My cat got beaten up on her own turf last Tuesday by another cat who keeps coming in and eating her food.

They had a big fight and my cat came off worse. She's not been outside since, she's been hiding in very strange places all over the house. Not eating, not been to the toilet.

She got bitten on the head so we took her to the vets, she's on antibiotics which we're having to force feed as she's not eating and bathing the area with salt water 3 times a day. I've got an appointment to take her back to the vets tomorrow morning.

But i'm worried about her not eating, she has just had a big drink of water which is good. She keeps meowing for food but when we give it to her she sniffs it and walks off to hide.
We've tried tuna, ham, roast beef, fresh fish, nothing is tempting her, she'd usually demolish all her favourites.
We've moved the bowls upstairs so it was easy access for her as she didn't come down from the loft for 24 hours after the fight.
She looks so miserable with her eye all swollen and half closed.

Any miracle wonders on what to give her or what to do??

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I haven't used this myself but have heard great things about it from others on here.

I hope your kitty gets some of her confidence back. Good luck at the vets tomorrow and please keep us informed.

I wonder if her mouth hurts and that is why she's not eating. I'd get the vet to check tomorrow. keep trying her with her favourites - does she like egg? maybe some scrambled egg as it soft.
the Feliway might help too.
Hope she recovers soon xx

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If cats could talk they would lie to you

I know this sounds bonkers but could the bowl be too low for her?

If it isn't her mouth that hurts (as lymorelynn said) it could be that the bowl is uncomfortable to get her head into temporarily - either because it's deep, or too low.

Some time ago Henry got into a scrap (which is odd cos he's a lover not a fighter) and had an injury on his front leg/shoulder and couldn't bend properly so I moved the bowl onto an argos catalogue to prop it up so he could get at it more easily.... just an inch or two higher seemed to help...

Hope she's better soon

e

Hi,

I think there are dog bowls that you can get on a stand that raise the bowls up to make it easier to feed for whatever the reason the cat is having difficulty feeding.

Izzie

I cannot believe what I am reading. Surely this is the crux of the problem. How would u like it if stranger came in and ate your dinner and you were powerless to stop them.

Get a catflap that excludes all but YOUR cat.

There is another thread with a similar theme on these forums

Thanks for all the advice.

Yesterday I managed to open the wound and release a lot more puss (yeuk) that and force feeding the antibiotics seems to have worked wonders.

She ate loads of tuna last night and even sat outside for a short while having a wash.

This morning she ran all over the house trying to avoid going in her carrier, so she's definately more like herself.
The vet gave her another injection and told me to keep bathing the wound until it's totally healed to prevent bone infection and to continue with the antibiotics.
Hopefully now she's eating I can put the antibiotics on her food to avoid any unecessary stress.
She came home and demolished a bowl of chicken so she's definately feeling a lot better.

Obviously nobody likes strangers entering their home (thanks for pointing it out Janee) and this is a problem we've encountered with numerous feline intruders over the years.
We have tried a magnetic cat flap but my cat didn't get on with it as it never opened so she was forever stuck outside. She also often charges through the cat flap at the speed of lightning so it wouldn't ever open in time. To prevent having a cat with a broken neck we changed it back to a standard cat flap.
We've also tried moving her food tray, thrown water over them and chased them out of the garden.
At the moment we lock the cat flap at night as we were often woken in the night by intruders coming up stairs and having a cat nap on the landing.

This isn't ideal as I don't want my cat to be a prisoner in her own home. If you can suggest something else I'd do anything to protect her.

So glad your cat is feeling better. Abcessess are horrible to deal with but if the puss is all out now it should be a lot better and less painful for her. As your vet says the main thing is to keep it clean until it heals.
Is she micro-chipped? You can get a catflap that works with the microchip which might be more effective than a magnetic one. They are quite expensive though.
We had a bully cat near us when we first moved here 10 years ago and he made my cat's life miserable. He was a big ginger tom and he used to spray all around outside even though our boy was neutered. If Josh-cat went out ginger tom would be there hissing and growling at him. I threw all sorts of things at him (an empty champagne bottle once!) and turned the hosepipe on him too.
It seems as if your house has become a local 'free meal' place for the cats in your area. Word has spread and they all want to come
I can't think of anything that might deter them. I assume your cat is spayed? Other than that I can't see why you get the intruders.

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If cats could talk they would lie to you

I agree with lymorelynn about the micro chip cat flap but I only recommend this as I have heard good things about it - I have no experience of it because my cat is indoor.

Anyway, that main thing is that your kitty is feeling better and that is relly really good news Well done

Aw she is proberly mostly in shock at the moment, and it will take about 48 hours for her, to get over - I think. I hope she gets better soon. Must be awful!!

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