# Open wound- cause??



## Cookiejar (Dec 4, 2012)

I just noticed a wound one one of my cats. this is the one that goes outdoors beyond my backyard. It's at the base of his tail and the wound is about a 3/8" diameter circle that's open and goes somewhat deeper than the skin level as I can see a small hole inside him. Does anyone know what may have causd this, specifically if it looks like a Bee-bee gun wound?
He functions ok as far as playing with things and moving around but I did iodine rinse and neosporine in the wound area. I think i'm looking at a trip to the vet tomorrow as I think it's too big to heal ok on it's own.


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## Cookiejar (Dec 4, 2012)

forgot to post pic:

<a href="http://s129.beta.photobucket.com/user/bjautz/media/tigerwound2_zps1365bbd0.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p204/bjautz/tigerwound2_zps1365bbd0.jpg" border="0" alt="Tiger- wound"/></a>


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## Cookiejar (Dec 4, 2012)




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## spirite (Jul 31, 2012)

Ouch! I don't know if it was a BB gun that caused it, but I really hope not! The stray that I take care of ended up with a similar wound in the same exact place - base of the tail - last summer, though if I remember, it was more of a gash than a hole. He seemed fine otherwise, so I kept an eye on him. After a couple of days, he started licking furiously, so I knew it was starting to heal. I never figured out what it was. It was too deep to be from a fight with another cat. I thought he might have tried to slink under a metal fence and gotten cut maybe. But it did heal completely, and he's absolutely fine. I hope it's the same for your kitty.


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## Arianwen (Jun 3, 2012)

Very nasty - could it be ulceration of some sort? Let us know what the vet says.


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## my5kitties (Sep 13, 2005)

I'm thinking bot fly. A while ago, we had a member whose cat had a wound that looked very similar to that and it turned out to be a bot fly. *shudder*


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

My first thought was bot fly too.


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## catloverami (Jul 5, 2010)

This looks and sound like a cuterebra, or bot fly lesion. Take your cat to the vet to have the larva removed; this is not a do it yourself procedure!

Read this: Merck Veterinary Manual


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## Arianwen (Jun 3, 2012)

This is genuinely seeking clarification. We have bott flies around here - I even have a special bott knife for removing them from horses' coats - but they don't normally cause a problem with cats. Are they the same species?


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## Cookiejar (Dec 4, 2012)

thanks for the feedback! I took the cat to the Vet who didn't know the cause & never mentioned Bott flies. It's been 1+ week now and he's healing quite well as the wound is mostly closed. He has to wear the 'cone of shame' and can't go outside, but with the antibiotics & regular wound cleaning he'll be back to 100% soon.
Also I had the clinic do an X-ray and thankfully it was confirmed that there was no bb inside him.


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## Arianwen (Jun 3, 2012)

hoofmaiden said:


> Yes, they are. Bot flies are bot flies. And they not uncommonly cause these problems in cats, dogs, rabbits, horses, etc. The larva is "laid" inside the animal--ick!


Very interesting - here the biggest problem is intestinal in horses with the larvae developing internally. I've know external problems in rabbits but not that commonly and none in cats or dogs.


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## Greenport ferals (Oct 30, 2010)

I just took my cat to the vet for a wound that looked exactly like this. It was an abscess that had burst. The cause was a cat bite. It was at the base of the tail, a favorite place for cats to bite each other. Along with antibiotics, my vet recommended applying a black tea bag to help it drain. 

Because of the location of the OP cat's wound, I think it is an abscess. They can be very startling and gaping. Seen many.


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