Mystery Wound?

[saitenyo]

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/i...o/IMG_3064.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i...o/IMG_3063.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i...o/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?

[Kobster]

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.

[Greenport ferals]

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.

[Jan Rebecca]

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.

[raecarrow]

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.

[saitenyo]

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.

[saitenyo]

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.

[saitenyo]

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.

[saitenyo]

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.

[Susan]

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.