Some friends of mine own a very large, rather round, very relaxed cat.

His name is Draco Meowfoy. With all due apologies to JK Rowling and Harry Potter, it is a pretty good name. But Draco, for all his relaxed nature, does have one major failing.  He really resents any other cats visiting his range, an area which seems to include the house my friends own and several neighbouring gardens. To Draco, this area is his personal preserve, and no strays are welcome. In fact, Draco is so serious about protecting his patch that he often goes to war to prove it; and has several scars as a result.

These scars have resulted in Draco requiring his share of veterinary attention. 

Cat bites often result in a local infection where the teeth go in. Cat mouths are not the cleanest environment. Cat teeth make a good needle to inject bugs deep into Draco’s leg. Cat skin is tough, so bite wounds are small. The puncture wounds heal over quickly, trapping bacteria deep inside. The bacteria breed away, spreading and causing infection. Draco tries to clear the infection but because there are so many bacteria, he ends up with pus forming in his leg. It hurts, he feels terrible.    

He stops eating and becomes lethargic, not even bothering to inspect his territory for intruders. If he can be bothered to get up, he hobbles on three legs, the fourth is a painfully swollen attachment to his unhappy body. So, he comes to the vet clinic, and has a raging fever. There are four pinhead sized scabs on his leg, proof that the last raider into Draco territory had sharp teeth. Draco may have driven the invader away, but he now has cellulitis in his leg. Antibiotics and painkillers are given, and within a couple of days Draco is back to his usual self, eating like a horse and relaxed, not lethargic.

Draco likes dogs, having grown up with a few, but not all dogs like Draco. He has had a run in with a couple of them too. The first time he was lucky, he escaped without injury when he arrived home in the mouth of a neighbour’s dog. But Draco is a slow learner and wasn’t lucky the second time. Puppies pick up toys in their mouths and shake them, often the pup almost falls over from the effort. It looks cute, and people often laugh when they see it. What is funny when there is a puppy and a toy, is frightening when it is a 30kg dog and a cat.  The bite-and-shake causes separation of skin from the tissue underneath, tearing the blood supply away from the skin and creating a pocket that can fill with fluid.

Dog bites cause deep bruising, tear through muscle, and crush bone. That was what happened to Draco the second time he played with the wrong dog. The poor cat had two broken ribs, and a puncture wound that went into his abdomen.  His small intestine was poking out of the puncture wound, but because the skin was intact, my friends thought he was ok. Three days later he was pretty sick, and very sore, and when he got to the vet’s he went straight into surgery. Once again Draco recovered quickly. He was in a fight two weeks later. He had learned nothing. 

While Draco is not good at learning, all cat owners should be aware of the outcomes of these silly disputes. If your cat is off colour, or lame, or not eating, or sore, give us a call for an appointment.