Wounds of unknown origin (warning: photos)

[susank521]

Milly is a 12 year old indoor cat. In March I found a wound on her left side that I can only describe as a hole. In no way did it look anything like a bite. It was not a puncture wound, but more like a gouge out of her body. In the next couple of days I thought that the wound/hole had expanded but convinced myself that I was imagining things. In addition to it looking larger, it also began to look like the skin was literally peeling back around the wound. On the third day it was obvious that there was infection present so to the vet we went for cleaning, clipping, and antibiotic.

Original wound (left side) 2 days after vet visit (3/26/15)

Milly 003.jpg

• susank521
• Apr 29, 2015

Milly 001.jpg

• susank521
• Apr 29, 2015

Milly 002.jpg

• susank521
• Apr 29, 2015

This past Monday evening (4/27/15) I found another hole-type wound. It is basically in the same location on her body except this one is on her right side. I am confident that the wound was not there Monday morning. Today, Wednesday, it appears that the wound has gotten larger and the skin layer is "peeling" off of her body, just like the original wound on her other side.

Second wound (right side) this morning (4/29/15)

Milly 005.jpg

• susank521
• Apr 29, 2015

First wound (left side) this morning (4/29/15). Seems to be healing well.

Milly 006.jpg

• susank521
• Apr 29, 2015

Obviously, after the first wound we searched the house high & low trying to find something on which she could have caused the injury. We renewed our efforts after this second mystery wound and still have no idea how this is happening. Now I'm wondering if these wounds are being caused by something which is not injury related.

Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated. I'm taking her back to the vet tomorrow and thinking about getting a full blood panel done. She has lost a little bit of weight (less than a pound) in the last 6 months, but she is overweight, so that wouldn't normally be considered a bad thing.

 

[detmut]

you can put the symptoms in here.

http://www.petmd.com/cat/cat-symptom-checker#.UWtM8LVwotw

what did your vet say it was?

 

[susank521]

Like me, the vet really had no guess as to what caused the wound, but we were both leaning towards a self-injury of some sort. Our imaginary scenario involved Milly moving forward against something sharp which gouged a hole and ripped the skin backwards.

Admittedly, most cats would not continue moving forward against anything that would gouge a hole like this. It would be too painful. But we didn't know what else to think. Still don't!

When I first cleaned this new hole last Monday night it felt to me that the hole was deeper towards the back of her body. That was the same impression I got when cleaning the first wound back in March.

 

[blueyedgirl5946]

Does she live indoors or out. If she lives outside, is there any way other animals could get to her.

 

[ankitty]

Is it possible that nail or screw is loose somewhere in your house? For example, underside of furniture? Or is there any leak from cleaning supplies? 

 

[susank521]

Does she live indoors or out. If she lives outside, is there any way other animals could get to her.

Thank you for your response blueyedgirl. Milly is an indoor cat. We have other cats, but this just does not look anything like a cat bite wound.  I'm not so familiar with other types of bites, but she is not exposed to other animals.

 

[susank521]

 
Is it possible that nail or screw is loose somewhere in your house? For example, underside of furniture? Or is there any leak from cleaning supplies? 

That's what our first thought was, something like a nail or screw. We've looked everywhere we could think of looking, but you know cats. They can get in the most illogical, unthinkable places. I just don't know where else to look. I really hope that it is something like that. I've got myself so freaked out now that I'm thinking she's got some kind of rare flesh-eating disease.

 

[ankitty]

 
That's what our first thought was, something like a nail or screw. We've looked everywhere we could think of looking, but you know cats. They can get in the most illogical, unthinkable places. I just don't know where else to look. I really hope that it is something like that. I've got myself so freaked out now that I'm thinking she's got some kind of rare flesh-eating disease.

Years ago, when my outdoor cat had a wound looking like that, she was caught by barbed wire in our neighbor's backyard. It took a long time to heal. I was told that cat's skin is attached somewhat more loosely to the tissue underneath, so that they can move more freely, compared to humans, so it takes longer to heal (I don't know if it's true, but seemed true for my cat). Could it be that your cat tried to jump and fell, and hit a corner or furniture or something?

 

[susank521]

Thank you for the post, @ankitty She doesn't jump much anymore, but you know with cats anything is possible. Just so weird that the wounds are almost in the same location, but on opposite sides of her body. The wounds do look like something sharp and large got hooked on her and gouged out a hunk of meat. Also perplexing is why the wound has gotten larger. If it's an injury, is she doing it over & over?

 

[susank521]

Thank you all for taking the time to read and respond about my precious girl.

We went to the vet yesterday. The wound wasn't a wound at all. It was her skin peeling off of her sweet little body. When her side had been shaven and cleaned the raw area, totally devoid of skin, was more than 5" in diameter. It was horrible. My poor precious baby was in so much pain. This was too much to ask her to cope with, in addition to all of her other problems. I had her put down.

Milly 07-10-14 02.jpg

• susank521
• Apr 30, 2015

My precious Milly

 

[Columbine]

I am so, so sorry. Poor, sweet girl.

Rest in peace Milly, you gorgeous girl

 

[snugglecat]

I'm so sorry for your loss, my thoughts and prayers go out to you during this difficult time.

RIP sweet Milly

 

[denice]

I am so sorry.

 

[jcat]

My condolences. RIP, Milly.

The TCS team would like you to know that we are so very sorry for your loss. Threads are locked after someone has suffered such a loss, as a sign of respect. We invite you to place a tribute at http://www.thecatsite.com/f/19/crossing-the-bridge as an enduring testimony to your friend.