Animal welfare offices from Mayhew were shocked when they were called out to help a stray cat with a terrible looking head wound.
When the welfare officers found him, four-year old stray cat Augustus, had a wound the size of a golf ball on his forehead, which was discharging foul-smelling pus.
The wound was a ruptured abscess that Mayhew staff believe had originated from an infected cat bite, which is a common occurrence in un-neutered cats.
The tissue surrounding the abscess had become necrotic, and his eye was half shut from the swelling and discharge.
Because Augustus was a stray, the original wound hadn’t received any care of attention. Cats’ claws and teeth are covered in bacteria, and so if they bite or scratch another cat, it’s very likely that bacteria contagion will spread.
A spokesperson for Mayhew commented: “Augustus’ bite had quickly turned into an abscess, which, left untreated for much longer would continue to make him feel extremely ill and affect his ability to survive on his own.
“Unfortunately, such wounds are common in stray and feral cat colonies, where unneutered and unvaccinated felines will fight and attack each other to assert dominance and mark out territory. Stray cats are generally solitary by instinct and will also lash out in defence if they feel themselves or the areas they call ‘home’ are being threatened.”
Luckily the Mayhew animal welfare officers were able to take Augustus straight for treatment at their Community Vet Clinic.
The poorly cat was distressed and in paid when he arrived and suffering from mild dehydration. To make him comfortable, vet Steph Panayiotou prescribed a course of antibiotics, anti-inflammatories and pain relief.
The spokesperson added: “Steph gently bathed and flushed the abscess while Augustus was anaesthetised to remove the worst of the necrosis and pus. With Augustus and the abscess improving every day now that he was receiving medication, Steph did a final clean of the wound and removed the surrounding dead tissue a week later, once again putting Augustus under general aesthetic.
“He was also neutered, microchipped and tested for FIV/FeLV while he was asleep, and was happily negative for both of these viruses. Augustus has responded very well to every stage of his treatment so far. His wound is healing well, and Steph and the rest of our Vet team expect him to make a full recovery.”
The team at Mayhew will continue to monitor Augustus’ condition over the next couple of week, before he is ready to go up for adoption.
Whilst Augustus may be looking forward to finding his forever family, Mayhew vets and Animal Welfare Officers are sadly gearing up to treat more animals just like him.
It costs the team £400 to treat and infected abscess like Augustus’s and Mayhew couldn’t do it without the ongoing help from supporters.
If you would like to donate, to help animals like Augustus, you can test MAYHEWCAT to 70085 and donate just £5 – the money will go straight towards helping animals in need.
To find out more about the work Mayhew do with stray and feral cats in the local community you can visit www.themayhew.org.
