My one year old male (neutered) outdoor cat doesn't know when to back down when defending his territory and keeps getting injured. A neighbor shoots him with pellets which I've managed to heal using peroxide but recently some animal bit his tail half off. When I took him to the vet we found 2 large animal bites on his back. I love my cats and they keep the rodent population under control but I can't afford these vet. bills. I would appreciate any suggestions on how to either prevent the injuries (he hates staying indoors) or how to treat the injuries in a less expensive way. This last vet bill was $95 (annual shots,antibiotics) and I have to take him back for stitches yet. Thanks much.

-- Karen Keaton (hhm@stratos.net), October 08, 2000

Answers

Sad to say, it's just not safe to let beloved pets wander outdoors anymore. After I lost my beloved Socks I vowed we'd never have another animal outside running loose. There are just too many things that can injure cats...around here coyotes, other cats, dogs, and cars and trucks!!! My husband thinks it's cruel because we have our two dogs in a large fenced area but to me it's more cruel for them to get run over. We have two inside housecats: Biscuit, we rescued three years ago on July 5 outside a Hardee's restaurant, (thus her name); and Baxter, who we rescued at a service station August 7. We had Biscuit "fixed" when she was about 6 months old and will take Baxter when he is about that old too. They live inside the house but also enjoy our large screened back porch. They are both sleek and healthy.

We have rabbits in a special rabbit house and will soon have chickens and hopefully miniature cattle and some goats.

We have 13 acres. This is my old homeplace and there is a lot of woods around here. When I was a little girl my cats all roamed free. But that was 40 plus years ago. It is just not safe now.

I know cats love to roam and I know too that you say yours help with the rodent population, but you have to think about the cat's quality of life too. Surely it's not fun getting shot at and getting your tail bit half off!

I'm not being critical. Just telling you what we've had to do here. Even if I lived my dream in a little cabin in the middle of 100 acres I doubt if my cats would run free. We've even had puppies toted off my owls before!!!

So the best bet to save your pet AND to cut down on vet bills may be to have your cat in the house or in the barn! (We have a litter box in the back room and I use plastic Wal-Mart type bags to "scoup" out their daily business so the smell is nominal.) Plus now in the spring and fall when an occaisional field mouse mossies into our house, it is quickly captured by Biscuit who thinks she is queen of the jungle then!

-- Suzy in 'Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), October 08, 2000.

Our dogs & cats are allowed to come and go as they please (although no doggies allowed upstairs). However long they live, they live free. Augie is a big doggie who was tied up in a sideyard the first 3-4 years of his life till his first "mommie" got hauled into jail on drug charges. He got hauled off to the pound. I sprung him, and though I had him on a cable run when I went off to work till I knew he knew where home was & wouldn't run after me, since then, he has been free. If he gets run into, I will weep a long time, but at least he will have lived free as long as he lived with me. Shona, the new doggie, worships Augie and can always be found with him. My old cat is 16 and can't be bothered with going outside much, while Pogo the new little firecracker kitty fears nothing and goes everywhere, but at night we make sure he is inside. However my animals or your animals eventually go, it is their fate. If your feisty fellow insists on going outside to face whatever dangers there are, it is his nature, his joy, his choice. It does not seem to scare him off. If my guys got attacked by something big, I am pretty sure they would avoid the situation again. Try to keep him inside at night -- that is when coons & coyotes etc rule. Why is the neighbor shooting him with pellets?

But that is not your question. Calendula gel, lotion or spray is very good as a topical anti-infective. Ledum palustre is a homeopathic remedy which is useful for preventing tetanus and for healing puncture wounds. Homeopathic Arnica is always good for bruises, contusions and trauma of any sort. Homeopathic Hypericum perfolatum is the thing for injuries to nerves or the spinal cord (eg, amputated tail.)

-- snoozy (allen@oz.net), October 08, 2000.

Dakins solution is the vet recommended method of cleaning wounds, safe for all types, including puncture wounds. It is 1 part regular unscented bleach to 7 parts water, easiest to apply with a sprayer type bottle, really flushes the wound well. Use twice a day. Initially, I'll use peroxide if the wound looks or smells infected, and then switch to Dakins solution. Have your vet or experienced animal person show you how to give all your animals their shots, it's not at all hard, and cats are one of the easyiest to do. That way you can mail order all your supplies, including syringes, needles, innoculations, first aid supplies (which are perfectly fine used on people too, according to my vet, he's a real gem!) and most anything you will need to "doctor" your animals yourself. KV vet supply is the mail order folks I like best, have used them for over 15 years, their number is 1-800-423-8211, or www.kvvet.com . They only charge freight on the heavier items, and then it is actual UPS charges only. Anymore, I treat all my own animals when I can, even simple gas colic in our horses with the injectable Banamine I keep in the fridge just for that purpose, with our vet's blessings, he's the one that gave me the presciption to order it from KV vet. KV also has all types of wormers and nutritional products for man and beast!

-- Annie Miller (annie@1st.net), October 08, 2000.

This is a really TENDER subject in our family. We are the ones dealing with other people's wandering cats and dogs doing damage to our property and livestock -- our animals all stay home, in their fenced yards (dog has 1.5 acres and that is enough for any dog!),get walked on leashes, and don't attack other people or their animals. They stay out of fights. 35 years ago, when I was a child, dogs wandered everywhere -- dog fights were common and serious matters that children fled from, lest they get bitten. Cats, even then, I am sad to say, were usually shot on sight for their bad behaviors. We love our animals very much. We chose to make them a part of our lives and took on the contract of caring for them no matter how inconvenient at times. So they stay home. It really is the only solution if you love your animals. There is also an old old saying : An Ounce of Prevention is Worth A Pound of Cure. I am VERY glad to see that you are a caring person who takes their animal to the vet.

-- Julie Froelich (firefly1@nnex.net), October 08, 2000.

I've found a cheap and effective wound wash - contact saline solution. Not the cleaner or disinfectant, although the last is usable, just more expensive. The saline is usually just over a dollar a bottle a Wally World, while the disinfectant is $7ish. You can easily aim the stream of sterile saline, it's always there and ready to go, and if it won't hurt your eyes it's not likely to harm anything else. I use it mainly for cleaning out open wounds and washing out "ugly" eyes and such, although I would advise against squirting it down into a puncture, on the grounds that it might drive any junk further in. The cats tolerate it as much as they tolerate any doctoring and have never given any sign that it burns or anything. Tried it on myself once or twice, no prob. As I wear contacts, it's always around and handy.

-- Soni (thomkilroy@hotmail.com), October 08, 2000.

Please update us on how the kitty is today!

-- Suzy in 'Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), October 09, 2000.

When I first bought My place,,,, everyone let the dogs and cats roam,,, after many calls to the animal control,, and alot of losses of my rabbits and chickens,, I had to take matters in My own hands and kill the cats and dogs,,, had the piolice called a few times,, but I show them the damage or the dead animals of mine, and they dont say anything, after 2 years ,, its finally getting in control. I have dogs and cats,, but they dont go to the neihbors and kill their animals, and I expect them same from them

-- STAN (sopal@net-port.com), October 09, 2000.

I appreciate all the feedback. Let me stress that we have tried to keep this cat indoors but he sneaks out every chance he gets. He does not leave our property. Whatever is attacking him is coming onto our property. Today I went to take him to the vet for stitches and he broke out of the carrier and took off into the woods. I agree with being responsible for your animals but I wouldn't consider shooting the stray animals that come onto our property. Violence of any kind is unacceptable to me. I now have to take time off from work tomorrow and will recruit someone to come with me to hold the cat so he can be cared for properly. I'm up past $200. for this injury. You can't put fences up for cats. Thanks again for everyone's feedback.

-- Karen Keaton (hhm@stratos.net), October 09, 2000.

I lost one of our cats last year and in the months before she died we had the same problem with her getting into fights over her territory, and losing, and a BIG vet bill because it was more severe that we could treat ourselves. The fights occured at night, so we had to begin to shut her in the garage at night even if she didn't like it. The cat we still have (her daughter) is not a fighter and gets downright grumpy if we don't put her to bed at 9:00 in the garage!!

-- connie in NM (karrelandconnie@juno.com), October 09, 2000.

Well, as you might guess from my sister's post above, I have many negative opinions on animals roaming around, but I also know that it is difficult to control some of them. I had one that would've been the same, except I would take him outside wearing a harness and attach him to a groundstake by his long rope. He learned that was the only way he was going to get out and accepted the harness. HOWEVER, I wouldn't recommend such a thing where he is then at the mercy of whatever is coming into the yard. Mine was in a fenced back yard, and he only went out when I could keep a close eye on him, and he couldn't reach any trees to hang himself.

Nevertheless, you might consider a fence around the property as a method of keeping out dogs or coyotes, in case that is what took his tail. If the cat doesn't leave your yard, this would help protect him, and probably any other livestock you have (chickens, etc.). You might also see if you can devise some safety places he could escape to as needed. My cat would take on any cat that was stupid enough to come into his (my) yard, but he would choose to escape from unfriendly dogs and such.

BTW, none of my cats could ever escape their carriers. Maybe you should reconsider whatever you're feeding him! LOL!

I just reread your post. If the cat stays on your property, your neighbor must be shooting into your property? I would think that would be illegal? Might want to pursue that avenue!

-- Joy Froelich (dragnfly@chorus.net), October 09, 2000.

I rather doubt your neighbor is shooting at your cat on your property. I would say it is 99% your cat is not staying on your property at night. I have two shop/garage/barn toms. Neither has ever been allowed in the house. During the day they are free to roam, but don't go far. At night they are locked inside, and seem eager to be as they have several comfy sleeping spots and use the sawdust under my saw for a litter box.

I have several dogs who roam my fields and when I see them I fire my SKS in the air a time or two. They no doubt have been shot at before as they immediately put it into high gear. They belong to a guy who lives about two miles from here. Years ago my neighbor finally caught a dog who have been digging into their chicken coop. He was from a farm about five miles from here.

I think a lot of damage attributed to coyotes is actually either stray dogs or those left out overnight to go off by themselves or to join other neighborhood dogs into packs.

I agree with the others. Lock it inside at night for its own good. It will still do rodent control during the day.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), October 10, 2000.