cat chews leg to bone....

[AZcatlady]

I think I have exaggerated again. The bone/ligament is not poking through the skin. He has a ptch 1" long wear hes bit or chewed through his fur. There is no bleeding, limping. He gets alittle tense if I touch the area but thats it. I looks like it might be rash of some sort or some behavioral issue. Also they are indoor cats.
Anyone have any ideas what this might be. If I felt it was serious enough i would take him to the vet.

[NewRagdoll]

Rationalize all you want to. You've been given the appropriate advise and it sticks and you choose to ignore it. As to what it might be, lots of things. Some of them can be quite serious and if you leave it untreated by refusing to take your cat to the vet even the less serious will become more so. Care to change your story again to try to talk us out of the correct advice?

[coaster]

well, I don't know. with each post your description gets less serious. what are we to believe? use your best judgment. put yourself in the cat's place and think of what course you would desire. we can't give appropriate advice if we don't have a clear picture of what's going on. only you have that. if it's a medical issue, medical attention is needed.

[AZcatlady]

he has had similar chew areas before probably the last one about 1.5 years ago - hes 8 yrs old. I wasent aware of this site and not a member before to ask such questions. I am asking this question now because he has another area. He was at the vet for his checkup in Novemeber. He is healthy and never had any problems from this or any other health issues. (I wish my other cat was as healthy, she has had problems with urinary tract infection, allergies and water eyes. We give her the best medical attention and tons of love.) Newragdoll, please dont make me feel bad about my cat, I think your getting very close to the crossing the line!

What I am asking for is, has anyone else had similar issues with their cat to where the chew a specific area. If so is this stress related or medical related. based on feedback from dog owners who I work with this is a common issue with dogs. The responses I was getting back were to take her to the vet ASAP and others challenging me if I care about my cats.
Does anyone have any ideas why my cat would be doing this?

thank you

[NewRagdoll]

Ah, so now after changing the story several times, being advised, and ignoring the advice, your feelings are hurt and we are being too harsh. I don't feel one bit sorry for you...I feel sorry for the cat. As your story has changed it is hard to know how serious the problem is. You expect us to diagnose it from this information. It could be an allergy, it could be an infection, it could be an external skin condition, it could be an internal problem, even a tumor, could be a parasite, it could be some other condition entirely causing your cat to do this. Also, understand that even if the condition isn't serious, the continued chewing could create a serious condition. The advice stands....get her to the vet. Don't make you feel bad for your cat? I feel bad for your cat.

What was the problem last time? Guess you never got it diagnosed then either so you would know now if it might be the same.

To say "he is healthy" is something you can't say. You don't know. You see no other symptoms, he appears ok otherwise. However, until you have him examined you can't be sure. Wouldn't you rather err on the side of safety? Is he running a fever? Do you know?

The fact is that all anyone here can do is speculate, but we all know that it would concern us enough to take our cat to the vet. I hope it's nothing. You say you care and I trust that you do. How will you feel if it develops into something worse and you then find out the vet could have done something if you'd taken him in earlier?

From personal experience, I've lost two cats to death, each at 13 1/2 years and each time, even though factually I knew I could have done nothing in their cases, I felt like I'd let them down and asked myself if I should have known something sooner and gotten them to the vet sooner. If I hadn't taken them as soon as I knew of a problem, I can't imagine the guilt I would have felt.

The best vet visits in the world are the ones where they tell you there is nothing to worry about, where you feel maybe you shouldn't have even gone. I hope you take our advice and this visit turns out that way.

[BoscosMum]

FELINE HYPERESTHESIA, OVER-GROOMING, AND SELF-MUTILATION
http://www.vin.com/VINDBPub/SearchPB...00/PR00026.htm

Here is an article for you to check out.
If your other cat is having alot of urine problems....and this cat is
chewing himself.....Have you looked into possible food allergies?

An all canned diet is the best thing you can do for your cat who
is having bladder infections and problems.

[coaster]

Dawn - please edit. you left a space between htm and [.

thnx

[halfline]

That's some good research BoscosMum!

I've seen a cat that hurt (bleeding) itself to relieve an "irritation" (here a collar) without meowing or "looking" in pain. That was the closest I've seen from your situation, but probably not relevant.

My answer is do what you think is right. From reading your post, I think you are an intelligent, reasonable, and caring person. I don't know your cat, I don't have all your experiences with your cat, so your call is as good, if not better, than mine. I know the humane society or some animal programs have vets that can check your animal for free or for a very small price, if money is a problem. Like any forums, you will have people who respectfully/disrespectfully disagree. Remember, you are talking to people who actually posts comments about cats on the internet. I'll let that sink in. -> ->

[coaster]

Originally Posted by halfline

Remember, you are talking to people who actually posts comments about cats on the internet. I'll let that sink in.

ha, ha....very astute observation halfline....you recognize the limitations of the medium. caveat emptor!!

that being said, if the original poster had been accurate in the first post, I think a lot of this could have been avoided.