Years ago in the winter time when snow was on the ground I had an Big orange Manx cat come and he acted similar. Didn't seem starved or anything, he just wanted a home.This is what he looked like.
Posted on 10/23/2011 8:46:56 PM PDT by MacMattico
We have a fenced in yard and I let my dog out. Minutes later I heard barking like crazy and my dog was acting weird. I went out with a flashlight and he had a cat on it's back and the cat had scratched my dog below both eyes and he was bleeding, so there was definitely some fighting going on. My husband took the dog in and cleaned up his wounds and I went to check on the cat. We've never seen this cat in the neighborhood before and it's a huge cat. At first it just hissed at me but after a half an hour it calmed down and let me pet it's head. I had work gloves on because I didn't want to get bit. Soon it let me check all of it's legs, stomach, back, head, and it moved a few steps and laid back down. It doesn't seem to be in any pain and had only dog drool on it-- which is the only thing my dog ever gets on our own cat-- drool from playing with it-- never has he injured it. The cat seems to be in no pain and like I said I can feel no injuries. It's responsive to movement, has moved itself but only about 10 feet walking normally, and now just seems to lay there watching me. Could it just be in shock? Going to have kittens? I picked it up and put it in a blanket where it is now laying in a box on the front porch. I called the emergency vet and it's $150 just to see the cat, husband says I shouldn't "waste" the money because it's not in pain, has no collar, and what will happen will happen. It doesn't really look mangy but a little dirty from wrestling with my dog in the landscaping. It's acting friendlier to me then my own cat! But still just laying there....
No myth.
http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/healthy/firstaid/bites/024.html
Their claws also carry a whole host of bacteria.
Yes. Current on everything, because said dog that looks like a black wolf finds a way to get into everything!
If it is from a cat fight, the fur hides the wounds and only discovered when pus is observed..the puncture wounds close quickly and infection develops quickly..I have had 2 huge vet bills over infection..wound cleanout surgery.One was shockingly horrible..many stitches.
I now have house cats..I get an occasional nip when combing tangles out of my long haired kitty..I clean the wound with much dedication and put antibiotic ointment on it.
My son puts cat food out on his front porch for the cats and he has one of those come and eat with the cats.
*If* you keep the cat, make sure to quarantine it and observe it for 10 days, just to be safe.
I just went through the post-exposure shot series because of “savage rabid coons” who attacked my dogs but were quite “calm and nonplussed” towards me.
Even though I didn’t get bit, their saliva was all over my dogs and my hands.
The doc gave me the “better safe than dead” diagnosis.
It is NOT fun.
First, get yourself a coonhound, they will take care of any stray cats roaming around, or anything else for that matter.
Second, get your dog looked at, he could have some serious injuries.
Third, if you’re that worried about the cat and it’s $150 to look at... well even an expensive shotgun shell is only $1 (the good stuff 00 Buck).
No it is not a myth. I had my own cat scratch me and the next day I had a red streak going up my arm. Blood poisoning. Went to doctor and got antibiotics. Same thing happened to my son.
“I clean the wound with much dedication and put antibiotic ointment on it.”
I clean those wounds with 50% hydrogen peroxide. I do not get infections from such scratchs, bites.
On the shot gun shell remark... Are you my brother disguised under a screen name?! ;)
Neither do I..
I use hydrogen peroxide, too if it is deep.
“Does it appear to be pregnant?”
Is it a femail cat?
Years ago in the winter time when snow was on the ground I had an Big orange Manx cat come and he acted similar. Didn't seem starved or anything, he just wanted a home.This is what he looked like.
Hmm, I’ll be darned — not a myth.
You are very sweet. If it was me and my husband we’d pile the dog and cat in and take ‘em to the vet. I would check to see if the cat has a microchip. But then again we live for our pets in this household.
Feral cats tend to be “scaredy cats” when approached by humans. Perhaps this is a house cat who is sick or disoriented.
It sounds to me like the cat is not injured, but impossible to know without seeing it (or even getting X-rays by a vet). If this happened to *me*, I’d do the following:
1) Clean dog’s injuries very well. Cat’s bites are known for being “dirty” with a lot of bacteria in their mouths. (Not their fault! Human bites are “dirty” too, we just don’t see many of them.) Also their pointy little teeth give you a nice puncture wound so the bacteria goes well below the surface. If there is any swelling or other sign of infection at all, take dog to the vet at once.
2) Confine the cat, offer food (tuna?) and see what happens. An injured cat won’t usually eat. Leave the food where it can reach it overnight and see if it polishes it off when it is alone and gets hungry.
3) The reason you need to confine the cat is because you will probably need to keep it for ten days to make sure it does not have rabies. I once was bitten deeply by a stray cat, and had to go to the doc because my hand got all infected. My doc got VERY worked up about the cat bite and threatened me with rabies shots if I didn’t find the cat and observe it for ten days! Yikes! Luckily the cat was still hanging around, so we confined it in our laundry room where it led the life of Riley for ten days. No rabies. :o) Then we let it go, with a note on its (unmarked) collar asking the owner to PLEASE keep their darned cat home. Never saw it again.
Good luck!
P.S. I think you’ve been adopted, too. ;o)
I’ve had what the doctor called “cat scratch fever” twice, but both times from cat bites. Both were infected within 24 hours. One went through my thumbnail about to the bone, I got both a shot and oral antibiotics for that one. Just oral antibiotics for the other one as it was on the meaty part of my forearm.
Never had it from a cat scratch.
Not to cause any undue alarm, but cats can carry several diseases that are highly communicable and fatal:
1.) FIP: Feline Infectious Peritonitis (incurable for animals once infected, and can be transmitted simply by animals eating from the same food bowl.)
2.) Feline Leukemia (Also incurable once contracted and can be transmitted from sharing the same food bowl.)
3.) Rabies (No explanation required.)
If you're concerned about your dog, I advise you to take the cat to the vet and have blood work done. I live in Los Angeles County and have a vet near me that specializes in felines and only charges $106 (office visit and blood tests). LA is incredibly expensive and most vets charge upwards of $300 for on office visit & blood tests, but if I can find a vet that only charges $106 for the exam and blood tests in LA, I suspect you can do so, too, regardless of where you live.
Bottom line: How much money is your dog worth to you? If the cat has a communicable disease, many of which do not exhibit any symptoms until long after infecting your animal, you will be screwed once symptoms appear. Best to be safe rather than sorry.
I’d suspect injuries. Like someone said earlier.
Maybe kitty is in labor or got hurt somewhere else and found a quiet place to go to ground in your back yard and got surprised by your dog.
Kitty may be dead in the AM or you may have 7 kitties.
Good luck.
Furry and fuzzy like the first picture, but a little bigger (!) and only black and white.
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