Kitty jingles needed!

[cnvh]

Came home this morning from two nights out of town to find terror-kitten with a bizarre neck wound… it’s round and about the size of a pencil eraser, full-thickness of the skin, but the flesh underneath seems fine, pink and healthy and no evidence of a puncture.

My first thought was that he got hung up in strings from the window blinds somehow, but I can’t find evidence of that anywhere. Also possible that it IS a puncture wound from one of his older-cat brothers (he has 2, they all wrestle occasionally but terror-kitten is definitely the roughest), but it doesn’t LOOK like a puncture to me?? Looks like an abrasion that went skin-thick. (He’s inside-only, so whatever happened, happened in my house.)

I’m really on the fence about taking him to the vet. If it IS a puncture, I know they won’t want to close it. The wound doesn’t appear infected at all; it’s not warm or swollen. The only problem is that he keeps scratching at it… I’m going to pick up a Cone of Shame for him today, but there’s a good chance the collar will rest right on the wound, which won’t help things either. :no: If it’s not stitchable, and it’s in a location which makes a collar impractical, what more could a vet do??

Why is it that my animals always seem to come up with these injuries and ailments that aren’t awful, they’re right on the fence between “to call the vet or not to call the vet,” and when I end up calling and paying for a vet visit only to be told, “keep an eye on it”?? sigh

[clint]

I’m with you, I probably wouldn’t take terror-kitten to the vet. You can find inflatable collars for kittens, and it should be less irritating to the kitten and to the wound.

[Rain]

Jingles for your kitty!

My rule of thumb is if it isn’t bleeding and doesn’t appear infected, leave it for a day or two and watch it.

It sort of sounds like an abscess (from a puncture) that “blew.” Look up pictures of cat abscesses.

[cnvh]

How to keep him from itching at it though? I did get an e-collar but I doubt it’s gonna work; it would rest RIGHT on the wound, and I hesitate to leave it on him while I’m at work. The pet store has inflatables, but the clerk said a cat would probably pop it.

[Rain]

Will he tolerate a bandana-type thing? Something wide and soft so if he does scratch at it, he won’t make direct contact?

[talkofthetown]

Poor terror-kitty! Could you wrap it? Gauze and vet wrap (loosely, of course) around the neck like a collar?

Jingles for a quick healing!

[jetsmom]

Do you have or can you get a pair of swim goggles, to rig on a collar to cover it so his claws won’t scratch it? If so, clean it with a diluted betadine mixture, pat dry and put neosporin plus pain relief on it and put goggle contraption over it.

[dressagetraks]

Poor kitten. No further suggestions on keeping him out of it, but hope it heals without issue.

[Zu_Zu]

Jingles & AO for your kitten ~

[cnvh]

Thanks for all the creative suggestions! It was looking worse when I came home, so off to the vet we went… Turns out it was an abscess, presumably from a bite wound earned whilst wrestling with his unappreciative brothers.

Vet shaved and flushed it, and terror-kitten got a shot of antibiotics plus a round to give orally at home. I’m also supposed to apply a warm compress 2x/day, which as it turns out, is easier said than done. Cats apparently do not appreciate warm damp washcloths…who knew??

[TC3200]

I have one cat who has given my female cat two huge, and I do mean huge, and expensive, abscesses. Ugh. I’m glad my cats finally seem to have sufficiently fought things out and don’t need to fight anymore.

[cnvh]

UPDATE. So, Terror-Kitten had to go back to the vet for surgery on Tuesday… The wound closed up despite the twice-daily warm compresses and started filling up with another pending abscess again, so the vet went in yesterday morning to remove it. Kitten now has a Penrose drain in his neck, which I’m flushing 2x/day along with warm compresses and antibiotics. Oh, and he’s to be “kept confined” until this is all over-- the drain comes out on Friday morning.

So as it turns out, trying to single-handedly flush a drain on a kitten-neck is even more fun than applying warm compresses!! :lol: Don’t tell anyone, but I’ve been pinning him down in the kitchen sink to do it… Beyond that, he’s confined to my enormous dog crate (with litter box, cat bed, and scratching post), which he has been climbing like a jungle gym. So much for “bed rest”…

So this little endeavor has be pout almost $800 so far… If this becomes a regular occurrence, I have NO idea what I’ll do.

[mvp]

And the idea was to keep him inside so as to keep him safe, right?

Did you TELL him that was the plan and the reasoning behind it? So often when a cat does something wrong, he’ll look at you with the “I didn’t know… because you didn’t ‘use your words’ and Tell Me what you wanted.”

[CanadianTrotter]

Can you wrap him in a large towel to do the care? Once they realise what the towel means they will fight being wrapped up, but it’s much easier than trying to work on him unrestrained.

[cnvh]

[QUOTE=mvp;8972912]
And the idea was to keep him inside so as to keep him safe, right?

Did you TELL him that was the plan and the reasoning behind it? So often when a cat does something wrong, he’ll look at you with the “I didn’t know… because you didn’t ‘use your words’ and Tell Me what you wanted.”[/QUOTE]

Lol… Ironically, it is ALL his doing, the youngster is 100% the instigator. Of his two brothers, one rather enjoys playing most of the time (though never starts it), and the other one just Does. Not. Want. To. Be. Bothered. Terror-kitten harasses him to the point of no return, so I honestly can’t blame the aggrieved party for defending himself.

He’s actually not TOO-too bad to do the flushing thing; I was pretty surprised that I was able to manage it. It’s a little tricky to get him to hold still with one hand and line up all the tools properly with the other, but the small kitchen sink helps corral him somewhat. Thank goodness there are (I hope!!) only 4 more flushing sessions…

Oh, and he’s such a greedy little piglet, I can actually smoosh his antibiotic pill in a teeny bit of the soft stuff from a pill pocket, and as long as his brothers are within arm’s length and eyeballing his goodies, Terror-Kitten gobbles his pill right up. Whatever it takes to EAT ALL THE THINGS!! so nobody else can have them… :lol::lol::lol:

[Rain]

Terror-kittens frequently Get What They Deserved, though I’m sorry it’s costing you a fortune to patch him back up. Did you tell him that the $$ is coming out of his treat allowance??

[cnvh]

[QUOTE=Rain;8973092]
Terror-kittens frequently Get What They Deserved, though I’m sorry it’s costing you a fortune to patch him back up. Did you tell him that the $$ is coming out of his treat allowance??[/QUOTE]

I told him he’s getting an invoice in his Christmas stocking this year.

[HorsesinHaiti]

I hear you, says the COTHer who just paid $2500 for patella surgery on a rat terrier who promptly ripped off her bandages, and then pulled off her own claw fighting the Cone of Shame… 6 weeks of crate rest is going to be Not. Fun for both of us and my work at home brother who is playing day nurse.

[CindyCRNA]

I have a terror kitten. I am praying he isn’t a terror adult! Are all 3 of these yours or are you fostering?

[cnvh]

[QUOTE=CindyCRNA;8973965]
I have a terror kitten. I am praying he isn’t a terror adult! Are all 3 of these yours or are you fostering?[/QUOTE]

All 3 are mine. The terrorist is the youngest I’ve ever acquired; I usually end up adopting young adults at the tail end of their rambunctious stages. Having a bona-fide kitten has been a real eye-opener.