Nerve Damage From Cat Bite.........

[LiLTreeRat]

Hello all! This is my first post, new here....so intros first..... :)

My name is Angel, aka "Treerat" The nickname started as simply "Squirrel" because I could never make up my mind and reminded everyone of a squirrel in the road trying to figure out which way to run. Seems SO wrong, I know!Later, a quote from a movie...can't remember the name...."Squirrels aint nothin' but damn 'ol tree rats!", well, you can guess the rest. :D

I have worked in the veterinary field for about 17 years and have successfully raised and released 4 orphaned squirrels over the years.

Last week a client brought in about a five week old baby boy that her cat had brought into the house. I didn't think he was going to make it. He was severly dehydrated, very lethargic and had a minor puncture wound on each shoulder from the cats teeth. Amazingly, he is alive and well today, except for his front legs/ arms. At first, he wasn't using them at all, just dragging them under himself as he pushed along with his rear legs. Now he can move them, but hasn't much strength in them. They cross over each other when he feeds rather than gripping the syringe. There seems to be improvement day by day, but I am concerned if he will fully recover. Has anyone had experience with this? If he doesn't recover, what would his quality of life be? I certainly wouldn't release him. If I keep him....is it true that adult males can get rather aggressive as adults? Any advice?

Thanks!

[Anne]

First, any wild animal can get aggressive as they age. Males can revert every spring for days or weeks. All most all will have that instinct during mating season.
Second, I didn't see how long you have had this baby. Damaged nerves can result from neck and back trauma, and can take months to heal. Best medicine to give a cat attack is Baytril. Other antibiotics are not as effective and will take longer or may not work at all.
At least the little fellow is still with you and nursing which is good. Only time will tell.
Welcome to the Squirrel Board, glad you found us.

[LiLTreeRat]

Thanks for your reply Anne.... I'm well aware all wild animals can get aggressive as adults...I guess I meant as far as squirrels go...as opposed to females...just a general question. :)

I have had him for about a week and a half....he's showing lots of improvement, Im just trying to prepare myself for the possibility of him not being able to be released.
His wounds have healed nicely externally. I will look into dosing baytril, but I suppose the risk of infection should have passed by now?? The Veterinarian did give him an antibiotic injection when he first came in.

BTW...I did try to contact the local wildlife rehabber, but she has yet to call me back. At this point, I am dedicated to doing what I can to hopefully get this little fella well and get him out in the woods where he belongs, but if he doesn't get 100% better, that is out of the question, and I need to learn all I can about having one of these little guys living with me for the long haul! :tilt

[mpetys]

Hi! Last year, I had a 5 week old baby brought to me that had been mauled by a cat. He was literally removed from the mouth of a cat who was playing with him like a rag doll. When I got him, he had several holes in him and they were full of maggots. The theory is that he was mauled earlier, due to the amount of maggot infestation and the cat just was having his way with him again or possibly a different cat came upon him.

Anyhow, here is a link to the thread about him if you care to look: http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25090&highlight=davey

Also, below are links to four videos I took of him showing the damage to his arm and leg on the right side:


http://m.youtube.com/watch?desktop_uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fw atch%3Fv%3DxAXYYY9atqk&v=xAXYYY9atqk&gl=US

http://m.youtube.com/watch?gl=US&warned=True&client=mv-google&hl=en&v=BZM3BixbbTs

http://m.youtube.com/watch?gl=US&warned=True&client=mv-google&hl=en&v=BWaGcYov9fg

http://m.youtube.com/watch?gl=US&warned=True&client=mv-google&hl=en&v=ViiE9MuGZQA

Davey recovered and moves around pretty fast in his cage, but he only jumps about 15 to 18 inches and he is proud of that! I don't think he ever regained full strength in his grip on his two front paws. For those reasons, I never released him. He is now almost 8 months old and a pure joy. He is different from other squirrels in that he seems immature. He seems like he never outgrew that loveable, sweet baby stage. He seemed open to being friends with another of my squirrels, so several months ago, I tried to make it happen. He was fine with the other squirrel, actually excited until that squirrel playfully popped him on his bottom or pounced on him, Davey reacted like a terrified baby, crying and hiding (in plain site) from the other squirrel. Five minutes later, all was forgiven and Davey sought out the other squirrel, who groomed him, then pounced on him to play and then ran away. Davey stood there crying like a small baby crying for his momma. He stood there staring at me, screaming, so I had to go get him. :)

Davey has done well except about a month ago, I woke up to find that he did not come out of his nest box to greet me or for food. Got the nest box open and found him pretty lethargic with a huge amount of swelling around his neck and shoulders. My first thought was MBD, but that couldn't be because Davey is my best eater. He is fed a healthy diet and he eats all his veggies and I feed him the HHB blocks. I gave him antibiotics and some pain medication. When I would pick him up, he would cry. It was heartbreaking! I took his nest box out and he slept in his hammock bed. Taking that nest box out of the cage and getting it open that first day was horrible agony, knowing he needed help but I couldn't get to him right away.

It was about 10 - 14 days before I felt he was going to be okay. Now he is back to normal but I have watched him more and have seen him lose his grip on the cage bars and fall. Luckily he fell onto his hammock bed but could have just as easily fell and hit the metal wire shelf. I am thinking about adding hanging fleece "shelves" over the wire shelves so if he is climbing upside down on the ceiling and were to fall, the fleece shelves would catch him before he hit the wire shelf.

I don't know if this helps any, it is just my experience with a squirrel that has damage from a cat attack.

[Jackie in Tampa]

:Welcome
an xray would show more, I have large female amputtee due to cat bite in shoulder area...crushed bones, beyond repairable....agree with the baytril advise.
Pics say alot! can you post?

[mugzeezma]

Thanks for your reply Anne.... I'm well aware all wild animals can get aggressive as adults...I guess I meant as far as squirrels go...as opposed to females...just a general question. :)

I have had him for about a week and a half....he's showing lots of improvement, Im just trying to prepare myself for the possibility of him not being able to be released.
His wounds have healed nicely externally. I will look into dosing baytril, but I suppose the risk of infection should have passed by now?? The Veterinarian did give him an antibiotic injection when he first came in.

BTW...I did try to contact the local wildlife rehabber, but she has yet to call me back. At this point, I am dedicated to doing what I can to hopefully get this little fella well and get him out in the woods where he belongs, but if he doesn't get 100% better, that is out of the question, and I need to learn all I can about having one of these little guys living with me for the long haul! :tilt

It seems to me that he would have shown some sign of infection by now.
He has only been in your care for 5-6 days, correct? I would give it A LOT more time. If the vet gave him an antibiotic injection he should be okay DO watch for lethargy, anorexia, heat, or swelling at the sight of the bite. You don't want an abscess to develop. I would not give ABs unless he needs them ... they can disrupt his gut flora that at this age is pretty delicate(squirrels have a small hind gut fermentor).
You will have to determine the necessity by how deep the wounds were.

When males come into season you will know...their scrotum becomes enormous. He may or may not become aggressive. Males tend to be sweeter than females. They all have their own unique personalities.

Who knows at this point too whether he will or will not be releasable...it may take months but he may come around. Either way you have a new friend :tilt

[Scooterzmom]

I agree that the risk of infection should have passed by now, especially if your vet gave him an injection right off the bat. As for raising this baby, for now he needs his formula and a chance to slowly recover... that is th best you can offer.

I have raised two males to adulthood and was one of the lucky ones who did not have to cope with agressivity - not with either one of my males - but I do understand that this is the exception... The females I raised became very agressive during that time and I bear the scars to prove it. :tilt However they did go through a very destructive stage during that time. :)

They do develop very quickly and you will need to start preparing to provide for his special needs now. Read the thread on nutrition as this is very important. I would also watch to see what you could provide to help him with some form of "physio-threapy". I know, sounds strange, but just like us, when treated and properly, gently exercized, hte muscles can regain functioning... if not completely at least sufficiently for the little one to get conditioned to his limits.

He is very lucky to have found a new momma who cares and has his best interest at heart. Good luck with him. :grouphug Have you thought of a name? When do we get pics of the little sweetie? :)

[LiLTreeRat]

Thank you all for your wonderful replies! I will certainly check out all the links you have provided. You guys rock! So glad I found you!

I will get some pics posted this week hopefully.

:thankyou :jump

[JLM27]

This is what killed my Little Freddie. He was bitten in the neck and lost the use of his front legs. I think the Wildlife Center euthanized him. But I was told he just passed away overnight.:(