Sores on my cat's tail- help!

Hello, I hope this can help. I recently discovered that my family's regularly happy female cat Dottie, (8 years old?) has red, raised, sores on her tail. One of them is bigger and pussy. The hair around the sores is gone, and she licks them quite often. They're obviously either painful or itchy to her, 'cause when I try to get a better look at what's going on, she meows and gets mad at me. My mom (the keeper of the cat, if you will), doesn't want to take her to the vet. Can anyone help me out as to what this is? A parasite of some sort? What can I do about it?

 

Hi Yan

Sounds to me like your cat might have abscess, they are fairly common but can be pretty painful for her, theres some good info about it here

http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/firstaid3.html

Hope this helps

 

if they are abcesses and go deep they needs to be cleaned up (scabs pulled off), puss cleaned out and antibiotics. Usually abcesses are from wounds. is this an outside cat?

 

:m23: and welcome! Sounds like Dottie defitely needs vet care. What is the reasoning behind your mom not wanting to take kitty to the vet? Check this sticky:

http://www.auspet.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=179

You may be able to find a vet in your area that will care for your cat for low cost or if you are fortunate even free. Call around local vets and clinics and shelters including no-kill. Lots of times these people may recommend a good, low cost vet for you to use!

I am not assuming that your mom can't afford to take Dottie to the vet. I'm making the assumption that you will take the responsibility to care for your family pet when she won't. Seeing that you've posted here you truly care about your cat! BTW, do you have any pics of Dottie to share? Dottie is such a cute name! :y_the_best:

 

Thanks, guys.

Well, actually, I took her to the vet this morning. It was the first time I ever had to do it, so I was a bit emotional, just because I didn't like to see my kitty in pain or uncomfortable.
You were right, it was an abcess. In her box on the way over there it burst or something, 'cause there was all this goo...sorta gross. They "drained" it, and applied something to the other little sores. The vet said that it looked like she had been bit by probably another cat, and probably a number of times. She goes outside for a few hours every day, but the last time that I knew of that she got into a fight was over a month ago!
Anyway, Dot's little tail is all bandaged up now. They had to sedate her, so she was pretty weird for a little while. But here's what really sucks- She has to wear one of those stupid Elizabethan Collars so she doesn't bite at the bandage. She went absolutely nuts when I took her out of the box at home. She was trying to back out of the collar. She'd go up on her hind legs and fall over on her back. When she would walk she stooped down low and the collar kept catching on the carpet. She writhed around and meowed a lot. I tried to put her on my lap and pet her to calm her down, but she wasn't having it. SEDATED MY FOOT! I took the collar off, just to see, but of course she went right for the bandage, so back on with the collar. I called the vet and they said to put her back in the box where she seemed to chill a bit. Nope. Went even more nuts. I finally just put her in what I thought was the safest room in the house- Mom's bathroom- and she soon fell asleep.
She's been sleeping for most of the rest of the day, except for when we fed her- she was SO hungry! And the doc said not to feed her very much, 'cause she'd puke it up. She's been drinking a lot of water, though.

Anyway, so here's my dilema now- I feel so bad for her! She has to be in this crappy collar thing for a week! She probably hates me! She's calmed down a lot, but she's not very happy. The doc said she shouldn't be in much pain, but I'm sure the collar and the bandage are very annoying. Does anyone have any ideas on what to do to help her feel a little more comfortable? She's sleeping now in front of the heater, which she loves, but usually she's purring. Not today.

Oh, and vene, here's the deal with Mom not wanting to take her to the vet. Yeah, it's sort of a money thing- a bandage and some antibiotics equals $160! And they said they took of $65! This is at our regular vet. But I also think my mom's reasoning has to do with what I've experienced- It sucks to do that to your cat! I mean, I know it's better for her, but I just feel so bad! Also, my mom had to work today, so I think it was a time issue as well. I didn't have to go to work until this afternoon. However, she did give me her credit card to pay for it, although I offered to pitch in.
Oh, she just woke up. She walks backwards everywhere now...slowly. Poor thing. I put her in my lap- she seems to like it. I'm sure I have pics of her. I'll scan them in soon. And I think the name Dottie came from the movie Pee Wee's Big Adventure. When we just got her as a kitten it was something else...I don't remember what. But someone one day said to the cat the line, "Dottie! There are things you don't understand. Things, you couldn't understand. Things...you shouldn't understand." And the name stuck.

Okay, this is turning out to be long. Thanks again for the help, everyone, and thanks for letting me vent.

Yan (Brittany)
Oh! P.S. She just started to purr! Sounds a little weird, though, but I'll take it![/i]

 

hi yan!! well...God bless your soul for helping the kitty!!!

it sounds like it is just going to take time. think of it like this...

when a pregnant woman is almost ready to deliver...it is almost impossible to get comfortable...or a good nights sleep!! :shock: but....its temporary. your moms kitty will heal, and wont even remember it a month from now...

hang in there... :y_the_best: :wink:

 

Hi Yan, I'm glad you got the cat to the vet abscess's can be so painful!
I had a young cat (5 months old) who had an abscess on his lip when we took him to the vet the vet burst the abscess and my cat actually ran up one wall and over the ceiling then down the other wall!!! Poor thing!

Does your cat pick at the bandages if she doesn't have the collar on? If she doesn't go straight for them I would take it off every now and again while your around to give her a break, my moms cat had an abscess on her tail recently we didn't notice it until it was very big and it burst the same day, we cleaned it up ourselves and she didn't go to the vet (although we kept a close eye on it for infections), it healed in a week or 2 and she didn't have a collar or anything.

 

I'm so happy you took Dottie to the vet. She did need those antibiotics to help with the healing process. Sounds like she gets into scrapes when she goes outdoors so is there any way you can train her to stay indoors from now on? The cats outside don't seem to be friendly at all. I don't want to lecture. I'm sure you know all the risks. Don't worry about her being so unhappy right now. I'd be too if someone collared and bandaged me. I agree about her taking a breather every now and then. My Monty was so mad at me when I took him to the dentist for teeth extractions. I didn't think he'd forgive me. But the very next day, he was back to his purring, loving self! About your mom, my hubby is the same way. He thinks taking the furbabies to the vet is a waste of time and money and torture on the babies. I put my foot down and said I'm taking them anyway. Monty and Pumpkin needed dental care real bad. Pumpkin had 4 cavities with 1 broken tooth in fragments. Must have been hurting her for a long time. She's a different cat after the extractions- happier, livelier, and much sweeter than usual. Monty is always a good boy. He had 2 extractions. Rene and Milo are just fine. They can't tell us when they are in pain, so we have to look for signals. BTW, Monty and Rene got into a bad scrape once and I did not bandage Monty's paw and he healed up within days. If he didn't, I would've whisked him to the vet immediately. Can't wait to see pics!

 

You are all so nice!

Thanks for your concern everyone. javascript:emoticon('')

Ginger- when the collar is off she pics at the bandages a bit. We took it off this morning 'cause she's still acting crazy. She didn't go for them right away, so we just tried to keep our eye on her. She'd start to go for them, and we'd just clap, or go, "DOTTIE!" She would stop, but a while later start at them again. I left for work in the afternoon, but when I got home tonight my mom said that after I left Dottie started to get nasty. My mom would go to just pet her or something, and she'd kinda growl and bite at her. She just did the same thing to me a few minutes ago. I guess she's just irritated. But if she starts to mess with the bandages to much, it's back on with the stinkin' collar. Sorry, Dot-a-roo, but it's for your own good!
For the most part today she acted pretty lethargic, though. She slept A LOT. I thought the anesthetic would have worn off by now. Do you think it's the antibiotics that are making her overly mellow?

vene- Psh, right. Good luck. No, I don't think we could all of a sudden stop letting Dot outside. I sorta don't want to anyway. I had a cat years ago who never went outside, and she was fat and lazy. Dottie gets some good exercise out there. I think she needs it. Besides, she doesn't get into fights too often. I think she's only ever been in 2 or 3, and this has been her most serious injury.
"Furbabies" lol, I like that. I've never heard that term before.
Extractions?! Holy cow! I know the vet said Dot had a bit of tartar, but her teeth were generally pretty good. I didn't know cats could get extractions!
I found a photo of Dottie today, but it's not very good. I know I've got a better one somewhere. But she's just your everyday garden variety grey tabby. We've had 3 cats. All tabbies.

That's it for now, folks. Thanks again for all your concern and help.

Yan

 

Poor Dottie! Sounds like shes getting a bit moody thats understandable, my cat mitz gets the same way when shes in a bad mood, I just leave her alone and she usually comes to get some fuss whne she feels like it.
Shes probably feeling a bit run down and thats why shes sleeping lots, just keep an eye on her (I'm sure you are already!)
How well is it healing? Do you have to wait for the vet to take the bandage off?

 

I don't know if the antibiotics will make her sleepy, but when cats get sick, they tend to sleep more for rest and repair.

Dental care is really important. They can get cavities pretty easily. It's not like human teeth where you can fill in the cavities. Once the cavities set in, extractions are totally necessary. The only way to tell is through x-rays, usually done prior to the teeth cleanings. That's how we found out Pumpkin had 4 with 1 in multiple fragments, and Monty had 2. During the physical exam, the vet can determine the degree of gum and teeth health. Tarter generally builds up pretty bad in the back teeth so if you can brush your kitties teeth or rub them down with a moist cloth. They sell those kitty toothpastes in the petstores- fish flavors or whatever. You will save yourself lots of money and hastle if you can brush your kitty's teeth on a regular basis.

BTW, my vet said that cats that roam outside usually have better teeth cause they much on whole animals- bones and all. Of course their health can be compromised. Milo, whom I used to let out had partial blockage due too too much rabbit and mole ingestion. :shock: And his sister Venus (RIP) got hit by a car. :cry:

 

Oh, the bandages!

Stinkin' cat...I love her, but she doesn't know what's good for her. She's been better today. She's actually walking forward now, lol. We let her go without her collar for a bit today, and an hour or so later I found that she had scooted the bandage down enough so that the main wound was exposed. We just bandaged it up some more, and didn't bother calling the vet, 'cause she's going in to get the dressing changed tomorrow. BUT- she's keeping that collar on. She's almost acting like her old self though, so that's good. She's actually kind of funny now- she still crouches down when she walks anywhere, but I don't think she realizes how far out from her head the cone goes. She keeps knocking stuff over. And this is weird- she stays real close to the wall wherever she goes. We know where she is 'cause we can hear the scraping. :lol:
She hates those antibiotics. She's very squirmy when we have to give them to her.
The bandage comes off on Wednesday. When I saw the wound yesterday, it was still bloody, but no more puss, and it wasn't red around it, so I think it's doing alright.
The only other thing that I've noticed that's unusual, is that she's not meowing very much (usually just her way of communicating that she wants something), and even when she does, it's very weak. I'm not too worried about this, though. I think it might just be that the Elizabethan collar is a bit tight, so it's harder for her to talk.

Well, we'll see what the vet has to say tomorrow. Bye for now!
Yan

 

I'm glad to hear she's doing better Let us know how things turn out on Wensday

 

if she's going to be continued to be let outside start saving your pennies cause once there is one abcess there is always more. If she's having problems with a particular cat outside then they'll probably continue to have probelms - I had a cat that I would take to the vet monthly for abcesses....before I stopped letting my cats out.

My cats are all inside only - there's not a fat or lazy one in the group.

Some of the behavior you're seeing could be a result of the sedative too...might be taking awhile to wear off. She'll adjust to the collar once she understands it's not coming off. I'd leave her alone - stop trying to pet her and stop taking the collar off until it can....she'll cope.

 

ive never had a fat cat in my life...all my cats have been strictly indoors! max and mikey play all day long...like the energizer bunny!! :qm4: :qm4:

 

I thought Monty was fat (14 lbs, just weighed). Our vet said, nope, he's very healthy and it's genetic! So none of our indoor cats are fat ranging from 12-14 lbs for all 4 kitties1

 

woah...

Wow, y'all are really pushin' the indoor cat thing, huh? I dunno...I think it's fine to let her out. I'm not worried about the abcess thing. I mean, there's always a possibility she'll have more wounds, but the abcess only comes when nothing is done about it. ..it gets all infected. This is the first time we haven't noticed a cats wound immediately.
Also, it seems like, (and correct me if I'm wrong here...) you who have indoor cats who are not over weight have just that- catS, plural. They have each other to play or fight or be active with. I just have the one. Maybe it has to do with personality too. Kibby (the fat one from years ago) was never a very active cat even as a kitten. Dottie always has been.
We got her bandages changed today and she did just fine. In fact, my mom drove this time, so I took Dottie out of her box and kept her on my lap in the car, just to see. She actually sorta liked it! She stood up on my lap to look out the window. Her eyes were huge and her tail was swishing everywhere. It was kinda funny.

Sorry if I sound a bit curt today. It's been a long day...I need to go to bed. G'nite. :---)

 

Glad Dottie is doing well. When do her bandages come off for good?

 

LOL, tonight, apparently. We just got home from visiting relatives, and we discovered Dot with her bandage completely off! :x
HOW'D SHE DO THAT?! She had her cone on! The whole bandage was just laying on the floor! The good news is, the tail looks pretty good. We are keeping the cone on and the bandage off over night. My mom sorta took apart the bandage and we're going to try to re-apply it tomorrow. She was supposed to go in on Wednesday to take it off for good unless it looked like it needed more healing. If it doesn't stay on tomorrow we'll probably call and ask the vet if we can just leave it off, or if we need to come back in for a new one.
Do you think her licking the wound (keep in mind it IS healing nicely, it's just not completely gone) would make it go bad again? Or are we home free at this point?
Very weird though...she's one tricky kitty. :m33:

 

I'd play it safe and call the vet to see if it's ok to leave the bandage off. If Dottie were my cat, I'd probably not let her lick her tail and leave the cone on until it is completely healed. She sure is one smart kitty! :m10: