My Cat Missing A Toe

momtobruceandmimi

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Hi! So last Sunday I woke up to find my male cat Bruce sitting on my chair quietly which was very unusual for him as he is always restless. So i inspected and to my shock found out one of his toes were torn off. Only a little portion of it was dangling. I had no idea how it happened as he tends to go outside at night. I rushed him to the hospital. The attending doctor said the portion that was dangling had to be cut off but since the OT was unavailable that day he asked me to come the following day meanwhile gave him antibiotics and asked me to continue dressing the area with hydrogen peroxide, betadine and an ointment. The next day, another doctor in the hospital told me that the area was heavily infected and they couldn't operate since the infection could spread throughout the entire leg. So again they gave him new antibiotics and told me to keep on with the dressing each day for seven days. I'm to take him back tomorrow.

Now, I've been doing as they told me. Giving him the antibiotics and cleaning the area with the things they prescribed. But since Thursday( which was the fifth day and I've cleaned the area for each day for those five days) , I've cleaned it on alternating days. He seemed fine. Didn't let him outside anymore. Today, however, I noticed he was limping on that leg. He was fine in the morning. But since afternoon he's been limping. I'm so worried. I'm taking him to the vets tomorrow as they asked me. I just hoped that the infection would be better by now so that they could cut the dangling portion and I could bring him home safe. But I'm not sure anymore.

Please has anyone faced anything like this before?
 

KittyCatCove

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One of my rescue girls Blackie escaped and was missing for several days. I put a used gym sweatshirt and dirty litter box outside my front door. I was frantic looking for her day and night... hung up about 20 'Lost Cat' flyers on all telephone poles, but no luck. She found her way back after 3 days, but her once black pads were now red, raw and bleeding. I live in a concrete jungle so maybe she was so scared and running day and night that the hard concrete and asphalt wore down her pads... I'll never really know. I took her to the vet immediately and treated her. It took about 1 months for the bleeding to completely stop and 6 months to heal completely.

Be patient and give it some more time to heal... he's had treatment and anti-b's, so there a 99.9% chance he'll totally heal (minus his poor little toe) in about 4-6 weeks.
 
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momtobruceandmimi

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One of my rescue girls Blackie escaped and was missing for several days. I put a used gym sweatshirt and dirty litter box outside my front door. I was frantic looking for her day and night... hung up about 20 'Lost Cat' flyers on all telephone poles, but no luck. She found her way back after 3 days, but her once black pads were now red, raw and bleeding. I live in a concrete jungle so maybe she was so scared and running day and night that the hard concrete and asphalt wore down her pads... I'll never really know. I took her to the vet immediately and treated her. It took about 1 months for the bleeding to completely stop and 6 months to heal completely.

Be patient and give it some more time to heal... he's had treatment and anti-b's, so there a 99.9% chance he'll totally heal (minus his poor little toe) in about 4-6 weeks.

Thank you so much! I just wish he gets well. It's so hard seeing him so sick and now limping. I guess I'll know my answers tomorrow when we get to the vets again. <Fingers crossed>
 

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I would be worried that the infection is already starting to spread up his leg since he is limping now and wasn't before.

If I were you, I would be looking for a back-up vet to take Bruce to if this vet once again says they can't treat him because the infection isn't cleared up.

No more waiting to get this taken care of - and if your vet says to wait again, either contact another vet or take him to an ER vet.
 
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momtobruceandmimi

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I would be worried that the infection is already starting to spread up his leg since he is limping now and wasn't before.

If I were you, I would be looking for a back-up vet to take Bruce to if this vet once again says they can't treat him because the infection isn't cleared up.

No more waiting to get this taken care of - and if your vet says to wait again, either contact another vet or take him to an ER vet.

OK I'm officially panicking now. It's 10 pm now where I live and I can't do anything now except for worry. But thanks for the suggestion, we do have to think about a back up vet if they say the same thing tomorrow.
 

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Sorry if I caused panic, but a partially amputated toe isn't going to get better on it's own, if I accurately understand what is going on. There is tissue that is damaged and needs to be surgically removed. Some of the tissue is likely dead and is probably causing pain and may be part of the reason the infection isn't being eradicated fully by the antibiotics.

Poor Bruce - and you!! :alright: :vibes:
 
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momtobruceandmimi

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Don't worry you didn't make me panicked. I'm just prone to panicking lol It's just I've never had pets before. And I had no idea I would have to see him in this situation. He's completely dependent on me and it breaks my heart that he has to go through this.
 
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momtobruceandmimi

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Hi guys! So the vets took him in the OT today and cut off the dangling portion. They asked me to keep cleaning the area with hydrogen peroxide, betadine and an antibiotic ointment each day. I'll take him again next Monday. I'm a little relieved as they told me there's no need to panic and he should be well if treated properly.
 
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momtobruceandmimi

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Hi guys! So i have another enquiry I hope you could help me with. As the docs told me to restrict his movements and he's in an E-collar, he's just sitting on my bed looking VERY miserable and sad! Is there anything I could do to cheer him up a bit without letting him run or move a lot? I pet him and cuddle him and sing to him. But he still seems sad. And the E-collar too is making him very uncomfortable I guess.
 

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Hi. Most cats who have to wear cones/e-collars are generally not too happy about it. I don't know what kind you have but, besides the hard plastic cones, there are soft sided cones as well as inflatable collars. The latter two are likely to be a little less annoying, but still bothersome I am sure.

Also, make sure he isn't in pain - did the vet give you any pain meds to give him over the next few days?

You can give him breaks from the collar, if you want to - as long as you can watch him and make sure he doesn't bother his toe. When you give him a break you can see if he perks up some - at least that way you might have a better idea of whether he appears miserable solely from the collar or if there might be some pain involved.
 

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Hi guys! So i have another enquiry I hope you could help me with. As the docs told me to restrict his movements and he's in an E-collar, he's just sitting on my bed looking VERY miserable and sad! Is there anything I could do to cheer him up a bit without letting him run or move a lot? I pet him and cuddle him and sing to him. But he still seems sad. And the E-collar too is making him very uncomfortable I guess.
I don't know if this will help, but the vet collared my Blackie after she was treated. She also bandaged all four paws, but that didn't last long... she pulled/shook them all off in 2-3 hours. The collar stayed on, but she kept meowing, so I removed it. I made sure I replaced (all) her litter everyday to prevent infections. She healed up, but it took 6 months before her natural black color came back into her pads. That was a very rough period for my little girl. Now she's a healthy as a horse. I only wish that she would get along better with Patches... oh well.
 

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Have you given him any food yet? I've found that discovering they
can eat while wearing the collar improves their out look. Treats might also help. He won't gain that much weight during the short
time he's wearing the collar. Just ease into the treats if he's not
used to them.

he may need you to help wash him a bit after the box since the collar will keep him from washing. he may find not washing disturbing.
 

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My Sir is missing an entire set of toes. When he was a stray that we'd feed outdoors, he just vanished one day and didn't come home for two weeks. We thought he was gone, and then one day he came hobbling in with his paw swollen like a pancake. The vet said that it looked like he'd been caught in a fox trap. It was winter as well, so the foot had become frostbitten and his toes had broken off, allowing him to free himself and come home.

They considered amputating the entire foot, but ultimately decided to leave the toeless foot for support. He was given STRONG penicillin for the infection and has since healed up very well. I still remember what that vet said..."animals are a lot stronger than we give them credit for. He will adapt."
 

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Poor Sir, may the person who set that fox trap and didn't check it for ages suffer the same pain in this current lifetime so he'll know what he did to others.
 

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Cats have a remarkable ability to heal from things I have believed to be fatal, so don't give up hope that your little one will heal too. I recommend removing the collar too, with supervision, my vet has never E- collared any of my cats and they have had much worse then yours. Just give him plenty of attention and treats, your love is a miracle cure!
PS in this day and age, I can't believe trapping is still legal, the suffering it causes is inexcusable! I know soemone from church that always brags about his trapping, I quit talking to him at all when he told people how many cats, dogs, and 'wrong' animals he catches instead of what he traps for. It made me sick to my stomach.....
 

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Poor Sir, may the person who set that fox trap and didn't check it for ages suffer the same pain in this current lifetime so he'll know what he did to others.
Sadly the trap was likely intentionally set for feral cats. I live in a backwoods farming community that simply sees them as either pests or farm stock. Farm stock being the better option because then they are 'working' animals and aren't outright killed...but then the others will shoot, trap, and dart cats within range. I can't even talk about my cats to my coworkers without getting off the wall comments about how all cats need to be exterminated. It's baffling.
 
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