Why do sores smell?

Discussion in 'Biology & Genetics' started by Orleander, Apr 30, 2009.

  1. Orleander OH JOY!!!! Valued Senior Member

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    My stupid stupid cat got outside a week ago and didn't come home til the next morning. Today I noticed she smelled bad and was lethargic so I packed her up and took her to the vet.
    When I opened the carrier there was blood and bits of cat on the inside. My stomach rolled.

    Apparently she had gotten into a fight with something and had a gaping wound just under her ear that was infected. Her ear canal was swollen shut and the vet was pretty sure her eardrum was gone.

    If my cat hadn't smelled, I never would have taken her to the vet. Was the smell from dead flesh or pus?
     
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  3. cosmictraveler Be kind to yourself always. Valued Senior Member

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    Why didn't you examine them one at a time to see where the smell originated from? It could have been either.
     
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  5. tablariddim forexU2 Valued Senior Member

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    I know that stale sweat smells because the bacteria that feeds on it defecate, yes it's actually bacteria shit that gives sweat such a bad name. I would imagine that untreated wounds would culture their own bacteria that feed on it and then do a number 2.
     
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  7. Orleander OH JOY!!!! Valued Senior Member

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    so its not the skin or the pus that smells, its the bacteria waste. What is pus anyways?
     
  8. Dr Mabuse Percipient Thaumaturgist Registered Senior Member

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    It is the immune system of the body trying to fight the invading bacteria.

    So pus is a 'soup' of white blood cells(mostly dead) and the noxious bacteria, the invader.

    Cats have a natural proclivity To abscess, if you own one you should check for abscesses often, and particularly when there is a behavior change.

    A small pinhole puncture from a claw can turn into a massive abscess in a cat.

    This stink is indeed the smell of bacterial waste product. Our noses are chemical sensors, though most people don't think about them that way.

    I would hope that vet knows enough to drain that abscess to try to save the ear, vets are very hit and miss.
     
  9. Orleander OH JOY!!!! Valued Senior Member

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    Thanks Doc!
     
  10. Repo Man Valued Senior Member

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    Just about everything has an odor. Whether we perceive the chemicals that reach our olfactory receptors as good or bad is heavily influenced by natural selection. The odors of putrescine and cadaverine, both found in rotting flesh, are very offensive to us humans (with good reason, they are toxic to us), but are obviously not found to be unpleasant to the carrion eaters that they attract in such large numbers. We think dog doo smells terrible, flies have another opinion. I'd have to imagine there are odors that humans find pleasing that other animals must find very unpleasant.
     
  11. Repo Man Valued Senior Member

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    Cats have a very nasty bacteria in their mouths, and cat bites often result in deep puncture wounds. I had an index finger get seriously infected many years ago when a semi feral cat bit me. And my outdoor cat Charlie had a nasty infection in one of his rear paws because of some jerk tom cat attacking him last year. The vet gave me some anti biotics for him, and being the good cat that he is, he never gave me a problem when I gave him his medicine.
     
  12. wynn ˙ Valued Senior Member

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    Such as perfumes.
     
  13. Orleander OH JOY!!!! Valued Senior Member

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    I wish I had seen the wound sooner, but with her long hair I missed it
    She has been very good taking the meds and ear drops. The vet says she thinks the eardrum is gone, but it should repair itself. I didn't know eardrums grew back. :shrug:
     
  14. John99 Banned Banned

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    ever smell a sneeze?

    ha ha ha
     
  15. Orleander OH JOY!!!! Valued Senior Member

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    LOL, no. felt one, never smelled one.

    When I saw the inside of the cat carrier though and saw the spatter, I thought she was sneezing/coughing up blood.

    With an abscess like that, will it naturally rupture or does something need to break it?
     
  16. fedr808 1100101 Valued Senior Member

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    I always thought it was the bacteria but thats my opinion.
     
  17. takandjive Killer Queen Registered Senior Member

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    Sometimes they rupture on their own. Sometimes they don't. Your vet should be able to tell you whether or not it needs to be lanced, but you can encourage draining by having the cat lie on a heating pad or hot water bottle.
     
  18. markl323 Registered Senior Member

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    maybe the cat farted:bugeye:
     
  19. Dr Mabuse Percipient Thaumaturgist Registered Senior Member

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    One of the reasons cats abscess so badly is their bodies seal off the abscess. They won't drain on their own.

    I had a cat that I had not seen for two days, discovered him and knew to check for problems. He literally looked like he had been shot in the head, he had a hole in his head the size of a .22 caliber bullet hole that was clogged shut by dried pus and lymphatic fluid. I thought someone had shot him.

    His head was misshapen by the amount of pus in that abscess. This was decades ago and I thought my cat was done for. I used hydrogen peroxide on the wound to moisten and get rid of the blockage. The pus came out like someone squeezing a brand new large tube of toothpaste, it stayed in the shape of the hole like toothpaste. It kept coming and coming, and I kept keeping it out of his eyes and wiping it away. Finally it slowed down and I moved my hand to the back of the abscess near his ears and pressed down and moved my hands towards the hole just over his eyes. Tons more pus.

    I knew then he was feeling better and off to the emergency vet we went. They basically finished doing the same thing I was with pressing the pus out, then filled a large plastic syringe with an Iodine solution, stuck it in the hole and freaking high pressure washed the abscess sac out to get it clean, while covering his eyes .

    It was a single claw prick from another cat that had caused it. The other two claw punctures around it just left small scabs.

    You can also soak a wound in/with warm epsom salt water and it will loosen and drain an abscess, I've done that on paws. Did it daily for a week and the thing healed right up. It was swollen badly, huge, with an abscess at the start. I drained it, applied topical anti biotic, and soaked in epsom salts. With that kind of help a cat will really come around fast.

    Neosporin is like a miracle cream for cats with injuries. Just apply very little 2 or 3 times a day, you don't want them licking it up, .
     
  20. Asguard Kiss my dark side Valued Senior Member

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    i dont know about cats but i do know human eardrums grow back fairly well. lots of kids (including my brother and myself) get a condition called glue ear where fluid builds up on the otherside of the eardrum but because of the child's airway anat and the infection it cant drain down the back of the throat. this often results in a ruptured eardrum (my brother got at least 2) and the tratment is to insert gromets into the drum so the fluid can drain out through the drum and out the ear cannel. these gromits grow out eventually as the hole closes
     
  21. Orleander OH JOY!!!! Valued Senior Member

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    :wallbang:

    DUH!!! I should have known that. How could I forget about the grommets. We call them tubes here in the US and my son had them in his ears. How embarrassing that I forgot.
     

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