Puncture Wound

1185 Views 4 Replies 4 Participants Last post by laurief, Mar 22, 2012

jellyy

Discussion Starter · Mar 22, 2012

Hello. I have a 4 month old kitten and tonight my boyfriend's cat (after a laundry basket introduction and sniffs) decided to bite my cat. The wound was dripping a LOT of blood and is on her face. After I caught Bella, the kitten, I applied pressure to the wound with a towel which stopped the bleeding. I washed the wound with warm water and soap and used hydrogen peroxide. I called the emergency vet and was told to bring her in if the discharge from the wound has an odor to it, signs of infection, etc. It's been about 3-3 and half hours since then and Bella has not moved from her chair and has been sleeping. I tried to get her to drink some water but she was not interested. She did, however, lick up her Enisyl-F (L-Lysine gel) she's supposed to have twice a day. Is this normal after a bite like this? Also of note: about a week ago she had the Convenia shot after I took her to the vet with a minor URI. The shot is an anti biotic that is supposed to last for 14 days. Will this be sufficient for the bite?

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asrowley

· #2 · Mar 22, 2012

Right now, just keep a close eye on it. It should heal up just fine. As for the antibiotics, they are meant to fight off other infections, so it surely may help. She sounds like she's in a bit of a shock though, keep an eye on her and make sure she eats. Some of the lack of appetite may be the antibiotics themselves or the URI.
I'm no vet, but I'm sure laurief will read this and have a better explanation, she's the local guru, in my opinion.

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jellyy

Discussion Starter · #3 · Mar 22, 2012

I'll have to try and get her to eat some tuna or something nice and smelly in the morning. She's been eating fine up until this incident and the URI has been basically gone.
Thanks for the reply!

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doodlebug

· #4 · Mar 22, 2012

Puncture wounds can harbor a lot of bacteria, the fact that it bled a lot is good...it helped to cleanse the saliva out of the wound. At this point you've done all you can for it. Continue to keep it clean and monitor it for swelling, redness, odor or pus for a couple weeks...even though the wound may appear to have healed over on the surface an infection can develop underneath--it happened to Maggie. Also keep an eye on her to ensure she's not scratching at it, she could keep pulling it open in addition to introducing new bacteria. You may need to put a cone on her if she is scratching.

I believe the antibiotics shot should help, although since it's already been a week since she received it the effects may be minimal.

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laurief

· #5 · Mar 22, 2012

Guru here. LOL! I am so exhausted I can't think straight, but I'll try to make my brain stay awake for a couple more minutes to answer this.

Bites are notorious for developing infection and abscess, BUT hopefully the convenia she has on-board will squelch any nasties the bite may have introduced before they have a chance to replicate. I'm more concerned about the placement of the bite itself. Where on the face was she bitten? Is there any chance it may have pierced her skull? That's what I'd worry about with a 4 mo old kitten being bitten in the head by an adult cat. Being the worrywart I am, I'd be inclined to take the kitten to the vet, if she were mine, and have the wound checked out.

Hydrogen peroxide should not be used on open wounds. It can actually retard healing. Clean the wound, instead, with bacterial soap like Betadine.

Doodlebug is correct about infection occurring deep within a puncture wound. For that reason. it's a good idea to keep the surface of the wound open so that it can drain, and infection won't get trapped beneath the surface. You don't want your kitten scratching at it, though, because she can easily make the wound larger and introduce more bacteria into it.

As the others have said, just keep a close eye on it. With any luck, the convenia has her covered, and she'll heal without complication.

Laurie

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