Can another cat cause a wound like this?

[Aszira]

Lately my cats have been coming inside with scratches. Nothing major. A small scab on the ear, a claw poke on the face. I figured it was a neighborhood cat trying to establish turf. It's happened before. I never heard any fighting to be sure, though. Then yesterday I was petting Kira and found this. While the wound isn't bad, the missing fur is impressive. He's even missing fur under his armpit. The missing fur is about the length of my finger if he's stretched out. I've never seen my cats with missing fur before. He also has a big scratch on his ear. Fortunately nothing is infected and he's healing well. No pain or anything. (You can see the difference from pic 1 to pic 2. It's already much smaller. The icky stuff has fallen off and isn't coming back)

Has anyone seen damage like this before from another cat, or should I be concerned about something else?

 

[lucyrima]

It does look more like a bite puncture... whether from a cat or dog... has your cat been around either?

 

[Aszira]

It does look more like a bite puncture... whether from a cat or dog... has your cat been around either?

He shouldn't. My yard has netting on it to keep the cats from escaping. I once had the neighbor's cat get stuck in my yard from it. I'm going to go check the fencing again today to be sure. Definitely not a dog. My cats avoid them like the plague. If they even think they see one they flee inside.

 

[lucyrima]

Giant mosquito? Snake (but if poisonous you'd know by now)?

 

[silent meowlook]

You could always set up a camera to monitor your yard.

 

[Kflowers]

small animals - shrews for one - that are favorite prey for cats can and will bite. click to page on shrews, they are useful in yards, breed rapidly and are easier for cats to catch than chipmunks, but as chipmunks they do bite.

Shrew - Description, Habitat, Image, Diet, and Interesting Facts (animals.net)

 

[Aszira]

Now I'm freaking out a bit. There's a chance it could have been a raccoon. If so I have no idea how long ago he was bitten. Stupidly I haven't vaccinated him for rabies. I don't want him stuck in a cage for 45 days. It would absolutely traumatize him and undo years of work on his anxiety. I have appointments tomorrow to get all my cats vaccinated. I have no idea if it's too late or not, or if kitty even got bitten by an infected animal. Ugh. I hope he's okay. I don't think he's been acting weird.

 

[catapault]

If it was a raccoon your cat would have more serious injuries than a little scratch on his ear or a fingernail size would on his body. Raccoons can kill even large dogs.

 

[Aszira]

I'm hoping I'm just overreacting. We've definitely had raccoons around. The wound seems to be healing very well at least. And they're all getting their shots tomorrow. I have had issues with cats before. My cat fence got knocked down the other day so it's possible something got in. I'd expect more damage and not so much ripped fur though.

 

[silent meowlook]

Sometimes in cats, a small bite will close over so quickly that it seals in bacteria that causes a swelling under the skin. This is often unnoticed by people. After a while it will burst or get enough pressure to open the entry wound back up and it can leak puss that can dry into a hard mat and the cat will scratch and pull out a chink of hair, or the hair can just fall out.
Has your cat ever had a rabies vaccine?
I don’t know where you live, but Rabies wouldn’t be my first concern.
Check your cats nails to see if they are shredded.
This does not, to me look like raccoon style. Raccoons, in my experience do allot of damage with multiple severe bites and scratches. Whatever got your cat, your cat was not afraid and chose not to run, it looks like to me because the wounds are on the front of the cat. If the cat was running away the wounds would be on the hind end.
I would worry more about cat viruses than I would rabies.

 

[Aszira]

Sometimes in cats, a small bite will close over so quickly that it seals in bacteria that causes a swelling under the skin. This is often unnoticed by people. After a while it will burst or get enough pressure to open the entry wound back up and it can leak puss that can dry into a hard mat and the cat will scratch and pull out a chink of hair, or the hair can just fall out.
Has your cat ever had a rabies vaccine?
I don’t know where you live, but Rabies wouldn’t be my first concern.
Check your cats nails to see if they are shredded.
This does not, to me look like raccoon style. Raccoons, in my experience do allot of damage with multiple severe bites and scratches. Whatever got your cat, your cat was not afraid and chose not to run, it looks like to me because the wounds are on the front of the cat. If the cat was running away the wounds would be on the hind end.
I would worry more about cat viruses than I would rabies.

That's a relief to know. These guys are more than my whole world. If Kira got rabies I don't think I'd ever forgive myself. The plus side is I'm currently sitting at the vet getting all four cats microchipped. They're signed up for every shot under the sun. I grew up with a mother who didn't believe in getting them shots so it just never occured to me. And since I'm here I figure I ought to microchip them since I'm already going broke on vaccinations. The fewer times they have to go to the vet the better!!

 

[silent meowlook]

I am so glad you are being responsible with your cats.
When you get time, tell us what the vet thought about your cats.

 

[Aszira]

I am so glad you are being responsible with your cats.
When you get time, tell us what the vet thought about your cats.

Unfortunately he didn't have time to look. It was just a rabies appointment, so they were doing it in-between clients. It happened to work out that they got swamped with calls, two cranky ladies ("I don't care if you don't have an appointment open right now. Fluffy NEEDS to be seen. Can I just grab the doctor?? He's right there talking to someone..." And "oh? No appointments?? Can you just look in Fluffy's mouth real quick and tell me what's wrong?" I felt so bad for the staff) it also happened to be surgery day. I had to wait an hour and a half for them to get in. By then the vet was two steps away from going insane. He did see it, but he didn't comment on it. The nurse said if my cat had been attacked, since he's not showing signs of anything we caught it in time for whatever illness the raccoon may have had. I still bought a raccoon trap for my yard just in case. (It was $10 so why not) I'm also upgrading the netting around the yard to keep other cats out, and mine in.

Kira's wound is nearly gone now. I guess whatever it was wasn't a big deal. He's missing fur clear up under his armpit. I'm rather impressed that he never seemed to be in pain. I didn't even know he was going outside until I saw the wound. It turns out he doesn't go out until about 3am when there's nothing around to scare him. At least he's incredibly happy to be outside at 3am. He struts through the yard like he owns it rather than hide around the edges.

I'm glad cats aren't smart enough to realize he caused the fence to be fixed and their vet trip. They're furious about both. Socrates has been glaring at the newly fixed fence hole for an hour.

 

[fionasmom]

I am assuming that the vector for rabies in your area does not include raccoons or the vet would have probably said something.