Urgent cat advice needed.

Knuffel

My cat was in a fight a number of days ago, at least I presume he was from the amount of fur in his claws and the large cut he received on his shoulder. I was keeping an eye on the cut as when he was younger he was prone to abscesses but it seemed fine, hard dark scab, not swelling or redness.
However I went in to say hello to him this evening to notice that his shoulder had basically split open with a small amount of pus leaking from the wound. He had also lost hair around the area which I assume is what was concealing it from me before.
Now, as I only noticed this about fifteen minutes ago I'm in a dilemma of whether to call the emergency vet or just take him first thing in the morning. Advice would be greatly appreciated. I've attached photos of the cut but be warned, they're quite graphic.

http://s1109.photobucket.com/albums/h433/knuffelly/?action=view&current=PhoebesIphone020.jpg
http://s1109.photobucket.com/albums/h433/knuffelly/?action=view&current=PhoebesIphone017.jpg

The Sweeper

Knuffel, that really needs to be cleaned out and treated and your cat given an antiobiotic. It may be easier on the cat to go to the vet now, while it's open, and have it examined, rather than waiting overnight as it starts to crust over (and possibly fill up again - depending what was in the wound to cause an abscess, some abscesses can fill and refill and refill, bursting each time and then refilling - they're exceedingly painful).

Ring around the vets and see what they say, see what they'll charge, and see what's involved in the procedure, then make your decision with more information.

Knuffel

Do you know of a late night vet in Dublin central by any chance? I've used our local vet's late night call out service once before when my other cat was knocked down but to be honest I wasn't very impressed, the vet diagnosed "bruising" when in fact my cat's pelvis was shattered. I'd be able to get to the vet first thing in the morning but considering I don't drive, would you say it's urgent enough that I should try and get a call out? Thanks for the speedy reply by the way!:)

The Sweeper

ps; do NOT have a go at cleaning that wound yourself with ANYTHING other than warm saline. No disinfectant, however dilute, no dettol, no tea tree.

If you want to try and clean it down a little you can try and wash the wound - boil the kettle, dissolve one tsp salt in one pint of boiled water and allow it to cool to warm - you don't want to scald the cat, but warm saline is better than cold. Use the cleanest salt you can find e.g no anti-caking agents, no iodine. Then you can try bathing the wound with that - but be warned that such treatment may not be well received by your kitty and may cause both you and he quite some distress.

The Sweeper

Late night dublin vet - no idea coz I don't live there, have heard others talking highly of UCD before.

How's your cat in himself?

Knuffel

He's his usual self, not limping or overly distressed in any way. He's not particularly impressed with my attempts to clean his cut, just using warm saline and cotton balls, but he doesn't seem bothered by it, more of a "what are you doing woman?" kind of attitude. When I finished cleaning it he started giving it a bit of a lick but didn't seem too stressed out. According to my brother he wolfed a bowl of food when he came in from his ramblings this evening, so that would make me think he'd be okay waiting till the morning.

The Sweeper

Sounds it. You have to weigh up the injury versus distress of a late-night dash (for you and him) versus high cost of out of hours vet versus practicality of a stay in said vet.

Keep him in, and keep him quiet, and call the vet first thing in the morning - he will have gotten some relief from it bursting, it would have been quite painful beforehand and now probably feels a bit better. It may be stiff in the morning and he may be a bit grumpy but if you can take him to a local vet you know and are comfortable with quite early he should be fine.

Knuffel

Thanks, I think that's what I'll do. I'll keep you updated on how he gets on.

scaryfairy

hi Knuffel

I hope your kitty won't need it, but just in case - we had to go to the Dublin Animal Emergency Clinic recently. They are based in UCD, they are open all night.

Tel: 1890 564 036

Knuffel

Thanks, it's good to have the number in case I need it. I feel a bit uneasy just leaving it until the morning but I really can't afford to get a taxi out to ucd, I'm based in Glasnevin.

Just out of interest, what kind of rates do ucd charge?

scaryfairy

I would not swear that it's correct but I think the consultation fee is €90 if you phone or arrive before midnight and €120 after that. Best to check with them.
see what you mean Glasnevin is far alright.

aren't these people closer to you:
http://www.activevetcare.ie/cabra-vet

star-pants

I brought my dog to UCD before, on a Sunday afternoon and it cost around €100 (about a year & half ago) and all they did was examine her pretty much. (just an FYI)
If you can't get one close to you then probably less stress (on both of you) and less costly to leave it til the morning if you think he'll be ok. A long journey there & back late at night might be distressing as the Sweeper said.

pinkdaisy

As far as I know, the out of hours pet clinic in UCD is only emergency cover for south dublin vet practices.

Having said that, the main thing you would be worried about with your cat is a systemic illness progressing to shock originating from a wound infection. If he is bright and eating this evening I think you're safe enough to leave it til the morning. But it can't wait much longer than that, he definitely needs antibiotics.

The Sweeper

I had a cat attacked by a dog last September. He escaped under the garden fence one day through a hole the neighbour's dog had dug. Said dog then got hold of him.

We searched for him for the afternoon, but he arrived home just after 11pm, dirty and with a deep puncture wound in his groin, about 1 inch from his urethra. He also had a scalping wound on the outside of his thigh.

First thing he did when he got in was inhale a bowl of food. He obviously holed up for a few hours after escaping from the dog, and in that time had cleaned his wounds himself. We did a few basic tests - felt abdomen for hardness or tenderness, listened to his breathing, checked him over physically, looked in his mouth at the colour of his gums, watched his food and water intake. We called the OOH vet with our story and they basically said yep, hold him till morning.

In the morning we presented at the local vet clinic at 8.30am (on the basis that a cat with a hole in him shouldn't necessarily need an appointment) and they saw him.

They shaved the site, flushed the wound, examined him, gave him an antiobiotic shot and a painkiller and sent us home to keep watch over him - no stitches, because punctures and burst abscesses heal from the inside out, and if you leave them open they can weep clean as they heal.

After that it took longer for him to get over the trauma than it did the wounds.

Knuffel

Hi guys, thanks again for all the helpful posts. My worry got the better of me but Spike is home now from the emergency vet(A lovely man in Killester). He got a shot and a course of antibiotics and is currently snoozing on the end of my bed, happy as a clam. Thanks again!

JKM

It's worth the money for the peace of mind right? I've been at the emergency vets more than a few times so know how you feel. And bites etc from other cats can be extremely dangerous and get very badly infected so you made the right choice IMO.
Also, sounds like you found a good understanding vet, maybe you should hold onto them. In my experience there is nothing better than knowing that your vet won't think you a complete eejit for worrying about your pet.
We even felt comfortable asking our vet to visit our cat Ollie on Christmas day... at no charge by the way! We are lucky to have the best vets ever only 15 minutes away though!
Hope Spike feels better.. I know if he could he would say thanks.