Hi,

I have a 2.5 yr old home cat Sota. She got bitten on the stomach by another pet cat at home. I saw pus and secretions from her wound This happened in the last week of July 2011. Since then till now I have taken her to the vet innumerable times to treat her wound. The vet did the following

1) Initially applied creams , disinfectants on the wound
2) Gave her oral antibiotics
3) wrapped the wound in bandages
4) Created a small hole to drain and clean the wound
5) He also removed the skin around the wound completely and stitched it back.

After the stitches she had no pus and seemed to be recovering. On Sunday when I took her to the vet visit I saw a new puncture on her stomach skin near her stitches. Previously it was a clean area, My vet was aghast when he saw this and shook his head saying this was very rare.The vet seems to have run out of ideas now.

I am really worried as to why the wound is not healing completely. It seems to heal but comes back again.Is it possible she is suffering from Feline Leukemia or immunodeficiency virus? If yes is there any remedy.

I would be grateful if you could provide any suggestion as to what I can do to heal her out of this ordeal? She is very close to us and I cant see her in this state.

Thanks

Is there pus coming from the new wound?
It sounds like there is still (or again) an abcess building up....

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Jiskefet & the mognificent Dutch bunch

My little angels at the rainbow bridge

Yes there is still a pus coming out.

Despite 4 months of numerous vet visits, drugs , treatments the wound has not healed at all. It subsides and comes back again.

Have you tried giving her extra supplements to try and boost her immune system and help her body to fight off the infection? Echinacea is my preferred choice for my cat who has a compromised immune system.

Sometimes, when we - or cats - have been fighting infection or illness for a long period of time, our systems become tired from doing so and become less effective. Taking an additional supplement gives the system the extra it needs to keep on fighting.

Your vet may be able to advise you further with this.

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Yes, considering some minor abscesses can resolve on their own, this is a long time. Sure it is a bit wound and not a scratch?

I'm assuming the wound was flushed out in the surgery on initial diagnosis.

A few things spring to mind - firstly, excessive licking would definitely cause re-infection so all opportunities for this need to be minimised. Also there may be a foreign body still lodged in the wound which would cause the ongoing infection so this needs to be excluded as well.

Also how many different antibiotics has she been on? At this stage it might be worth having some tests done on the pus to determine the best one to use-it's possible she's become resistant to the others - and in the interim try a stronger or different one.

However, considering it was a bite wound and the prolonged infection, I would also have a routine blood test as well as one to rule out Felv and FiV.

Also think your vet needs to consult with a specialist if all else fails.

@MoggyBaby
I will check with the vet for the immune boosting supplement

@Ianthi
The wound was flushed out in the surgery and she has been on 2 to 3 antibiotics. She was always wrapped in a bandage around her stomach so that she would not lick the wound. Will check out on the blood tests

All, Thanks for your replies.

OK, if excessive wound licking isn't a factor I would definitely have a culture and sensitivity done to find the correct antibiotic to target the actual bacteria present. Sometimes anaerobic bacteria colonize in deeper layers for example and are harder to eradicate completely.

While I remember, as well as MBs echinacea I would also add L-Arginine and L-Glutamine ( available in health food shops ) to the list which are good for wound healing and inflammation. I've used these in the past with my IBD kitty to treat intestinal inflammation.

How has she been healthwise up to now? Diabetes ever been queried for instance? Any circulatory illnesses in the past?

@Ianthi

She has lost weight since the wounds. She has also become less active and the past few days she has become almost sedate. But her food intake is normal. She was in good stead before the wound. No other complications were present before. I will check for diabetes as this was not done before.

Hmm.....There's also a chance the infection is much deeper internally than first though. These cases always remind me of instances where internal stitches fail to dissolve etc and infection sets in later on. May not apply but foreign body may well do.

The vet consulted with another of his colleague. They think that the infection has spread like tentacles (like smalls pipes spreading out) due to anaerobic bacteria. Hence the wound is opening.

He has put her on a different set of oral antibiotics for next 3 days along with external cream treatment.

Will keep u posted of the progress.