Hi All,
My cat Guido has a new problem (2007 was a very bad year for him, and 2008 isn't getting off to a very good start). He's 14 years old and has had several heath issues. I took him to the vet last week because I could see blood at the back of one eye (he's already blind). She prescribed an ointment that I'm putting directly on the eye twice a day, and he's due for a follow-up checkup this weekend.
Yesterday I saw him licking and licking on his paw. I went a took a closer look and saw that he had licked all the fur off his "big toe", and that the skin was raw. I had a topical leftover from his most recent surgery (had a lump removed from his back), so I've been applying that to help fight any infection. Unfortunately, I didn't write down the name of the topical.
In any case, do you think he can wait to see the vet until Saturday? Or, does this sound more urgent? Also, any advice on whether I should wrap the paw in gauze?
Cat gnawing on his paw
Re: Cat gnawing on his paw
What are the health problems he has had?
What is the eye condition?
What treatment is your vet approaching for the eye and did she suggest a more thorough eye exam with a feline opthamologist? Does kitty have renal impairment, thyroid condition or heart problem/hypertension? If so, are they being effectively treated? (many of these conditions can affect occular function or cause problems)
What is the topical you used for his paw? You should never apply topicals or anything without a vet's assessment/exam and a vet's direction. One should also never use left-over medications etc for other conditions since many medications are contraindicated for other conditions. You also don't know if the topical is specific to the paw problem.
The constant licking the paw could be indicative of pain, perhaps as a result of the eye condition or any other health condition, and only your vet can determine with an exam. Don't wait, get him seen immediately. TODAY or tomorrow, no later.
What is the eye condition?
What treatment is your vet approaching for the eye and did she suggest a more thorough eye exam with a feline opthamologist? Does kitty have renal impairment, thyroid condition or heart problem/hypertension? If so, are they being effectively treated? (many of these conditions can affect occular function or cause problems)
What is the topical you used for his paw? You should never apply topicals or anything without a vet's assessment/exam and a vet's direction. One should also never use left-over medications etc for other conditions since many medications are contraindicated for other conditions. You also don't know if the topical is specific to the paw problem.
The constant licking the paw could be indicative of pain, perhaps as a result of the eye condition or any other health condition, and only your vet can determine with an exam. Don't wait, get him seen immediately. TODAY or tomorrow, no later.
..........Traci
Re: Cat gnawing on his paw
Guido had a very bad year in 2007. Here's a quick overview:
1. Cataracts
2. Encephalitis
3. Went completely blind (about the same time as Encephalitis we think)
4. Lump removed from back (benign)
5. Bad reaction to medicine used to keep area sterile during lump removal operation, so he licked area surrounding the wound raw.
6. Broken blood vessel in the eye pooling blood in the detached retina of one eye.
I don't have the medicine with me (I'm at work), so I don't know the names of the prescriptions. One is a gel applied directly to the eye. The other prescription that I mistakenly thought would help is the medicine she prescribed for problem number 5 above. I'll post again when I get home with the names of the medicine.
For the eye problem, my follow-up is scheduled for Saturday. I just put a call into her to let her know of the new problem to see if she can get me in tonight or tomorrow. She's in with a client now, but I expect to have an answer back within a half hour.
More to come...
1. Cataracts
2. Encephalitis
3. Went completely blind (about the same time as Encephalitis we think)
4. Lump removed from back (benign)
5. Bad reaction to medicine used to keep area sterile during lump removal operation, so he licked area surrounding the wound raw.
6. Broken blood vessel in the eye pooling blood in the detached retina of one eye.
I don't have the medicine with me (I'm at work), so I don't know the names of the prescriptions. One is a gel applied directly to the eye. The other prescription that I mistakenly thought would help is the medicine she prescribed for problem number 5 above. I'll post again when I get home with the names of the medicine.
For the eye problem, my follow-up is scheduled for Saturday. I just put a call into her to let her know of the new problem to see if she can get me in tonight or tomorrow. She's in with a client now, but I expect to have an answer back within a half hour.
More to come...
Re: Cat gnawing on his paw
I would strongly suggest a thorough exam, full bloodwork profile, tesing thyroid function if it hasn't been done within the last 6 months. Retinal detachment is serious, and could be the result of hypertension or renal disease.
Is your vet experienced enough in feline opthamology? If not, does she not have a visiting specialist on occasion? Most vets, if they don't have a specialist in the clinic, have a visiting specialist available for their patients who need advanced care. Find out, or, get a referral to one, immediately. The cataracts may be able to be treated more appropriately.
Pain might be a problem at this point, such as occular pain, but could also be from something else, so this needs to be identified, checked, ASAP by your vet, or a more experienced vet immediately.
Is your vet experienced enough in feline opthamology? If not, does she not have a visiting specialist on occasion? Most vets, if they don't have a specialist in the clinic, have a visiting specialist available for their patients who need advanced care. Find out, or, get a referral to one, immediately. The cataracts may be able to be treated more appropriately.
Pain might be a problem at this point, such as occular pain, but could also be from something else, so this needs to be identified, checked, ASAP by your vet, or a more experienced vet immediately.
..........Traci
Re: Cat gnawing on his paw
He had a thorough exam and full bloodwork 3 months ago.
I'll have to call the vet back and ask her if she feels qualified in feline opthamology. She's a very experienced feline only vet, but I'm not sure what qualifies for "experienced enough". I've been taking my cats to her for about 10 years.
She was nice enough to squeeze me in this morning and confirmed that Guido has a broken toe. She said that I need to isolate him from my other cats for about 3 weeks (when we are not home to supervise), and that he should not be climbing stairs or jumping up/off on beds/chairs or playing/dominating the other cats.
The wound portion of the problem didn't look as raw this morning, so luckily the topical I applied didn't do any harm (the vet said that if the wound flared up again, that I should treat it with the topical again).
She also prescribed metacam (.25cc) daily to ease the pain and help him keep calm. Follow-up check up is scheduled for 3 weeks.
She did the follow-up exam on his eye this morning too, and said that the treatment was working and that I should continue to apply the oinment in the eye 2 times daily.
I'll have to call the vet back and ask her if she feels qualified in feline opthamology. She's a very experienced feline only vet, but I'm not sure what qualifies for "experienced enough". I've been taking my cats to her for about 10 years.
She was nice enough to squeeze me in this morning and confirmed that Guido has a broken toe. She said that I need to isolate him from my other cats for about 3 weeks (when we are not home to supervise), and that he should not be climbing stairs or jumping up/off on beds/chairs or playing/dominating the other cats.
The wound portion of the problem didn't look as raw this morning, so luckily the topical I applied didn't do any harm (the vet said that if the wound flared up again, that I should treat it with the topical again).
She also prescribed metacam (.25cc) daily to ease the pain and help him keep calm. Follow-up check up is scheduled for 3 weeks.
She did the follow-up exam on his eye this morning too, and said that the treatment was working and that I should continue to apply the oinment in the eye 2 times daily.