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cat oil scalding, pruritus, skin problems health and welfare educational for animal lovers,
excerpts from The
Glamorous Vets, Singapore, sponsored by AsiaHomes Internet.
September 10, 2002 A cool cat with a red lateral line  "What happened?" I asked Ms Jaffar as she and her mother put a cat with a long and thin red stripe at the right side of the body on the examination table.  This lateral line reminds me of my fish anatomy. A fish
naturally has a lateral line on both sides of the body. It had cells to detect water
movement so that it would be able to escape predators approaching
it. But this was a cat, not a fish. "He went to the kitchen while Mum was cooking," Ms Jaffar replied. "The hot oil splattered on him. He had been licking the red area for the past three days." The red line was broad, around 1.5 mm and extended from behind the elbows to infront of the thighs. "Kuching boleh makan dan minum? (Cat can eat and drink?)" I asked the mum in the Malay language regarding the appetite of her cat. Singapore is a multi-racial country but all younger Malay cat owners do speak English and this is fortunate for me. Mrs Jaffar said "Boleh." I inserted the thermometer into the cat's rectum. He did not object to this procedure as he seemed to revel in the fuss and noises around him. Some cats are worried when brought to the veterinarian and will never come out of the cage. This non-plussed cat just looked up at the ceiling light, as if he had been to the veterinary clinic many times. He did not have fever as the thermometer read 38.5C. "Tidak ada deman (Does not have fever)," I practised my little knowledge of Malay on the mum as there was not much opportunity to speak Malay in veterinary medicine in my clinic. She nodded in happiness. I was glad there was no bacterial infection in the blood stream. "Kuching boleh berak dan kenching?" (Cat can pass stools and urine?), I asked the mother again. She nodded her head and this meant that the cat was normal. "Can you bandage the chest to prevent more licking?" Ms Jaffar asked. "It can be done," I said. "However, the wound may become moist and infected when covered up, Singapore being hot and humid. Lately, the temperature has reached 35 degrees C and most people can't stand this heat" "What can be done then?" "An anti-inflammatory injection and antibiotics should resolve the problem," I replied. "An Elizabeth collar round the neck will prevent the cat from further licking its wound although I don't think it will be necessary." This cat was very clean as I could see its snow white paws. This was one cool cat who had a high pain thresh hold and much loved by the family. He should recover in two weeks and I hope he will have learnt not to enter the kitchen again. If he had not been treated, the continuous licking would have prevented the wound from healing and may lead to septic and smelly skin infections. It is hard to prevent a cat from licking any open skin wounds and if the wounds are large, they do not heal fast as the cat keeps attacking them. This will prevent flies from laying eggs on them, hence vets all over the world seldom see maggots which hatch from the eggs in cats. |