Stray cat attacked my kitten and severely injured him.

[Ultimate Instar]

Last Saturday evening, a large adult (maybe Maine coon) apparently attacked both of my cats, an adult female and a four-month-old male. My female is ok now but she was limping on her right back leg.

My poor kitten is another story. He got a compound fracture of his right back leg (same leg as the female) as well as serious bites to his pelvis. The vets irrigated out the wound and took out a large (1 by 2 cm) fragment of bone from his right leg and some smaller pieces from his pelvic region. The vets have him on antibiotics since he developed abscesses from the bites and they'll try to insert a pin into the leg bones to try to save the leg.

Anyway, my question is whether or not the stray cat was really the culprit. I saw him attacking my female cat several months ago. And when I found my injured cats on Saturday night, he was five feet away from my female, hissing at her. However, the vet isn't sure that a large adult male cat is capable of inflicting such bad injuries on a five-pound kitten, and thought that a dog was more likely. I live in a very rural area, on the west coast just above the California state line in Oregon, very close to Redwood National Park. There are raccoons, black bears, cougars, quite a lot of wildlife, so there are many other possibilities.

What do you guys think? And do you have any suggestions on how to protect my cats?

Karen N.

 

[atavuss]

Karen, sorry to hear about your cat's getting beat up like that! did you look for footprints in the scuffle area to see if it was a raccoon or dog that did the dirty deed? you may want to think about putting out a trap to see what ends up in it. short of making your kitties indoor cats or at the very least letting them out in the day time only and putting them in the house or garage at night not much else you could do.
Ed

 

[manville]

that really sucks i hope they are fine

 

[Immortal_sin]

that's too bad.... poor kitten...
I might suggest that if you let them out doors, that you have a fenced in area for them, that way they are safe, and can still go outside. I've seen them done with chicken wire, and even enclose part of a small tree, so they can climb around.
If you have a fenced backyard, I believe there are products that can make it so the kitties can't get out, and wildlife can't get in.
I'll see if I can find some links to what I am talking about.

 

[The_Phantom]

My suggestion...keep them inside if at all possible. The bigger cat is probably big enough to defend itself, and might not take kindly to suddenly being forsed to stay inside all teh time. But the kitten, still young, wont really know the difference and will adjust better. I whole heartedly wish that ALL kittens be kept indoors until they are at least one year old, because kittens get lost easily, and cannot defend themselves against cats, coyotes, birds of prey, dogs and other beasts. Then if the owner really really wants the cat to have teh freedom of outdoors, then let them out. My cat Kes is 1 year old and has never gone out. Shes happy, friendly, playful, healthy and ALIVE. It is such a protection to keep them indoors. Its not cruel or confining. Keep them busy. Indoor cats are protected from fights, diseases from other cats, (esp strays) getting flattened by cars, predators, and even people. Its worth it!! I hope you come to a solution.

I truly hope your babies get better, especially the poor little kitten.

 

[Love to Foxtrot]

It is very possible that another large cat could have inflicted those injuries on your cats. This summer, a large tom cat attacked my three full grown male cats Max, Leo, and Shishi. Max ended up with several holes in his back, Leo had a huge abcess inside his cheek, and Shishi had nasty bite wounds in his neck. The injuries were so severe that they looked like the results of a dog attack, but we later saw the tom come back and try to attack my cats again. I took the cats to the vet and purchased medication for them, so they are fine now, but every time that I would see the tom cat in my yard I would scare him off, and he has not come back for a while. In your situation, you can either try to protect your cats while they are outside by scaring off/keeping out the intruder, or bring them inside as was stated earlier. Good luck!

Aubrey

 

[Ultimate Instar]

Thanks for all the responses. I'm picking him up tomorrow and hopefully, he'll make a full recovery.

Karen N.

 

[Ultimate Instar]

I think he's going to make it. According to the vet, kittens heal broken bones very well. Below is a picture of my son and the kitten.

 

[Ultimate Instar]

I have to say that the vet bills were a bit shocking, but they had to do a fair amount of work. Below you can see the injured leg and the outline of the pin under the skin. When the bones heal, the pin will be removed. I took the picture today, about 8 days after the operation. Initially, the whole leg was very swollen. He may have residual nerve damage but the injured leg should end up the same length as the good leg.

Karen N.

 

[The_Phantom]

Hey Im glad to hear the kitten is doing well. SOrry about the vet bills I know all about that. I was expecting a tiny kitten, she looks fairly big.