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View Full Version : I think Sami has a BOT!



Milo's Mom
10-01-2012, 09:46 AM
This morning when Sami stopped by for a few nuts, I noticed that she was missing some fur from the side of her face. She moves CONSTANTLY so it is hard to get a good close look and taking a pic right now is impossible. The area missing fur is about the size of a quarter and in the middle of the area there is a small bump with a dark center.

The best way I can describe where it is...below her eye in the area of her lower jaw bone...maybe just slightly under the backside of her jaw, sort of the area where the neck stops and the underside of the head begins...just above the area where scritchies are given for armage.

I am worried that with it being in this location it will cause her problems with eating and breathing. I know there is not much, if anything, I can do about it right now except for watch and wait.

She is as wild as they come and leary of EVERYTHING. Her weight looks good as does her coat and super full thick tail. I hope she continues to come around daily so I can keep an eye on her. I do not know where she lives. I only know the direction she comes from each day.

At what point do I need to try to catch her, if any? A vet is out of the question, so if it gets bad and she needs help I am on my own.

Have any of our experts ever successfully removed a Bot?
What tools and instruments will I need?
Will using Vaseline force the Bot to come out on it's own or will it just suffocate it and make a bigger problem?
How about meds if I do need to extract it myself? I've got Keflex 500mg, Amoxicillin 500mg, Cipro 500mg, and 1 tablet of Capstar on hand.

I know it is best to leave the Bots alone and that is what I plan to do, the only way I will intervene is if I see her having trouble.

Hopefully it will not cause her any issues and it will go away on its own, I just wanted to be prepared and ready to act if she needs help.

I will try to get some pics, but I seriously do not think it's going to be possible. If it's not a bot, then it is the beginning of an abscess with a bite mark in the middle of it. The missing fur and the dark center is what is making me think bot. Right now the "bump" is about the size of (diameter) of a pencil eraser.

Rhapsody
10-01-2012, 01:24 PM
Yes, it has been said that placing Vaseline over a bot fly will suffocate it causing it to surface for air and then it can be gotten out with tweezers....... but as we all know its best to leave it to its self and allow it to come out on its own.

Foamy the squirrel
10-01-2012, 02:36 PM
wats a bot?

Jackie in Tampa
10-01-2012, 02:50 PM
blow fly larva.
The site is actually called a warble until it leaves.

geocat52
10-02-2012, 10:57 AM
Can tell you what my vet told me 35 or so years ago when I had a cat with one: Never kill it and leave it...best to let it come out on its own. (Advise after treating cat for infection, dead bot caused it. Live and learn.):dono

That being said, I have removed live ones with tweezers prior to that and after, once the opening was large enough to work in. Not fun and I hope it is something I never have to do again! Nasty creatures, they are!:shakehead