bad skin infection from cat scratch?

staticsnana

long story short. we came home from the funeral home and noticed that the small of the back of the dogs was all patchy. we had not noticed before that but we thought it was due to our constant runningaround taking care of the funeral arrangements. it had small bare patches with scratch marks going through them and a area the size of a 4 - 5 inch patchcy square that looked like they were shedding and spotting sores. i have cared for animals numerous times and got out our animal first aide kit and cleaned it up and cut the fur around it really short. she took it to the vet and he had to lance some of the small scratches and put her on antibiotics. they also had to irrigate under the skin. tonight after coming home again, i noticed the area directly under her tail was raw and scratched and swollen. he told us that this infect was probably why she hasnt eaten very much.

we can not get a appointment even with a emerg vet until tomorrow and i am using the medicated soap to keep the whole area clean and put her cream. problem is there is a really really foul smell coming from the area. im coaxing small bits of hamburger into her. any idea what is causing the odor? its really really bad. poor baby

ACampbell

First off, my condolences on a loss in your family.
Secondly, the smell could be anything, but infections tend to have a horrid reek to them because of the dead flesh and dead white blood cells...Not much in the way of suggestions, just try to keep it clean as you've been doing until you can see the vet...nothing really abrasive (rubbing alcohol and such tends to sear the skin and though it cleans really well can make for larger scars or longer healing times) Betadyne (spelling?) seems to work really well, also kind of helps the smell. I put this on my newest adoptee when I got him home, he had infected fighting wounds on his head, legs, and neck...the smell was horrendous, to say the very least.

Renoman

My sympathies to you and your family on your loss.

Cat scratches can be the WORST.

When Tessa was 8 wks old I took her to a friends house. One of my friends cats attacked Tessa scratching her ear and within 24 hours her ear was swollen and infected. She looked deformed because the swelling was so bad. I took her to the vet, they kept her overnite and inserted a drain in her ear. She was on antibiotics for 14 days, after which the drain was removed.

Who's to say what's going on without seeing your dog first hand, and I'm no vet, but I'd have to say a cat scratch can cause numerous bacterial infections. Your dog should revisit the vet to make sure they are treating him/her appropriately.