Help with cat’s injured foot?
My big fat black cat, who is about 12 years old injured her foot last summer and it’s only gotten worse. Her back paw is all red and puffy and raw with no fur on the top at all in this one big spot. She occasionally gets it bleeding all over the floor. We cant afford to take her to the vet, and I have no idea what’s wrong or how to treat it. We’ve tried putting some stuff on it and wrapping it up in gause but she just gets it all dirty and tears it off and it ends up smelling really bad. The fur on her stomache where she sits her paw at is all matted and wet all the time. My dad said that he thought maybe some ants were chewing on her foot, but it started out small and its just getting bigger and engulfing her foot…
Can anyone help me figure out what is wrong with her? and how can I help her?
Thank you much. 
She seems really okay with it. She doesnt limp much at all and she doesn’t appear to be in pain at all. It’s just very unsightly and inconvienent to bleed everywhere.
It would also cost 350$ to amputate it…
And it only smells if it’s been covered for awhile.
I will explain the situation for people who are inconsiderate, jumping tyo conclusions, and want those 2 points.
I am only 17 years old… I cant drive. I live 10 miles from the nearest SLIGHT civilization. This is a whole nother story though.
Last year was very hectic for us. My mom had to go to the hospital by ambulance 3 times. The 3rd time, I had to call 911 and she died at the hospital. We have to pay all the hospital bills and previous doctor bills for my mom before we work on the cat. Because my mom died, we no longer have her income to support us as she was the main income source to our family. Yes, my dad smokes, but i cant do anything about that. I’ve told him many times to stop, but he wont. Not my fault. Last summer it was very small and we thought over time, it would clear up. We know that amputation costs 350$ because my neighbor’s cat needed it too, and they told us that THEY TOO cannot afford it. So please, think before you randomly bash someone.
I think I should emphasize the fact that I am ***NOT*** the person that pays the bills. Not the person that is able to sell the TV To care for my cat. My dad is the primary person of the house now. If I took the TV out to sell it, my dad would just be pissed at me, and buy a new one. I’m sorry that I dont have money to help my cat. I’m sorry that I cant make decisions to do anything at my house. I was just looking for an answer as to how i might be able to help my cat, not a lecture on how i should go and sell drugs on the black market and hitchhike with strangers with my cat to the vet and pay the vet with drug money to fix her leg, when MAYBE it could be fixed with a household remedy. And for the record, i have a computer that is older than dirt. My monitor we inherited from my grandma in 1994. I have dialup that is only 100$ a year. People having a computer does not mean they are rich. Hobos in Chicago have computers too. -_-.
August 31st, 2011 at 11:36 pm
You have a few options in a situation like this. If the injury is very serious, then the generous thing to do would be to put the animal down, but don’t jump to that. Or, you could find a free animal clinic, or shelter, that might be able to provide some medical services. And lastly, you could work hard, and save up money to affort a vet’s bill. If the foot is smelling, then it may need to be amputated, in which case, you’d probably need to see a vet.
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September 1st, 2011 at 12:36 am
Your cat has been suffering the agonies of the damned SINCE LAST SUMMER????? Whatever you have put on this unfortunate animal has not helped at all, but how do you get off not taking a sick animal to a vet for almost A YEAR??? Did you have Xmas, or New Year….that costs money you should have used. Get the poor animal to an animal shelter at once; she could lose her foot if it becomes gangrenous. This is not ants, it is sheer neglect and bloody cruelty; your father should be shot. You should be reported and jailed.
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September 1st, 2011 at 1:40 am
sounds like an infection to me, give her paw a good wash in some salt water get some iodine from the chemist and dip some cottonwool in it, then dab it all over the cats paw and make sure you get it onto the would and between the toes, you can use sudocream but iodine will be less messy and do it everyday until it heals up
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September 1st, 2011 at 2:36 am
See if you can get any help at a low cost clinic or have the cat euthanized. Then do NOT get another pet as you CANNOT afford it. Pets are not a right, they are a luxury and not everyone can afford them. Making the cat go that long with a painful condition like that is called NEGLECT!!!! God, it may be a tumor. Whatever it is, the cat is not well and should be euthanized if it cannot be treated!!!!! Would you go almost a year with that on your foot?? I don’t think so. Hock the TV, sell the computer, what ever you need to do for the cat. You sure have the luxury of a computer and Internet service!! Probably someone in the house smokes. I think if you had your priorities st right, you could get to the vet!!!!!
You really are a piece of work!!! It makes YOUR life hard when the cat bleeds all over the place!!! You are a total JACKA**!!!!!! How do you know it needs to be amputated and would cost $350. You said you couldn’t afford the vet. Are you seeking medical advice at another brilliant venue???
Too bad someone can’t take the cat away and send you to jail!!!!!! LOSER!!
Yeah…love pays the vet bills!!! Vets don’t want to foot the bill and have someone cleaning cages in return!! They would have to do that for everyone!! Don’t people find it sad when others claim poverty and they are sitting there on the computer on the internet???? Maybe one of you wants to send this girl the money to take the cat to the vet. Just write her out a check for $350….right now!!! If not then you shouldn’t expect others to foot her bill!!!! Put YOUR money where your mouth is!!!!!
PS grubs don’t live on the foot…there isn’t enough room for them to tunnel. They prefer the neck.
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September 1st, 2011 at 3:37 am
Don’t pay attention to some inconsiderate people. I know you love your animal & I understand not being able to afford a vet bill.
Here is what I would do. Go to your local vet & tell them you have a sick animal & can’t afford to pay a vet bill. Offer to work it off cleaning animal cages or whatever.
Good luck with your kitty. We just lost our black cat last year. His name was Fat Cat because he was a butterball. He was 18 years old and had been deaf but when he went blind we had to have him put down.
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September 1st, 2011 at 4:36 am
sounds like a warble which is a worm like animal living in and under her skin.I watched a vet take one out of a cat’s neck one time and it was really gross but you could do it yourself.If you have hemostat’s you can grab it and pull it out but tweezers will work with a firm grip.then disinfect it.this is only if you think it might be a warble .There will be a small hole in the swelling
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September 1st, 2011 at 6:37 am
kill it not to be in pain
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September 1st, 2011 at 8:37 am
I understand you completely. You love your baby so much but you cannot afford to take her to the vet. She has a very bad infection. Follow the recommendations of others who recommended that you contact a vet to see if they will be willing to work out payment arrangements with you or give you advice over the phone.
Another thing that is miraculous for infections is epsom salts. I had an incident where my arm was very red and swollen. Gunther was fighting with another cat and I tried to break the fight up and frightened Gunther and he bit my arm. I could not afford to see a doctor due to no health insurance. I soaked my arm in epsom salts and the infection went away pretty much overnight. Epsom salts may not be a miracle cure overnight, but you may really want to try it.
Her paw probably bleeds because it gets a boil or something and it bursts.
Try saturating a wet cloth with epsom salts and wrapping her foot in it. It might burn like crazy, but it’s doing the job.
BUt I would recommend trying to contact a vet and explaining your situation Someone is likely to be able to help you out or give you instructions by phone.
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September 1st, 2011 at 10:35 am
This is not bashing but a real chance to examine your own ethics. Due to conditions outside of your control your family has suffered.
Cats rarely will give evidence of being in pain even to the point of death. It is part of thier survival instincts.
The problem at hand is that your pet is suffering and it is your responsibility to take care of it. It is complicated by the fact that nothing has been done for a year and the condition has worsened. You are now taking responsibility and looking for solutions, that is good, even though over due. There is no justification for allowing the cat to continue without medical care. Your ethical choices are to find a way to get the cat medical care even if it means that the cat is no longer your “possession”. Perhaps as others have suggested, a deal can be made with a local vet to allow you to be responsible and to work off the cost of the care your cat needs. If not, then you have two other choices: it is your responsibility to have the cat euthanized, or give it to a local shelter or rescue group who will either get the cat needed medical care, or euthanize it. It is truly a painful choice. These are the choices a responsible ethical person must face.
It is sad that you have had to undergo so much pain and now are faced with losing your dear old pet. Your pain at the additional loss does not justify neglecting the care of your pet. To further neglect the animal would be extreme selfishness to try to keep “possession” of a creature that was never yours, but was only given to your care. Your actions in this as in every other thing in life are the story of your character as a human. Will you choose an ethical path and take a step toward being the best human that it is in your capacity to be?
The most responsible thing to do is to make sure the cat gets the needed care to rid it of is suffering.
Read Peter Singer “The question is not, can they reason? nor,can they talk? but, can they suffer?”
This can be the start of your lifetime striving to become an ethical human.
http://articles.animalconcerns.org/ar-voices/archive/pain.html
http://www.utilitarian.org/texts/alm.html
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September 1st, 2011 at 1:39 pm
I just wanted to say that i understand where you are comming from. Its hard enough to take care of an animal but when they become ill or hurt its even harder…and when unfortunate events happen its worse. Dont listen to the people that left those nasty messages! Some people just havent had the opportunity to experience hardships like that. My thought about the cat is to try to find a humane society or some place like that to see if there is any help for caring for your cat. Most places like that are pretty good at finding help for animals. I would also call around to the vets and explain to them what has happened and see if they can help your cat. If they care about animals like they should they may just do what needs to be done and allow payments to be made on it!
http://articles.animalconcerns.org/ar-voices/archive/pain.html
http://www.utilitarian.org/texts/alm.html
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September 1st, 2011 at 4:36 pm
The symptoms do not sound good at all. Some cats have healing problems due to diabetes and since you mention that your cat is fat and that it is senior it may be a possibility. The fact that the paw is not healing may be also a sign of a tumor. I can’t see any other options than taking to a vet, I am very sorry. Some of your replies are very mean, but it can happen to anyyone to go from having money to having none, however there are always options available such as saving money or getting a loan from relatives, or perhaps if your classmates are willing to give you 5 dollars each to raise funds it can help. But please find a way ASAP. Good luck!
http://articles.animalconcerns.org/ar-voices/archive/pain.html
http://www.utilitarian.org/texts/alm.html
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September 1st, 2011 at 8:36 pm
Sorry to hear about the problem with you cat. Sounds like it started off as a minor injury and just got worse from there.
I get the impression that you are alone with this. Even if your Dad did give up the smoking, the money is already spoken for. Is there any animal shelter within reach to which you can take the cat? I’m thinking of a shelter rather than a vet as they are more likely to take your cat on and not charge you beyond your means.
However you might have to face up to the fact that your cat will not recover. This will be a difficult time for you, especially if you get little or no support in this at home. You must remember that you have to do the best for your cat who has relied on you during her life up to now.
I understand what you are going through, last summer we lost one of our cats who had an inoperable bowel tumour, although the development of his condition was slowed by drugs. He was active and seemed “happy” right to the end, although I do wonder whether we kept him going for just a bit too long.
http://articles.animalconcerns.org/ar-voices/archive/pain.html
http://www.utilitarian.org/texts/alm.html
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