There is a Hole in My Cat

For 18 June 2007

Health issues can be a dominating factor in Cancerian lives during June 18-21. Any problem that arises now should be given due attention and not be brushed aside.

I thought they meant me. But they meant my cat Sam (Blue). Tonight, he was upside down doing the couch surf. I leaned over to reprimand the paws, and saw something near his hoo-haw that didn't look right. Blue knew he was being reprimanded and shot off. I caught him and flipped him over to have a look.

Egads.

I thought at first glance that his hoo-haw was inflamed because I saw reddish-pink. Well, it's not his hoo-haw. It's his SKIN.

There is a very strange open wound on his belly right above his hoo-haw that is about a half-inch long. It wasn't bleeding. Nothing was coming out (like innards, they all appear *knock wood* to be where they are supposed to be). But it looks like his skin just split open. It looks "healed". And there's an indentation like a pocket. The pocket is pink skin, no fur, and a tad reddish, like it's slightly irritated.

He realized I was staring at it and got stressed and started complaining. I didn't dare touch it. It's strange because it looks like it should be bloody and torn, but it's neat around the edges. Like a belly button.

Can cats have huge belly buttons (innies)?

I noticed this at 4:00 AM. The vet opens at 8:00. The cat carrier is ready. It's not (I don't think) an emergency requiring waking the vet four hours before he has to be at work. I think we can hold on another 2.5 hours. Blue doesn't appear to be in much pain and the wound isn't changing. It's like a wound that is not a wound. He is still high energy, careening around like usual. He has an appetite, and I saw him drink water. He looks fine, acts fine, which is why when I saw this thing, I freaked. For all I know, it's been there for awhile, but he never complained or revealed himself to me to see it. And it's not like I go around checking near my cats' hoo-haws for bizarre alien openings.

It does NOT look like any tumors I've ever seen. It's like a hole that healed.

It brought to mind this horrendous story (with Thank God a happy ending) I read a few years back about a guy who learned his lesson about leaving the dishwasher door down with dishes in it and leaving knives pointing up. His cat leaped from the counter to the floor and just grazed the tip of the knife, practically eviscerating herself. But she lived. He found her, uh, well, you can imagine... rolled her up in a towel and got to the vet. They put her back together, stitched her up, and she was just fine.

So that leaves me wondering:
What IS this thing on my beloved blue cat?
and
How on Earth did it get there?

Of course the internet is not my friend. The cat web MD sites do the same thing as the people version does—create worry about dread awful things. But there are other things not so bad, fixable, 100% recovery. That's what we're going for, here, people. So send us some positive vibes for a full recovery and a big WHEW! from me when the vet gives his diagnosis. I'm just going to stay awake until dawn and be the first one in the door.

Y'know, this WOULD happen on what will be a big day for my horses. (More on that story—positive story—later... after the fact.)

Wish us all luck!

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Labels: breaking news, cats, injuries

posted by Jeanne @ 5:13 AM