Posted on 10/23/2011 8:46:56 PM PDT by MacMattico
The poster wondered if the cat could be getting ready to have kittens. I think further posts made sound like it may be a male. But, who knows.
My cat is a reclaimed feral. She likes to play but sometimes, without warning, she remembers her wild days and will bite hard enough to draw blood. Her front paws are de-clawed but she will delibertly scratch me with her back claws. So I have been bitten and scratched many times and sometimes it is fairly deep and very bloody but I have never had an infection. I wash and put a bit of Anti-B ointment on and let the healing happen.
My cat is a reclaimed feral. She likes to play but sometimes, without warning, she remembers her wild days and will bite hard enough to draw blood. Her front paws are de-clawed but she will delibertly scratch me with her back claws. So I have been bitten and scratched many times and sometimes it is fairly deep and very bloody but I have never had an infection. I wash and put a bit of Anti-B ointment on and let the healing happen.
Dahmer...is that you??
You’re a good person for caring. I wish you the best.
PLEASE make sure YOUR pooch is ok, too..
Definitely a Maine Coon cat then. They will clean up themselves and get a bobcat look with the facial fur. They can come in any color as other cats.
Most Maine Coon cats, though very large are also very gentle, laid back cats. I doubt anything is wrong with the cat, just in shock some from the incident and will be fine.
Like someone else said, it is probably a house cat that is out for a nightly run or possibly lost or dumped by owner.
Deep BITES can be, since cat teeth are sharp and can carry bacteria down very deeply. Minor bites and scratches, such as you’d get from a cat that gets a bit overexcited and nips or lets their claws out, or a cat instinctively trying to stop a fall, not very likely at all.
They DO get inflamed for a day or so if the skin is broken at all...red, warm, angry looking, and a stinging itch, but it goes away within a few hours to a day...the welt is a giveaway that it’s not actually infected. Someone who doesn’t pick up lots of minor scratches may assume it’s an infection and panic, but I’ve never had anything come of it.
My wife got bit in the wrist by our own cat. She cleaned it up very well with hydrogen peroxide.
She went to the doctor four days later, and was put on antibiotics.
One week later, her wrist was still in pain and was hot to the touch. She went to the Dr. to get it checked out, and they immediately checked her into the hospital and schedule surgery that day.
The tendons in her wrist had become infected and were deteriorating. They opened her wrist, scraped away the diseased portion of her tendon and left the wound open, but packed with gauze for 11 days so that it could be cleaned out daily.
Cat bites are bad news.
Had a druggie come into a CA county hospital where I once worked. She managed to parley a minor cat bite on her finger into a 4-5 week stay, with 100mg Demerol every 4 hours...at public expense, naturally.
She was also supposed to be getting antibiotics, but thanks to Patient Rights, those she refused.
When the Residents changed their service rotation, her new primary finally put an end to her charade.
I know we will both take a lot of heat for this but I disagree on 00 buck shot, the cartridge costs to much.
Number 6 shot at about 10 feet will just about vaporize any thing smaller than a ten pound coon.
Later Duke grew up to be large dog, as in quite large. He got along fine with our cats, but it was bad for any cat that showed the slightest sign of aggression. He would then turn from gentle into a raging fury and simply rip them to pieces.
He was always ready for a playful romp with other dogs, but woe to the one who wanted to fight.
I still miss Duke to this day, he was my best bud.
With me, the cat latched onto my finger (forgot to put my work gloves on and it didn't let loose until I dropped it into the box and put the lid on...The cat looked really sickly and it took me 3 days feeding it to get close enough to catch it...first I set out milk to see if it would drink, advanced cases of rabies, the animal won't drink..(old common name for rabies was hydrophobia) Take the cat in, show them the bite and the health department takes it from there...
My hand swelled up to the wrist(the back of the hand) and it stayed swelled for several days...the bite was at the base of the pointer finger and deep enough that it oozed out blood for quite a while.....Your dog should be taken to the vet also as other diseases can be transmitted by animal bites.....
As walking feather suggested also a trip to the er is a good idea, you can get the tetanus shot there. If you don't have the animal, you may have to go through a series of rabies shots....keep the animal to turn in if you can...
The only animal I really hate is a coon. Nasty predators, killed a lot of my fowl on the farm. Big rabies carriers also...Any coon that approaches a human is questionable a sick coon...Out here in the country we periodically get out breaks of rabies. One year a colt and a cow had to be put down because of rabies....don’t take chances with any wild animal that acts strange...same goes for cats and dogs running loose...Every coon we ever got in a live trap ended up dead...they spit, hiss and growl at you when they are caught...and will attack if you let them out...
Glad someone put their foot down finally, anyway.
Without doubt, it is an inside cat who is lost.
I have had LOTS of experiences with feral cats. One thing is for certain.
Feral cats, unless you get close to them (by letting them come to you) when they are very young (less than 5 or 6 months) ARE TOTALLY WILD ANIMALS! They WILL NOT let you touch them or otherwise get close to them without throwing an absolute fit, and try to flee or fight with everything they got in them.
There are exceptions. But very, very few.
Keep an eye out for lost cat signs, maybe take a picture and stick it on your mailbox. But I personally wouldn’t spend the money unless you are prepared to never find the owner and adopt the cat yourself.
Sounds like the dog already met him...
Feral or semi-feral would get away from you too. You would not be petting it within a few moments after the fight.
The cat is acting odd. This would indicate either injuries and/or illness or is very used to humans (pet). If you haven't seen the cat before, he/she may have slipped out and is lost or the cat may have been dumped and is disoriented. Good chance it has had at least a round of routine vaccines in the last year or two. Drawback is many owners don't vaccinate house-cats for FIV. The reason being once vaccinated in a situation like yours they test positive. So ...the found cat...while not actually having FIV is categorized as infectious. There's no way to tell the difference. I had tags made for my cats that indicate vaccinated FIV.
If kitty is there come morning, I would take both you dog and the cat to the vet. First with your dog having received facial scratches to have the eyes checked for injury. Second for the vet to get a look at the cat. If the cat is diseased(rabies, distemper) you'll be glad to have it identified and if a course of treatment is needed for your dog. If the cat is injured, you'll have to decide if you are 'adopting' and treating or putting the cat down. Some vets will charge to PTS and some won't in this case. It is why I always go to my vet, not somewhere where they don't know me. Your vet will understand the cat is there for your dog.
Lastly, you rolled out the Welcome Mat with a box, water, and food. Uh...you've been adopted. It may be well worth it to have the vet check for a chip, call the local shelter and animal warden too.
Maine Coon cats come in a variety of colors like most cats. I have one he is 48 inches nose to tail and tops out close to 20lbs(not overweight, but solid). Here is a picture of his paw in my hand,
Maine Coons are known for awesome personality. Typically not a lap cat though they are often the 'greeter' of the household. Will be with you in the same room keeping you company and generally good natured. Mine, Atlas, followed the furnace repairman around yesterday. In the house, out of the house, in his truck....needless to say the repairman wanted to take him home. Good Luck, I hope to see you update on what course of action you decide to take.
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