Red Finds Trouble

This handsome face belongs to our friend Red.  Red is not remotely aware of the fact that he has been on this earth fourteen years and should be slowing down to enjoy some peaceful retirement time sleeping on the couch.  Oh, no!  We are pretty sure this fellow looks for trouble!  He does a good job of finding it and ends up needing the assistance of the Best Friends Animal Health Center staff at least once or twice a year.  He is rotten!  It sure is a good thing he is so cute!

Red’s favorite trouble to find is to get in fights with other cats.  Someone has to keep them in line, right?!  The normal bacteria in a cat’s mouth is very good at causing infections after a bite.  Consequently, we see Red with a lot of infected bite wounds after his scrapping.  Last month was no different.  He came in because he hadn’t been using his front leg.  It was swollen and very painful.  He was also not his normal social self.  He wasn’t eating or drinking very much, either.  Dr. Brady diagnosed him with a condition called cellulitis.  This is a very painful skin infection that involves a lot of inflammation in the area infected.  Red was given an antibiotic to treat the infection and an anti-inflammatory to treat the pain and inflammation.

Red came back a couple of days later as he just wasn’t improving as much as his person thought he should be.  The bite wound had advanced to a further stage of the infection process called an abscess.  This is where the infection forms a pocket of dead tissues, bacteria, and infection fighting cells under the skin.  This pocket can sometimes be opened up and flushed out with an antibiotic solution to speed up the healing process.  This was not the case for Red due to the size/location of his bite wound.  He was given additional pain medications and his -o- was instructed to try to encourage draining by hot packing the area with a rag soaked in warm water.

Red was feeling much better within a few days.  The swelling, infection, and pain were all diminishing and he was back to his handsome, trouble-finding self!  His family is trying to keep him indoors and safe from trouble, but that is a big job when you are dealing with Red and his little mischief-making soul!  Have a good winter, Red!  For once, try and stay out of trouble!