Hi there, my cat had surgery for a nasty open wound. He had a lot of stitches that popped the very next day, which caused some heavy bleeding. I took him back to the vet and they put staples in this time, but they haven't held either. So now I'm left with a cat whose wound is only half-healed... To be fair, the cut was over 4 inches (10cm) long and in a really awkward place.
The top of the wound is on the mend (about 2 inches or 5cm of it is sorted), but the rest is another story. There is a gaping hole right on the joint behind his leg, so every time he moves, it pulls the wound apart and it just won't heal! Is there any way to get this closed up for good? Especially since I've already shelled out about £270 for all this...
You'll understand my worry better when you see the photo. 😕😕
Translated from French
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Blimey, talk about an absolute nightmare!!!!!!
Honestly, where on earth did the vets in your area learn how to do stitches? Seriously, it’s just hopeless!!
Try switching vets yet again; you’ve got to find a decent one eventually!
The 14-day antibiotic jab won’t stop the wound from getting infected or picking up all sorts of nasties—these cowboy vets are so frustrating!
He's a young cat, only 1 year and 8 months old, and he's already had a bit of a rough start in life (found on the streets at 3 or 4 months old, skin and bone, worms etc.). But now he’s a big, sturdy lad, so I’m hoping I can make his life even better once again. One thing’s for sure though – I’m not leaving him like this!!!
This is already the second vet I've seen for my cat 😅. The first was the emergency vet who first treated him last Saturday after his injury; she did the surgery, the stitches and everything. Then on Monday, I saw another out-of-hours vet who put the staples in and gave him a 14-day antibiotic jab. Two different vets and no improvement at all. To top it off, they've charged me around £270 in total for such a "shoddy job", only for my cat to end up in this state two days later...
Hi Sylvie, Hi Ulalie and Titejava 🙂 Adding my two pence as well: that’s a nasty wound in a bad spot, AND a rubbish vet who doesn't know how to do proper stitches! I had a similar experience with a vet who mostly dealt with farm animals like cows and horses; he stitched up a cat's eye using what looked like garden twine. 😔 I also had a female cat back in the days before quick-release collars: she’d got her front leg caught in her collar, which had basically "sawn" through about 4 inches of skin behind the joint (could that be what happened to your cat?). The first op was botched by the locum — the stitches didn't hold — and the senior vet had to redo the whole thing with fine stitching, 12 or 15 of them + a cone. Phew! I still remember it, even though it was ages ago. You should definitely change vets. Liza
Hi Lyzza, good to see you back! 👌
You beat me to it lol, I was going to say the same thing about the vet. I had the same trouble with Java; the vet gave her stitches and they just popped. I took my girl back to the surgery and he actually told me off, even though I told him she hadn't moved an inch. He just grabbed Java, flipped her over on the table like a piece of rubbish, grabbed the stapler and click-click!!
Poor little thing didn't know what hit her, she yelped like crazy. I had to bite my tongue and wait until it was time to get the staples out, then I changed vets straight away!
Hi Sylvie, Hi Ulalie and Titejava 🙂
I’ll add my two pence as well: that’s a nasty wound in an awkward spot AND a rubbish vet who clearly doesn't know how to stitch properly!
I had a similar situation once with a vet who mostly worked with farm animals like cows and horses; he stitched up a cat’s eye using what was practically bits of string. 😔
I also had a female cat back in the days before quick-release collars were a thing: she’d managed to get her front leg through her collar, which had "sawn" through the skin for over 10 cm behind the joint (could that be what’s happened to your cat?).
The first operation was botched by the locum—the stitches didn't hold—and the head vet had to redo the whole thing with about 12 or 15 tiny stitches, plus a cone. Phew! I still remember it clearly, even though it was a long time ago.
You should definitely look for another vet.
Liza
Ah right, so it must be an issue with the tissue not knitting back together or the vet didn't do the stitches right. You might want to look into switching vets if you can, because this is all getting to be a bit much now, to be honest.
If only he were tearing around... But that's far from the case. For a week now, he’s been doing the same thing: sleeping, eating, drinking, and doing his business. The same thing every single day. He doesn’t go outside either, doesn't jump on the furniture, doesn't run, nothing... So, yeah.
