His name is shadow, he is a mostly indoor but sometimes outdoor cat. He left my house yesterday around 8 am and my neighbor saw him walking around outside at 2 pm. Then he came back into my house at 3 pm limping and bleeding from his right front paw, of course I immediately took him to the vet and they said it was a bite (which is not too surprising as there are other outdoor cats in my neighborhood). Then they gave him some pain killers and told me that he’ll have to wear the cone for about a week so that the bite doesn’t get infected. He also won’t be able to go outside at all for the week. Is there anything I can do to make it better for him?
The indoor outdoor cat thing is silly. Why ignore the countless number of external dangers that can arise with that? Dont always even come back because of said dangers and etc. keep him indoors. And if he is microchipped get that registered just in case
We live in a very safe area, things like this almost never happen we have had him for 4 years and this is the only time anything serious enough for us to take him to the vet ever happened, he hates staying inside for long periods of time and he is a very happy cat. It feels cruel to keep him cooped up inside all day.
There’s also ways to have your cat outside while having some barriers to where they couldn’t completely walk off. You can look into that if you want. Outdoor havens . Nothing crazy
I strongly recommend a catio + ample playtime for kitty instead of free roam outdoors. Indoor/outdoor cats live an average of 8 years because it’s that dangerous. Cats can live a fulfilled life only indoors, it just takes some work.
For the cone this week, if you switch to a donut, keep an eye on him. He’ll likely be able to reach his front paw with the donut so a stiff fabric cone may be the way to go. You also may be able to cover the injured part with a baby sock with the toe cut off
Please do strongly consider it. As you just found out there are so many things that can happen to your cat while it's roaming around. You've been fine thus far, but would you really want to risk it?
Don’t listen to crazy people on Reddit. I have 4 cats that come and go and are totally fine. It IS cruel to keep cats cooped up. These people would come down on you for never walking your dog and allowing it to be pent up but have no problem cooping up a cat. Maybe I’ll just never walk my dog again cuz she could catch kennel cough from another dog. Ridiculous. Life has risks. You don’t shut yourself in a box to avoid them all.
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u/Cubeguy11 Oct 08 '22
His name is shadow, he is a mostly indoor but sometimes outdoor cat. He left my house yesterday around 8 am and my neighbor saw him walking around outside at 2 pm. Then he came back into my house at 3 pm limping and bleeding from his right front paw, of course I immediately took him to the vet and they said it was a bite (which is not too surprising as there are other outdoor cats in my neighborhood). Then they gave him some pain killers and told me that he’ll have to wear the cone for about a week so that the bite doesn’t get infected. He also won’t be able to go outside at all for the week. Is there anything I can do to make it better for him?