I might have to put my cat to sleep
 

My cat, Abe, has a cut on his side that is discharging yellow liquid. This cut has been on him for about a week and won't go away. Now he keeps licking and biting at the spot, which is a sign that he's hurt. I'm going to take him to the vet at 3 today and have things checked out. I have a feeling that we're going to have to put him to sleep. He's 10 or 11 years old which is a little premature to die, but he's had a great life. The thing that sucks is that I've had him since I was ten, so basically grown up with him. I'm sad. :(

That sounds like an infection. I wouldn't think that's a euthanasia situation - some antibiotics and he's good as new.

Yeah, it's amazing what vets can do nowdays.


Todd

Cue rkmsmurf and a remark about hunting cats in 10... 9... 8.... 7...

I hope your cat will be just fine after visiting the vet. :)

Ask the vet if there is anything you can do before putting him down.

Personally, I would have taken the cat to the vet right away.

I agree - some antibiotics should be all it'll need, unless there's an internal injury (which probably would've killed the cat by now).

Sharpie I hope things go well with the vet, and all your kitty needs is some antibiotics.

Just talked to my gf (a vet tech for 6 years) - she said it sounded like @ $100 worth of care, and the cat should be as good as new. There's the possibility that there is some sort of cancer, but it's unlikely, and otherwise it should just be diagnostic visit plus antibiotics. There is also a chance that the cat will need to be anesthetized for suture/drainage/cleanup, but that should be a simple procedure.

My wife and I had a Maine Coon that was a fighter and always had horrible cuts on him like the one you described. Some so bad you wouldn't believe it.

But as others have mentioned, the vets know what to do with these types of injuries. I bet he will be fine. They are tough animals. Remarkable machines.

It's a horrible feeling. Last week my 11 year old cat was hit by a car. Like you I had had her since I was a kid (about 8 or so). Hopefully your cat with recover though.

Unfortunately, they haven't found a cure for kidney failure. One of my dogs had to be put to sleep last week because her kidneys shut down (she has had kidney problems for a few years). :(

Hope things go well Sharpie.

hmm...

At least you didn't correct his grammar.

Let us know how your cat is doing, Sharpieman. However, I agree with everyone else that he should be fine after some antibiotics.

Yea, you guys were right. I overreacted I guess. All he needed was some antibiotics and some nasty fluid drained from his cut. He's going to be fine, although we do have to keep him inside the house for about a week to make sure that he heals up, he's been howling for about an hour wanting to go out.

Good news sharpie.

You should keep him in the house all the time. The lifespan of indoor/outdoor cats as opposed to just indoor cats is dramatically lower.

Thats just not possible, he and our other cat are about 60% outside cats. The lifespans for our cats before these has been pretty good. We had two before the ones we had now that lived for about 15 or 16 years.

My cat tries to rip the blinds down when he wants out. :D

Glad your cat is ok..


Todd

Well, unless you're living on a farm or in an extremely rural area it's a bad idea. Even then you've got some pretty nasty diseases that cats only get if they wander outside. Future cats in your life should be raised indoor only - just my advice.

Glad to hear your cat is going to be OK... :)

We've had our outdoor cat for many years, he's a hunter and kills just about anything that comes near the house. He is in tremendous shape for a cat.

I've never heard of the lifespan difference before.


Todd

Good to hear. If you want him to stay healthy for the rest of his life I would keep him inside for now on. Just my 2c.

Some cats are just outside cats. Not only would they be unhappy inside, but they would make the owner unhappy as well.

At least in my experience... I know my cat was killed due to being an outdoor cat, but we just couldn't keep her inside. She was a neighborhood stray before moving in with us. If we tried to keep her inside she would dig up the carpet, tear down the blinds, and bite clumps of hair out of her back.

Glad to hear your cat is ok :)

My family went through this same problem some years back. We got home from a vacation and one of my cats was acting really funny, peeing everywhere, and not actin like himself. Now my mom went to the vet totally expecting to be putting him to sleep that day. When we got there the doctor said he would have to go through some surgery to fix something with his kidney, and a week later we got him back. Now he's 20, and looking just as good as he did 5 years ago.

Sharpie,
Go to the vet and ask him to teach you proper dressing treatment. Ask about a Wet to Dry dressing placement. It will help Debride the wound. If you want more info on wound debridement just ask.
Wet to dry dressing should work. Good luck and Im praying for your cat.

Glad to hear the cat's going to be okay.

Note to self: do not admit any sign of illness when visiting Sharpieman's house. :)

Glad that your little bugger will be ok!

My cat lasted at least 15 years, he was an outdoor cat...we brought him in during the harsh winters, but for the most part, all outdoor. Smart little bugger, used to look both ways before crossing the street. I miss him much, he was a good pet.

Nothing good can happen to an outdoor cat. Cars, dogs, predators, fleas, etc. If you never let them out as a kitten, keeping them indoors isn't a problem. My cat Smokey was an indoor/outdoor cat when I was a child (and clearly loved going outside), but I would never let my cats go outside now. Too many bad things can befall a cat outisde. :(

The out door cats in our area usually last awhile but eventually end up dinner for a predator. If they survive them, they usually get hit by a car zooming through the neighborhood (last year a college student was hit and killed and I thought traffic would slow down, but it didn't).

Our cat has always been an indoor cat but runs from window to window watching the birds, squirrels, and other animals. She begs to be let out and has the annoying habit of jumping up on your shoulder when you come in the door (she thinks that if she can get on your shoulder you'll take her out on the porch and maybe give her a tour of the yard). This spring we finally gave in and have started letting her outside, but we put her on a leash and tie her to the front door. That way we can keep an eye on her. It is a little sad, but she loves it.

I'm glad your cat is okay.

yeah, and never let your kids outside either, they might talk to a stranger or pat a dog or something. THE OUTSIDE WORLD IS EVIL. PURE EVIL!

Was your cat fixed?

You're obviously not seeing the point.

My two cats are indoor-only cats, but we've raised them that way since they were kittens and they actually appear afraid of the outdoors. I think it would be somewhat cruel to suddenly make an outdoor cat into an indoor only cat. Just my 2 cents.

I can see your point but if you want the cat to have the possiblity to live longer the cat should be inside. IMO its more cruel to allow the cat to roam free outside and possibily getting killed.

Most people care less about animales - let alone cates. I'm an animal person. I love animals and seeing idiots that abuse animals really gets to me. The safest bet is to always have your cat inside.

I agree there.


Todd

I love cats too. However, I think it is cruel to make an animal have a longer unhappy life. If a cat has become accustomed to being an outdoor cat, it would be mean to suddenly make it an indoor cat. Sure it might live longer, but they would be unhappy years.

That being said, I do think it is better for cats to be indoors. You just need to make sure they are indoor cats from the age of kitten on as they will never know what they are "missing" outdoors :)

It's a cat's instinct to live outdoors and hunt.

(I can't believe we've discussed cats this much)

Both my cats have been raised indoors-only and generally, it has worked out well. One cat's a bit shy and skittish, so he's not really a flight risk, but the other one has gotten bold occasionally and darted outside on us, but he's usually the more daring of the two in any circumstance. Matter of fact, since we got them both from breeders, both breeders had us sign papers that said they were not going to be outdoor cats. It hasn't stopped us from occasionally carrying them outside just to let them look around and sniff a few things, but we never let them roam freely at all. We would like to get a screened-in porch or something similar in the next house so they could be "outside" without actually being outside.

My cats never had any problems being outdoor cats for a long time. The weather is nice here so you don't have to worry about that and we put flea stuff on them which works pretty good. About 4 months ago the next door neighbors got a cat and a new family moved in across the street, they also have a cat. Now we've been having problems with fights and my cat got hurt this time around. Although, its always funny seeing the other cats come near my house with giant scratches on their bodies because I know my cat got the better of them. Whenever I see those damn cats I through rocks at them and sometimes try to shoot them with my paintball gun.

Any cat will adjust to being indoor only. My girlfriend and I have 4 cats, only one of whom was indoor-only from a young age, and we don't have any behavioral problems. They are all very happy. Every vet will advise you to keep your cats inside.

My girlfriend and I actually have our cats "leash trained". We (normally she) will put the cats on their leash/harness and let them go out and roam with us in tow. It mixes things up for them and they love it.

Only problem is, one of the two enjoys it too much and constantly wants out if the weather is nice.

Sounds like my 18-month-old. :D She's always patting the door or pointing at it to indicate she wants to go out on a nice day. Shoot, she'll do it on cold, nasty days, too....

You're a bad influence on your cat :)

She had a litter of six kittens shortly after moving in with us, but we got her fixed after that.

I have a cat you can have

Not always the case. Kept my cat indoors for the first nine years of his life. He had no history outdoors at all, yet he spent a lot of time trying to plot and scheme his way outside. He would look for any tiny, fleeting opening and BOLT. Finally, we gave in at age 9 and hoped he would be smart about it. He has -- stays within the immediate surroundings of the house and doesn't go anywhere near the street. Now I feel guilty about keeping him in so long -- he's 15 now, goes out regularly and still in great shape.

That said, it is a good idea to keep em inside unless they're really clamoring to go out. Certain cats do clamor for it, though, no matter how they're raised.

Can't we talk about dogs and beer?

[quote=mgadfly]
Our cat has always been an indoor cat but runs from window to window watching the birds, squirrels, and other animals. She begs to be let out and has the annoying habit of jumping up on your shoulder when you come in the door (she thinks that if she can get on your shoulder you'll take her out on the porch and maybe give her a tour of the yard). This spring we finally gave in and have started letting her outside, but we put her on a leash and tie her to the front door. That way we can keep an eye on her. It is a little sad, but she loves it.

[quote]

My cat would do that too...and then would hop down when I would come in, he would find this rug in the kitchen, plop down and ignore everyone.