Neighborhood cat has non-healing leg wound; effective spot-on flea control?

Question

I have my own two fat, healthy, neutered, rescued boy cats. They are very much indoor kitties, but I allow them to go in and out when I'm at home. We live in an apartment that opens onto a big courtyard and they rarely leave the courtyard. They have a little friend that seems to not have a home. He's an intact male, perhaps just past puberty, as he is quite small but his boy parts protrude obviously. He's very thin, has a dislocated hip, and an open wound on his left front leg that's not healing. I let him in to eat whenever he comes by, and I treated him for fleas when I treated my two (with fipronil - that was a waste of $25, so they're all scratching and I'm getting jumped on but not bitten so far.) Slim Boy is quite loving and sweet, so I could treat his wound, but I'm wondering what I should do for it. It's along the long bones of the forearm (radius and ulna, seems like). It's about 1.25 inches long and open about .5 inch wide, and now I can see between the muscles on his little leg. Yikes and yuck.

I know a fair bit about natural health and wound care, but not too sure about what would be suitable for a cat that I can't keep at home and out of trouble. Another, bigger neighborhood tom sometimes picks on him and is probably responsible for the original injury. I was thinking about putting a lavender oil and canola oil mixture on it to kill any microbes and fly/maggot eggs, then a small non-stick pad and a strong sticky tape covering, maybe with hot sauce or something on the outside to prevent him from chewing at the bandage. He comes to visit almost every day and always insists on leaving after a few hours of food, rest, and petting (and sharing his fleas with us, of course).

I had noticed the wound a couple weeks ago, then I saw that it was scabbing over, but now it's open again, and bigger and deeper looking.

What can I do for this boy short of taking him to the vet? I just don't have it in the budget, though I would if I could.


Next question, what is the best, affordable flea treatment for cats? I think I recall using Sevin/carbaryl dust on the cats when I was a kid, a few decades ago, but now the idea of my boys licking that stuff off themselves seems pretty awful. I heard that the best brand of spot-on had its patent expire recently, so now you can buy it in a cheaper brand but it's just as effective. Which brand was it, and/or what's the active ingredient name? I had gotten one from a vet and it was very effecitve, but of course I don't recall the chemical name. The fipronil said not to use it again earlier than 30 days, but I need to do something to help the situation! (I certainly won't use fipronil again!)

Thanks in advance!

Debi · Accepted Answer

I use Advantage on both my cats (purchase from vet clinic). 1 of my cats is allergic to fleas and this is the only product that works in my opinion. I am normally a natural product person, but when it comes to fleas I have yet to find something that works and I have decided to do what is best for my cat and use it. As fas as wound control you must be certain that whatever you put on it, is ok to be ingested by the cat, because as you know they will.... I would worry about the potential for an essential oil to be toxic. What about cleaning the wound and just wrapping it? I found a website, maybe it would be helpful to you.... http://www.doctordog.com/catbook/catwound.html    - he mentions an antibiotic ointment. Now maybe polysporin???  Best of luck, I'll let you know if I find any other references online to help.

J C · Answer

Even if you're not happy with the flea product you used, you can't apply another for at least another 2-3 weeks.  It's still in their system, and any other product will just overload their systems.  The best products are from the vet, but if you want one that isn't fipronil, then try Advantage.

About the stray - his wound at this point sounds terribly infected, if it's getting larger.  This is long past the point of self-treating and probably needs to be abraded stitched, and it definitely needs oral antibiotics.  At some point in the near future, it's going to turn septic or gangrenous, and will kill him.  You mean well, but he needs a vet.  And leaving him unneutered just means he's going to continue to get in fights with other males, and the injuries will kill him sooner or later, if he survives this one.  The best thing you can do for him is take him to the shelter.  He'll have to take his chances there, but that leg wound is going to kill him if it's not treated.

JULIE47 · Answer

Poor thing! He is probably in quite a bit of pain, that wound is likely to get quite nasty. I think you should find a low cost vet to have it looked at. Maybe a shelter could help, but it is possible that they would just put him down. It made me flinch when you described the muscle showing in his leg. Think how much an injury like that would hurt you.  It is possible he has picked up FIV from another tom's bite, and thats why it is not healing.                                                                                                      Frontline has been a very good flea treatment, but it is costly. You could check online for sites to buy it cheaper.

suellenh · Answer

Take the youngster to your vet and get his medical conditions seen to.  If he is FIV positive he should be euthanized, or you can see to his other medical conditions and find him an indoor-only home in a place he'll be the only cat.  Just feeding this cat isn't enough.  Check to see if your local animal shelter has any advice or some financial help in this situation.

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Neighborhood cat has non-healing leg wound; effective spot-on flea control?

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