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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

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Original poster

This vet is having a laugh...

29 replies

chemenger · 04/11/2015 19:03

Little ginger boy has a problem with his paws and we have to dip them in an antiseptic solution every night for 10 days, leave it for 10 minutes, then wash off. He is the most biddable cat ever but he is not keen on having his paws dipped - any advice? So far we have dipped two paws and dh is bleeding quite heavily.

OP posts:

yeOldeTrout · 04/11/2015 19:35

oh dear. Mine actually are biddable enough that I could imagine this being easy.

Can you cradle yours like a baby & do quick dips when he's not looking, or does he freak out the moment he feels wet on the paw?

SurlyCue · 04/11/2015 19:37

Could you make him a sock using an old pair of gloves? that is soaked in the dip?

Hexenbeast · 04/11/2015 19:45

Oh dear.

:)

When we got our last cat from the rescue centre, he had ringworm. The vet shaved him (bless) and treated him, then sent us home with a bald cat and a bottle of medicated shampoo/treatment. We had to bath the cat in it daily.

We were both bleeding lots and very glad once the week was over!

iloveeverykindofcat · 05/11/2015 06:47

Oh lord...the paws are tricky, aren't they? Mine are very funny about their paws being touched (which is a shame because I find cat paws extremely cute). Like that sock idea- even if he takes it off he'll still have gotten some benefit.

TheHumanSatsuma · 05/11/2015 06:53

we had to resort to wearing gardening gloves and wrapping the cat in a towel

bimandbam · 05/11/2015 07:09

Would it be easier to put the liquid in a spray bottle then wrap him in a towel with a paw at a time exposed?

I really wish there was a way we could explain to animals and dcs that medical treatment is for their own good.

I have fond memories of trying to get antibiotic eye ointment into dpony. I was black and blue by the end of the week but her eye healed beautifully lol.

Original poster

chemenger · 05/11/2015 08:38

I have never seen him so offended about anything. He loves having his paws rubbed - you can do almost anything to them, except get them wet, as it turns out. The towel thing is a problem because usually the idea is to immobilise their feet so they can't lash out or get purchase to wriggle - but we need his feet out. Doing them one at a time might work for the first one...Tonight I am going to try soaking a cloth in the solution then sneaking up on him when he's asleep. I am just amazed by how strong he is when he is really motivated to escape.

OP posts:

Lweji · 05/11/2015 08:40

Don't blame the vet!

You need to figure out a way of holding your cat properly. Wrap a set of paws at a time, and wear heavy gloves and sleeves.

Lweji · 05/11/2015 08:41

Also cut the claws as much as possible before.

yeOldeTrout · 05/11/2015 09:03

cut the claws? Bloody hell, how does one do that (dont' answer).

timtam23 · 05/11/2015 10:03

We had to do similar for my old boy cat, he got something stuck under his claw/between his toes I think, and his paw festered a bit & there was some scabbing & discharge. We needed 2 people, DH held him while I washed the paw - we had to soak it a bit but I mostly used a damp flannel. We also gave him Dreamies during the procedure which I think helped ! There is no way we could have left anything on his paw for 10 minutes though, as he would have licked it off immediately. He was very elderly at the time, so not too feisty. In his younger days he would have clawed us i'm sure.

polkadotdelight · 05/11/2015 10:07

Would putting a shallow solution in a clean litter tray then putting that (and cat) in the cat box so he has no option but to stand in it?

TheoriginalLEM · 05/11/2015 10:14

I do blame the vet actually - that is a ridiculous request and putting alot of stress on the cat. Ask if there is an alternative - what is wrong with her paws?

Original poster

chemenger · 05/11/2015 10:47

His paws got badly bitten by harvest mites in the late summer, they are pretty much healed now but a couple of bits look infected. Spraying him with bug spray was hard enough, this is horrendous. If he didn't insist on sleeping under bushes all summer we wouldn't have this problem. To be honest his paws are not bothering him (when they were bad he was gnawing on them because they were itchy). Anyway here he is showing his beautiful white, dry paws.

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TheoriginalLEM · 05/11/2015 20:00

I think you are right - the vet clearly is having a laugh! Surely making infected paws wet is going to provide a lovely environment for bacteria to multiply? I'd be looking for a second opinion.

I would have thought a recommendation for Advocate flea spot on (back of the neck, no spray). Some systemic Antibiotics/anti-inflammatory injection would be a far better course of action.

He is properly gorgeous.

Original poster

chemenger · 05/11/2015 21:03

Bugs are gone, they are only around for about a month a year, but they cause havoc. Spot on treatments don't work, just the spray (I spray it on a brush then brush him). The other cat, when she was still going out, always ended up with horrible allergic reactions to the bites on her stomach and loads in the folds of her ears. I get horribly bitten by them too, they come up in huge weepy, itchy lumps. Harvest mites are just evil. Thankfully we have never been bothered by fleas here. To be honest we use the clinic at the vet teaching hospital and I wonder if the students came up with this treatment. I let dh take him in so its hard to get the full story. I'm taking the other cat for har mot tomorrow so I'll ask for advice. Poor little boy is fast asleep in his carrier (who knows why), he's had a busy day watching scaffolding being erected round the house. I'm going to sneak up on him with a cloth soaked in the solution.

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Original poster

chemenger · 05/11/2015 21:06

Little does he suspect

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hugoagogo · 05/11/2015 21:12

Aww he is gorgeous!
Dipping his paws in antiseptic is daft- there must be a better way...

Original poster

chemenger · 05/11/2015 21:15

Partial success; I now know that he loves Deamies so much that he will tolerate me dabbing at his feet with soggy cotton wool while the pile of cat crack lasts. Paws are now wet. I don't see the point of rinsing since he is licking it off.

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Original poster

chemenger · 07/11/2015 10:45

Dreamies only worked once. And I had to pay an arm and a leg at the vets for the other cat to be sedated for tests because she's such a grumpy old madam. What is the point of cats?

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hugoagogo · 07/11/2015 17:17

There is no point- cats are purely decorative

TheoriginalLEM · 07/11/2015 17:45

The point of cats is that we are there to serve them.

TamzinGrey · 07/11/2015 19:28

Tamzincat was prescribed exactly the same treatment last week for an infected paw. I also thought that the vet was having a laugh and was dreading the procedure. Turns out that she actually loves having her paw submerged in a bowl of warm water. I stick her up on her cat tree with a towel handy and it works a treat. Important to have the water nice and warm.

Original poster

chemenger · 07/11/2015 19:49

It would be very easy to hate you Tamzin . My boy definitively does not like having his paw in water. However even my poor efforts, which have made his feet very damp at best, seem to be doing the trick, the sore bits look better. Mind you they were getting better by themselves anyway.

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TheSpottedZebra · 07/11/2015 20:00

Poor you and poor cat.

But what in all that is purry is a harvest mite?tell me you're not from the UK ?

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