her head, but it didn't come out clear enough for anyone to see what it was without having seen her in person.

I should've said that by movement I meant more like can you see something pulsating? When you said that it's at the surface, that sounds exactly like a warble. Nothing to mess with. Since you say you're going to take her back in, please ask your vet about it.

Oh gosh, that is so creepy but I wonder if it is that! I'm not certain how warbles get in but I think it can happen by eating things that are hunted? Can they get in through a wound? Maybe there was originally only one hole and it got in that way and is now causing a second hole? I once found a mouse at our old house in the barn that the cats had killed. There was a hole in it's side and a big warble next to it.
I sure hope it's just the infection that needs to be drawn out and cleaned up though. Poor Aroara.

[Medusa]

[QUOTE=Emeraldgreen;2036919][QUOTE=Medusa;2036820]

I don't see any movement at all. I tried taking another picture of her head, but it didn't come out clear enough for anyone to see what it was without having seen her in person.


Oh gosh, that is so creepy but I wonder if it is that! I'm not certain how warbles get in but I think it can happen by eating things that are hunted? Can they get in through a wound? Maybe there was originally only one hole and it got in that way and is now causing a second hole? I once found a mouse at our old house in the barn that the cats had killed. There was a hole in it's side and a big warble next to it.
I sure hope it's just the infection that needs to be drawn out and cleaned up though. Poor Aroara.

An old vet told me that a warble is caused by a fly laying eggs on the cat and the egg hatches, causing the worm's head to be at the surface of the opening. It's rare for a cat to survive this unless the wound is cut and warble extracted. I had a cat years ago that had a warble but I didn't know what it was and thought it was simply her pulse that was throbbing but it was the head of the warble. I had been treating it because we were newlyweds and living off our fingernails but when I saw that it wasn't getting better, I took her to the vet but it was too late. He couldn't get the warble out. Miraculously, Frisky lived but, as I said, my vet told me that it's rare that they live through. They pass it from their bodies but it usually kills them first.

[Moesha]

I took her back, and it was filled with pus again. He wasn't sure what the thing was in the other hole, but it definitely wasn't something living or pulsating. He knocked her out and said he would drain it and cut out the thing in the other hole. When I got there he told me that when he got in there he decided to cut the whole thing out. Now instead of two small holes, she has one huge hole in her head. He didn't stitch it or bandage it. I have to put ointment in it twice a day. I don't know how I am going to do that because it turns my stomach to look at it. She's back on the Clindamyacin twice a day also. I sure hope this is the end of this story.

Here's a blurry picture of her head. I took it with my cell phone. I thought about taking another one with the real camera, but it grosses me out too much right now. I think you can get the idea though. Ok since Jenn and my friend Jenny both told me that the phone picture is more graphic than the others, I'm making it an attachment so you don't have to view it if you choose not to.

[jenluckenbach]

YOWZA!!! That is horrible! Poor Aroara. But, be strong for her. You CAN do what needs to be done. I had a foster cat with a wound in his throat that looked even worse than that, and every day I peeled away the scab and compressed it with Betadine. And every day he screamed like I was killing him. But, in spite of the fact it looked too BIG to ever close up, it healed beautifully! We both survived the ordeal.

[Moesha]

They said that I would be surprised at how quickly this heals. I sure hope so. I had gotten a couple miles down the road and went back to the office. I had them trim all her nails so that she wouldn't be digging at the hole and ripping up the carpet at the door to go back outside. Of course she is already digging at the door. I do have a cone I could use if I notice her bothering it. She hasn't done anything to it yet. They also said that it wouldn't hurt anything if Morgan licked it. I'm not going to let that happen if I can help it!

[critters]

Medusa, I like your thinking on this, and I would've bet you were right!! We don't call them warbles down here, although I'm having a brain fart on what we DO call them, and I've seen them several times in ferrets, rabbits, and cats. I think the doc would've seen the varmint had it been there, though. It looks to me like the hole is already improving, poor little girl!!

[Medusa]

Medusa, I like your thinking on this, and I would've bet you were right!! We don't call them warbles down here, although I'm having a brain fart on what we DO call them, and I've seen them several times in ferrets, rabbits, and cats. I think the doc would've seen the varmint had it been there, though. It looks to me like the hole is already improving, poor little girl!!

Yes, now that I've gotten a good look at the wound opening, I don't think it's a warble. And you're right, the vet surely would've recognized what it was. I'm sure glad it's getting better, poor thing.

[pitc9]

O...M....G...

Bless you little sweetie pie for being such a trooper through all of this!

[kittykatharine]

Oh wow! Poor Miss Aroara! That is quite the wound. Poor little baby! I can't believe how that hole is...I hope the vet is right and that is will heal quickly. It is just so very odd how the whole thing just happend, etc. Hang in their and keep up what you are doing. The fact that Aroara perks up lets you know that she is doing better and try to remeber that cats really are wonderful at adapting. They are very strong creatures and can put up with a lot. Keep up the great work, your being such a great mommy!

[Taz_Zoee]

Well, the hole is looking much better, at least in the pictures. Poor Aroara. I hope she is feeling better soon.

[Catty1]

That sore looks MUCH better. She hasn't converted to being an indoor kitty?

Patience, Morgan - in a few more days, she will be outside and you will be safe! What a mean sister to take out her frustrations on you. I am sure Mom gives you loves to make up for it.

[Moesha]

Yeah right on converting her to an inside cat. I'm ready to toss her back outside! LOL I should take a video of her opening the door. She's amazing. When she does go back out, she always eats and sleeps inside.

But this is the never ending story! Today one of her eyes was a little runny. Tonight that third eyelid is so swollen her eye is almost shut! GRRR! Of course we've used all the Clindamyacin. The ointment for her hole is opthamalic ointment. I'm tempted to put that in her eye. I think I may have one more of the orbax antibiotic pills. I may give that to her and see how she looks in the morning. If it is still swollen I'm calling the vet and seeing if they'll just give me something without bringing her in for a visit. I have no idea what she has done to herself. The only this is maybe Morgan scratched it, but she won't let me look at it for very long. And I think the other eye has a little bit of runny stuff now. I. Cannot. Believe. This.

Would anyone like a cat?