Cat Caught Male with Eye Injury

[MommaLove]

My neighbor heard some scuffling and screatching in the tree by his house last night. When he checked it out today he found a young male squirrel with severe injuries. He brought him to me and here is what we have:

Baby Boy

Weight 177 grams
Approx age about 14 weeks (guesstimate)


Injuries
Severe gash in the left eye - Eye is swollen and red with goo around it and a cut or bite near front of his snout

Right side Rear - Bite and Scratch

Rear leg and Tail Paralysis - no movement at all. He is pulling himself with front legs


He is pooing, but I have yet to see pee.

Here is what I have done

Dosage of Baytril

Hydrating and he took 2.5cc of hydrating fluid. Once I get him several doses of hydrating fluid I will start him with a bit of the GM Formula and then get him some block tomorrow. I want him to get some fluids in him. He does seem otherwise healthy and hydrated.

Any suggestion for his eye this evening. The vets are not open until the a.m.. I have cleansed all the wounds and also took a warm cloth and saline solution to cleanse the eye. He seemed to really like the warm wash cloth on his eye. I can clearly see the big gash towards the top of his eye ball.

Any suggestions? I have been to CVS, Walgreens, and the market Pharmacy and no one carries over the counter salve for the eye. :-( You have to have a prescription.

Prayers for this little man

[SammysMom]

Maybe a bit of Neosporin around but NOT on the eye itself. Poor guy...
Thank goodness he has you to help him...

[MommaLove]

I cleansed the eye with a eye solution that I have and cleansed all wounds (not the eye ball) with Povidone Iodine to help prevent any infection. Then cleansed it down with warm wash cloth. He seems to be warming up on the heating pad.

I am going to give him more hydrating fluid in half hour and then see if he is interested in some formula.

Just worried about pain with his poor eye...

Also, the paralysis with his rear legs and tail. Could that be just reaction to the cat bite and scratches? Cause he is still pooping and they are nice little brown nuggets not to wet or to dry. Perfect and big. LOL! Love squirrel poop too funny

[sdreamcatcher]

What a sweet handsome boy; hopefully the paralysis is temporary. Lots fo prayers going out to this little guy

[SammysMom]

Once he is hydrated give formula. He looks really dehydrated so it might take several feedings of hydration fluids.

[MommaLove]

He is getting more spunk. He is getting his bearings a little now. I was able to get a better picture of his eye.

He has also started peeing!!! YEA and more poop. Not sure how long this little guy was hurt sometime between 1 or 2 am and when I received him around 3pm today.

So he wasn't alone for more than 12 hours. He has now taken a good dose of hydrating fluid. He has been resting and seems more alert than before.

ALL GOOD SIGNS! All internals are working properly with good poos and pees. So that would lead me to assume (which of course you know the saying), that the paralysis is temporary.

I will dose Baytril again tomorrow and for the next 6 days. Keeping fingers crossed that this little man will pull through!!!

[SammysMom]

Excellent news! Remember with ABs to give yogurt or another probiotic for his tummy. ABs are hard on the gut! It sure sounds like he is on the right track. Thank-you so much for giving him a good start on his road to recovery!

[MommaLove]

Yes he took 3cc for GM formula with Full Fat Yogurt and he devoured the 3cc.

He is doing much better. Still a long road to recovery, but as you stated I think he is on the right track. Poor Little Man.

My daughter just named him Xavier.

[SammysMom]

A strong name for a strong little guy... That yogurt will help him with those ABs in his little empty tummy.

[MommaLove]

Alright, hr is snuggled in my arms as I play with his legs and feet. They are warm and seem to have a little tension around knee area..he pulls back it seems. only one leg.

Well I believe he is ready for bed...updates in the a.m.

[SammysMom]

Nitey Night little Xavier...

[MommaLove]

Okay a quick question. Little Xavier's eye keeps bleeding. It is fresh bright red. Not a lot of blood but it is there. Is this good bad or indifferent on the spotting of blood.

I am hoping that tomorrow it will not be spotting any longer.

I have never had an eye injury baby so I am trying to make sure I do everything correct to ensure the best healing...

[ALittleNutty]

So glad you got him and can take care of him. Poor little guy. Wishing him a great recovery.

[lilidukes]

Just wanted to add eyeballs have a remarkable
ability to heal. Hoping this is the case here.

But if your vet wants to remove the eyeball
please be sure to insist they remove the
tear duct. Other wise in the future there
is always the possibility of infection.

Handsome boy with a great name.

Xavier

[SammysMom]

I am not sure on the bleeding eye. Sorry to not be much help!

[island rehabber]

MommaLove, can your vet do an xray? I'm a little concerned with the uneven line of his back....maybe a fracture? (hope not, but just in case...)

[MommaLove]

I will take a better picture of him lying flat. His spine feels good and intact. We will see what the vet suggests tomorrow. The neighbors cat sure got this little one good.

I am going to suggest xray for this little guy, The more I feel on his belly the more concerned I get. I feel a lot of hard knots on one side. ???

Call the vet in the a.m., my daughter has surgery tomorrow so hopefully we can get the vet to work with us.

[Sweet Simon's Mommy]

His pelvis could be broken from the position of his hind legs.
Regular saline eye drops used for people with contact lenses is good , will help sooth, dont let the tip touch anything , you want it sterile
I have prednisolone acetate drops....don't know if you should use it or not . It was for a squirrel with different issues, swelling mostly.
if that is a gash into the eye itself, it may heal and just scar, or it could drain out and shrivel, depends on how deep it is.

[Loopy Squirrel]

I would try to get an x-ray. I agree w/ Maura that it looks as though there is a slight kink in the back in that picture. As for the hardness in the belly it could be a lot of things but I worry about the bladder. How much urine is the squirrel producing? If he is just leaking a little bit out at a time it could possibly be his bladder swelling. It could also be internal injuries. I have also had squirrels that had a pelvic fracture that mimicked spinal damage. As for the eye, I would be careful about putting anything in it right now. It looks like the baby had a direct puncture to the eyeball. They are very vascular and can bleed a lot. I would use a piece of gauze soaked &wrung out w/ straight distilled water and apply it to the eye if it continues to bleed heavily. It will also help to keep it moist if the baby cannot close his lid.

SSM, I just posted and saw you thought the same thing. We must have been posting at the same time.

[MommaLove]

Thank you for all the advice. Going to contact the vet again in the a.m. to.get an appt.

He woke up crying. I gave him more hydrating fluid. He loves it! I use water, sugar, and a dan of organic molasses.

He has taken about 6cc of GM formula and a total of 12 cc of.hydrating fluids since I received him.

He seems to.be doing better, but will not rest unless I am holding him. He's sleeping well.on my chest right.now. He is finally sleeping sound.

He is peeing good (not just dribbles) and pooping good.

I will def get xray of of his belly spine and legs. Poor baby. I think he has siblings...he seems.so lonely and.scared by himself.