Vet Speak: Cat bites can lead to serious health issues for your pet
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Little Elvis was a four-year-old, male Tabby cat. He was petite but was always getting into fights to defend his surrounding territory.
He was brought into the clinic frequently as fight wounds often developed into painful, abscessed lesions. He had been neutered, but still constantly wanted to defend his territory, so his owners had decided to keep him indoors and provide him with plenty enriching toys and a cat “gym”.
Cats are extremely territorial which means they may fight with each other over their established territory. Cat’s teeth are not clean and can be covered in thousands of bacteria, so if they bite each other it is very likely an infection will quickly develop. This very often then leads to a painful abscess forming under the skin.
The most common areas for a cat to be bitten include the ears, head, face, neck, tail-head, tail, and legs. Abscesses cause pain, swollen tissues, and a high temperature due to systemic infection. They usually respond to veterinary treatment, however, the bites can also put a cat at risk of catching certain diseases such as Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV), and Feline Leukaemia Virus (FeLV). So, it is very important to keep your cat up to date with their annual booster vaccinations.
Related: Vet Speak: Insurance means peace of mind in caring for your pet
Tom cats are particularly territorial and neutering will reduce the likelihood that a male cat will fight. However, it will not completely eliminate the occurrence as neutered cats, both male and female, may still be territorial and quarrel.
It usually takes two to four days for an abscess to develop after a cat fight bite wound. Signs and symptoms of infection include: not eating or eating less than usual; lethargy; fever; swelling, redness and heat in the area; a floppy swollen tail, if the tail-head area has been bitten; limping if a limb has been affected; pain – expressed by being quiet, aggressive, licking at one particular area a lot, growling, twitching, or not letting you handle them.
If the abscess has already burst, you may notice a pus discharge and foul smell.
If you see what you suspect to be a bite wound, and if tolerated, compress bathe the area gently with salt water/saline solution: (one teaspoonful salt in a pint of tepid, cooled, boiled water), and contact your vet for an appointment as soon as possible. If your cat develops an abscess in the bite wound area your vet may want to arrange to admit your cat for required sedation to lance the abscess, drain it and flush and clean the lesion out. A course of antibiotics is usually given to clear up the infection along with anti-inflammatory and pain relief treatments.
Left without any treatment, cat bite abscesses do have the potential to cause serious ongoing health issues.
Your vet will advise you on how to look after the wound after it has been treated. With appropriate treatment bite wounds usually heal within a week or two.
Cat bites and cat scratches can also cause serious infections in people. So always seek medical advice as soon as possible if you have been bitten or scratched by a cat.
Treating an abscessed wound does incur costs.
To ensure you can cover the costs do get good pet insurance and before any fights, accidents, or any potential illnesses happen.
– Alison Laurie-Chalmers is a senior consultant with Crown Vets in Inverness.
