Otherkin Den

[Les]

Oh, I really love all animals too...I wish I liked cats more, but I grew up with one that bit people all the time. In a way it's not so much that I don't like them, but I'm kind of afraid to get bitten...

I actually want to be a Wildlife Photographer when I grow up. =3 Not only do I get to be with animals, but it's my excuse to see the world too.

[TNHawke]

He doesn't want to stay in the house for longer than 2 hours, so I made him a nice bed at the place he choosed (a bed of hay, I put a sheet over it that he don't lay directly on it.) . Since 2 weeks he had some walking problems, but nothing really bad. I thought he might have fought with one of the other cats, so I cared much for him and he got better soon.. But now there is a little open wound at this backleg (he does not let me have a look. -.-) Theres liquid comming out. I don't know how, there wasnt an wound before and he looked so well.
He wasn't eating or drinking yesterday, but now he did, and he's again walking and looks better. (Later my friend will help me to hold him that I can have a look at that wound..) I hope he wants to stay some hours in the house, but luckily its not very cold the last days.

Just for the record, I do wildlife rehabilitation; I work with injured animals a lot. I've also kept pets my whole life, and we've had our fair share of accidents and injuries.
It sounds like your cat has an abscess. Most likely from a fight with another cat, a bite to the leg. Cat saliva has horrible bacteria in it, so cat bites almost always get infected with out an immediate good cleaning. (when we get in cat caught birds and squirrels and stuff we have to give them a round of antibiotics or they almost always die within 2 days!) Your cat probably had a painful swelling on his leg that you couldn't see, and finally enough puss built up in there that it ruptured- that's the liquid you're seeing coming out. If at all possible, try to catch him and wash it out with hydrogen peroxide. If you take him to a vet, they're going to put a "drain" in his leg, a little rubber tube that lets the wound heal from the inside out, and give you antibiotics to give him. They'd probably also put him in one of those Elizabethan Collars (the big plastic cones). And have you come back in a week to 10 days to have the drain removed. And they'll charge you an arm and a leg to do all this. Truth is... it will probably heal up just fine on its own, but better if you can wash it. If he was a delicate pure bred Persian or something, I would recommend the vet, but for a run of the mill kitty who sounds like he prefers to be a barn cat anyways, he's probably perfectly strong enough to recover on his own.
Just don't sue me if he takes a turn for the worse after taking my advice... I'm not actually a vet!

[Sillva]

oh no, I'd never sue anybody who is nice to me and just try to help.. .. the truth is,... our vets her are somewhat horrible..
hydrogen peroxide.. have to googel that (I wash the wound out with it, right? Might get it in a pharmacy?).. and a possible antibiotic I could inject him or mix under his food.
most of that stuff I do myself anyway always.. I don't like to do that but often theres no other way round.
He is awful with injuries.. the worst was when he had a grass seed in his eye and nearly got blind.. or that really bad front leg last year..
He is not a house cat and I could not let him out with one of this plastic things round his neck. (anyway I doubt I get this here to buy xD)

[TNHawke]

Hydrogen peroxide is just a sterile, clear fluid that bubbles- it's great for washing wounds on humans and animals. You can find it in most grocery stores and pharmacies. (I'm starting to get the feeling you're not in the US?)

If you can find a cat-safe antibiotic, that would be awesome. Around here, you have to be a vet or human doctor to get that sort of thing, or be able to prescribe it. I work with some great vets who tend to the wild animals for almost free. I just pay their costs for meds if necessary, and a lot of times they just donate that to us anyways.

[Sillva]

Hmm I get any antibiotic, for myself and for the animals without a doctor. I just have to go to the pharmacy and have to talk to the men there what the problem is, for sure he knows the right stuff (even for those snake-poison anti-thing, its not an antidote.. what was the name.. can't remember it hydrocortison maybe if I don't mix that up.). They know more than any doctor I have met in my live. Also I get other medicine without any doctor. Just some specials I can't get (like valium.. don't even dare to ask.)
Just something different: there exists non-cat-safe antibiotics???? Grrr I think I'll sue that vet -.-
No I live in south-europe ^^ How does it come that you think I live in the US?
I thought everybody could easily figure out I am not a native english speaker anyway...
All of our animals come from the street, have bad stories and maybe would be dead without us. They are my family and I would do everything to save them.

[TNHawke]

Mostly the language- but I never make assumptions. *grin* Then, not knowing for sure what hydrogen peroxide is... just small things that I pick up on. From over 10 years of working customer service over the phone and having to "translate" non-native speakers, and pick up on some of those nuances and then adjust how I work with the customer to give them a good experience.

I don't think it's so much that antibiotics would be not cat-safe, as the dosing. (pain killers are a totally different subject!) Our vets used to prescribe amoxycillian for cats, but it's "bubblegum" flavored for humans... cats HATE it! Then they started going with Clavamox which was similar but tasted better to the kitties, and lately, they even have tuna flavoring they can add to it! When I have to give meds, I much prefer pills for all mammals and liquids for most birds.

[Les]

That sounds like an awesome job, Hawke. *Envy*

[Sillva]

-.- Got this strawberry-flavoured medicine. My cat hates me now He really thinks that this is awkward.
And I could see the disgust when I was feeding him this.
Poor cat.
*Also thinks your job is very interesting*
What is with painkillers? I am totally against them because the animal thinks everythings alright and moves normal (?) hurting itself just more.
My opinion.

I think as long everybody understands what I mean they are not too bad, my english abilities.
But sometimes I might be clumsy, so I apologise myself for missunderstandings that might happen in future.

[TNHawke]

Awww, I wish it was a job that paid. It's more a hobby. And wild animals have a tendency to find me when they need help. I've found quite a few in my own yard, and once I had a very sick pigeon choose MY car of the hundreds in the parking lot to the movie theater/ entertainment complex to sit on. I'm still not sure if I just notice them, or if they really do actively seek me out (the pigeon had to have sought me out).

I'm also not sure if my bond with animals has something to do with my otherkinism, or if my otherkinism has something to do with my bond with animals!

[Sillva]

Maybe you should become a vet? Or a vets assistant? So you could get money.
I understand what you mean. Had some lil baby hedgehogs they where all injured on the legs and hurt birds (once a blackbird too, it was a very strange and aggressive bird) I helped here in our own property.
Sometimes the dogs find hurt animals and show them to me. Normally they don't kill something because I hate it. (Rats they chase.. but I think that is not too bad.)

My pets are strange sometimes. They recognize when I am ill or sad and try to make me smile. Have a cat allergy, but not a real bad one (some people asked me why I don't chase my cats away stupid people), my eyes are swollen constantly, but mehh.. (So you maybe understand why I find my cat-like self somehow odd..) The cats understand this and just come to me when I am ready for them to stroke them. They never would sleep or come near my bed and clothes. Nobody has learnd them this. They do it on their own.