# Mystery Wound?



## saitenyo (Nov 28, 2010)

I just found some kind of wound on Athena's neck. It doesn't look raised. It's about the size of a dime. It looks like a patch of fur is missing and the skin is very raw and red, like it was scraped. If you've ever skinned your knee or elbow, basically it looks like that.
It doesn't seem to be actively bleeding, but it looks very fresh, not scabbed, and the fur around the area is pinkish.

I tried to get a photo. I apologize for the quality, I'm not sure if it's even clear enough to tell what it is. She wasn't in the mood to sit still so this was the best I could do: 
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii293/saitenyo/IMG_3064.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii293/saitenyo/IMG_3063.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii293/saitenyo/IMG_3067.jpg
I can try to get a better one later when she settles down.

She's acting normal. When I was trying to examine it she meowed loudly, which is unusual for her, but unless I'm poking at it, it doesn't seem to bother her. I don't think she can reach the area to groom, but she doesn't seem to be scratching at her neck or acting like she's in pain or anything. She's running around and playing with toys like normal. I fed her before I noticed this and she ate just fine.

I have a bad habit of freaking out over the tiniest things, so first of all, do you guys think I should take her to the vet asap? I keep worrying I should, but my boyfriend keeps reassuring me it doesn't look to bad and that we probably don't need to take her to the vet unless it gets worse/doesn't get better.

In the meantime, should I try cleaning it out? I don't want it to get infected.

And my main question, any idea what in the world this could be? She and Apollo wrestle a lot, and sometimes he plays kind of rough, but his nails were recently trimmed. Could it be a bite? Could he have pulled a patch of fur out? She's not acting like she's afraid of him. They're getting along just fine, playing, sitting near each other, etc. Could Apollo could have done this?

They also tend to run into stuff when they play sometimes. I thought maybe she could have skinned herself on the edge of the bed frame or something else? 

Sorry, I know the most obvious answer is probably: Go to the vet if I'm worried, but I can't even schedule an appointment until tomorrow morning (and it doesn't seem to be an emergency) and I'm just fretting about it. And in the meantime should I try to clean it, or just leave it alone?


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## Kobster (Feb 1, 2007)

Its really hard to see from the pictures. Is it a full thickness wound (through the skin, an actual hole) or just a scrape across the top layers of skin? If its not full thickness then I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just watch it for signs of infection. If it is full thickness, then might be worth having it looked at and maybe some antibiotics.


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## Greenport ferals (Oct 30, 2010)

It looks like a puncture wound. If caused by a cat bite, it can easily get infected. If not caused by a cat bite, but by something sharp, it should heal on its own. 
If this were my cat I would clean it with mild soap and water twice a day and monitor for infection. Your vet will shave the area to get a better look at it and treat it.

My cats play very rough sometimes - to the point that fur flies. Apollo could have gotten a little carried away.


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## Jan Rebecca (Oct 14, 2010)

I freak out about the small things too - so you are not alone in that. I would definately keep a close eye on it for infection.


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## raecarrow (Oct 27, 2009)

Leo got a wound like that one time on his hind leg. It looked like the fur and the top layer of skin got pulled off. Though this was about the size of a nickle. No puncture. I freaked out too and got all these topical meds to apply to it but he didn't let me near it with the meds. I kept an eye on it and it healed fine without any intervention from me.

Just keep a watch for infection. I don't think you need to do anything at this point.


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## saitenyo (Nov 28, 2010)

Thanks guys. It's looking better this morning already. I have a bad habit of jumping to the worst-case scenario where they health of my pets is concerned. It's not a deep wound from what I can tell.

I was particularly concerned that this might mean problems with Athena and Apollo, even though they'd previously gotten along fine, but I think this may have just been a fluke. He was probably playing too rough and accidentally hurt her. I know he's accidentally hurt me before while playing.

This morning I woke up to them curled up together on my bed, so they don't seem to be having any issues with each other.

I'm still debating on whether or not she needs to see the vet, as I was typing this, she jumped up on the bed and I noticed it started bleeding again a bit, which does have me a little worried.


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## saitenyo (Nov 28, 2010)

I've been watching them this morning, and Apollo's still trying to play with her often, as usual. I'm wondering if he keeps pulling at/reopening the wound when they play and that's why it's bleeding again.

Would a vet be able to bandage it so that doesn't keep happening? I'm just worried he's going to keep making it worse at this point by not leaving her alone, even if he's not _trying_ to hurt her.


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## saitenyo (Nov 28, 2010)

Sorry for the multiple posts, still trying to figure out what to do and what's going on. Athena is acting _very_ strange now.

She attacked my hand this morning for no apparent reason. It seemed playful at first, but she ended up scratching and biting pretty hard. She scratched me up pretty good. 

Now she is tearing around the condo, leaping on things, bolting across the room, even when Apollo is not chasing her. I'm worried she's going to hurt herself. She already leaped headfirst into the side of the dresser. I'm not sure if she just miscalculated her jump or what.

Could she be spooked her distressed because of her injury, or is she just being hyper? She's normally not quite this wired for such a prolonged period of time, and the haphazard, clumsy way she's jumping around has me concerned.

She doesn't seem disoriented, and she's playing with toys and stuff. She's just really wired right now.


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## saitenyo (Nov 28, 2010)

And I apologize for another post here, just wanted to update you guys on the situation.

I ended up taking Athena to the vet just to ease my nerves. The vet said it looks like a scrape. Possibly caused by Apollo but more likely she ran into or fell off something while they were playing and scraped her neck. 

I can't figure out what it might've been, but there are a whole host of candidates. Maybe the edge of the bed frame? They're always bolting under the bed very fast while playing.

In any case, the vet shaved the area and cleaned it, and told us how to keep it clean while it heals. Athena's been trying to lick it so now she has to wear the Cone of Shame. Poor little girl. Shes not happy. She keeps trying to back out of it and doesn't understand why it stays on her head.

I feel relieved though, to know it's not serious and to have had it looked at. Sorry for all my frantic posts on this the past two days. I'm sure you guys know how it is, when one of your cats is hurt and you don't know what to do. Thank you all so much for listening and offering me good advice.


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

Poor little thing with the cone! Still, I'm glad to hear it's nothing serious and she's ok. Both of my girls sometimes go nuts and start tearing around the house for no apparent reason, so it's possible the two events were unrelated. You needn't apologize for posting. I know exactly how you feel. I too get overly worried when I think there's something wrong with my girls.


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## saitenyo (Nov 28, 2010)

She's much calmer now. I guess she was just hyper this morning for totally unrelated reasons.

She seems to have adjusted to the cone a little too. She stopped trying to get it off at least. But the poor thing is so clumsy already (I think because she's a little cross-eyed) and this is just making it worse. 

She keeps missing all her jumps. She tried to jump onto my desk and fell backwards, taking my speakers and a bag of chips with her. I'm trying to just keep her calm and contained for the moment so she doesn't hurt herself anymore.

The good news is Apollo's leaving her alone. I was worried he'd try to play with her with the cone on and she'd freak out, but I think he's actually afraid of the cone! XD


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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

Happy to hear it's healing without complications and that you're taking precautions. The fact that she's moving around so much likely means she isn't in much pain.

Once my cat (which is black) had a fairly deep wound on her. We didn't know why she wasn't moving around and sleeping most of the time as we couldn't find anything wrong. By the time we noticed the problem she was already healing, so we just kept a close eye on her until she got better. 

I'd wanted to take her to the vet but we held back since she seemed to be improving on her own, within a week she was back to normal, but we still took it easy on how we picked her up for at least another week after that. 

Cats seem to be able to sort these things out for themselves and know what not to do when hurt.


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## Greenport ferals (Oct 30, 2010)

You're a great owner to care so much about your cat. It might have resolved on its own and it might not have - you never know. Kitty will be cone-free in no time.


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## saitenyo (Nov 28, 2010)

I'm actually considering taking the cone off today. The vet said as long as I watched her and kept her from licking off the antibiotic/scratching the wound, she could go cone-free, and thankfully I am working from home again today.

She just seems so pathetic with the cone on.  I am concerned she's having trouble eating and drinking. She tried to drink some water and couldn't get her head in the bowl. So she stuck her face under the running stream (we have one of those cat fountains) but it just filled up the cone, so now she is drenched. Poor thing. 

At this point I think making sure she gets water is probably more important than worrying about licking.


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

I would try taking the cone off and see how she does. If she doesn't bother too much with her wound, then you can leave it off. If she starts to scratch/lick too much, you can always put the cone back on.


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## saitenyo (Nov 28, 2010)

Yeah, sadly that's what I had to do, as she started scratching at it this evening. Poor Athena. 

I'm a little worried about her ability to eat and drink with the cone on. If I prop her dish against the wall, she seems to be able to eat okay (albeit messily), but her attempts to drink water with it on have been spectacular failures. I think she can drink from the stream of their fountain, but she ends up soaking herself in the process. And then she goes and uses the litterbox and gets litter stuck to it. I keep having to clean/dry her off. 

In the brief period of time she had the cone off, she also managed to scratch her eyelid. I don't have any idea how she did that. Thankfully it looks fairly minor.

But geez, the poor thing is just a mess right now! I feel so bad for her. I don't know how she keeps hurting herself. She's apparently very injury-prone.


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## Kobster (Feb 1, 2007)

Glad to hear its nothing serious. An alternative to the cone might be a onesie (like for a baby and worn like a tshirt) put on her to cover the area but leaving her free to move around. But honestly, by this time, it should be healed enough that she won't hurt it.


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## saitenyo (Nov 28, 2010)

Oh that's an interesting idea Kobster, thank you! I'm not sure if it would cover this sore, as it's on her neck, but I will keep that in mind for future reference.


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## catloverami (Jul 5, 2010)

If she's still not eating and drinking well, I would remove the cone for her to eat and drink, and then put the cone back on when she's finished, if sore still isn't healed well enough.


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## saitenyo (Nov 28, 2010)

Good news, she's cone-free again! She seems to have stopped scratching. And whatever she did to her eye looks much better this morning too. 

She seems much happier today. I think she was getting stressed out not being able to groom herself, as the first thing she did when I took the cone off this morning was give herself a very thorough bath. Her fur was starting to get kind of disheveled.


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

I'm glad to hear she's doing better! As long as she's not scratching so hard as to re-open the wound, I'd leave the cone off.


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