More Drama with BRODIE - What do I do?

[christa]

Brodie has a bite mark on his shoulder. I *think* it's a bite anyway. It's a raised up bumpy place and it's red all around it and he keeps licking it.

Should I take him to the vet? Should I call the vet?

Is it dangerous?

I don't know what to do!

[catmandu]

I would get an antibiotic cream at the Vets and try taht first before you incur a visit and an Office Consultation fee.
I have done that for Tubby2,as he and the Moose got into a brawl,and Tubby 2 came out second.

[christa]

Wouldn't he lick it off?

He has licked all the fur off! He's got a bald spot where the wound is!

It's not really his shoulder. It's closer to his belly . . . right behind his front leg. Poor guy. He's stopped licking it now that I've been looking at it. I wonder what happened?

[catmandu]

I dont think that they would lick the cream as it would not have a Cat Friendly taste.
Tubby2,had a fairly bad gash on his ear,and the cream helped a lot.
Do you have a Cat First Aid Kit.
I got one from My Vet and at a lower price and more helpful that the commercial ones,as he put it together himself.

[christa]

*cry*

Looks like I'm on my own anyway.

My vet is at a frigging dog sled race in Alaska. She won't be back until Thursday so unless I want to take him to the ER vet, the vet techs can't do anything for him. And they said there's really nothing that they can give me for him.

Gary, I asked the vet tech about the cream and he said no, there wasn't really anything else they could do.

Geesh . . . what a great time for Josie to beat up my baby boy.

edit: I might look for some first aid at the pet store today.

[Catty1]

Got an aloe plant or some pure aloe gel?

My boys playfight and get the odd scratch. I keep their front claws trimmed, and have used the gel. Only needed to use it once. And the gel is good for them, even if they do lick it.

At the pet store - see if there is something that will numb the area too, so he can't feel it.

He'll be fine, hon!

hugs
Catty1

[AlleyCat]

Either that, or he scraped it on something. If it is not bleeding, I would not worry too much. Cats are resilient!

Onyx and Abby started having mysterious scabs and scrapes all over their backs, back in October. It went on for more than a month and I wasted money at the vet trying to figure out what it was. They ruled out fleas and allergies, and I did not see any play-biting or fighting going on. I finally put two and two together and figured out they were scraping their backs under my bed. I had put bed risers on to raise it slightly, and that seemed to make them walk differently under the bed and scrape themselves on the metal frame. We wrapped the frame in padding and presto, the ugly scabs and scrapes went away. I am assuming this is NOT an issue (your bed), but it's possible Brodie scraped it or got into a fight, and there is really not a heck of a lot the vet will do other than to put on an ointment to soften it up..

Brodie'll be fine !!

[catnapper]

Like a bug bite? Poor Brodie!

I aways just put some Neosporing on it and if they licked it off, put some more on a little later. If its a bug bite, the itchiness will eventually go away, but you don't want it to get infected because they were licking it and making it worse.

[moosmom]

Christa,

Anyway you can post a picture of it?? A bite mark will have 2 distinctive punctures. My first thought is ringworm, which is contagious. That sucks that your vet is in Alaska (what a dumb sport - dog sledding - BAH!!!). Ringworm is a fungus that causes a round (quarter size) raised red rash, like you describe. The way to tell if it IS ringworm is to shine an ultraviolet light on it. If it glows, then it's ringworm. Until you can get poor Brodie to the vet, assume it IS ringworm and take precautions. Isolate him from the other cats. Use rubber gloves when you touch him or the spot. You might want to put some Hydrogen Peroxide on the spot. I did that when MooShoo got the crap kicked out of him by Parker.

[Craftlady]

I would put some hydrogen perioxide on the wound. It will be ok for them to lick because you as human can use it has a mouth wash for gum problems. I'd put some vaseline on it too that way if it gets licked off your helping hair balls too

[Corinna]

My first thought was spider bite but if it has tooth marks can't be. So far every one has the same advice I would.
Ps MOOSmom I LOVE dog sledding maybe not crazy about Naked cats.

[lv4dogs]

Could it be a bot fly? Are they out in the south still this time of year?

The fact that it is raised concerns me, makes me think it's either bot fly or something or it is becoming infected. If it is infected and it is raised you may have to start antibiotics if left untreated she may need surgery with a drainage tube.
But if it is not that raised & he's not affected by it at all then I would just keep it clean & watch it like most of the others suggested.

[christa]

Well . . . he has been leaving it alone more but my mom helped me to clean it with peroxide. It fizzed quite a bit and he didn't like it much but I think he's okay now. He's eating good still . . . we're keeping an eye on him.

Thanks everyone for your advice & for helping to calm me down.

[christa]

Could it be a bot fly? Are they out in the south still this time of year?

The fact that it is raised concerns me, makes me think it's either bot fly or something or it is becoming infected. If it is infected and it is raised you may have to start antibiotics if left untreated she may need surgery with a drainage tube.
But if it is not that raised & he's not affected by it at all then I would just keep it clean & watch it like most of the others suggested.

I'm not really sure what a bot fly is.

[jazzcat]

Poor Brodie! I hope it's nothing serious.