Injury Open Wound - Guinea Pig Cages, Care, Store, Photos of Guinea Pigs and More Forum!

EvelynsCavies · #1 10-28-09, 01:20 pm

I woke up this morning to find one of my baby piggies had an open wound on his neck/shoulder blades. I'm not sure if it's from the mom or if one of the cats got him (I put a heavy quilt over the cage at night and it looked slightly moved on one side). I cleaned the wound (as best I could) and put Bag Balm on it, what else should I do?

**Paula** · #2 10-28-09, 01:31 pm

Take him to a vet. That appears to be a pretty significant injury that will very likely abscess without treatment. Send me a PM and I can give you the names and numbers of 5 vets in this area (I'm just south of Portland) if you don't know of any.

If there's still a chance your cats can get to the cage/pigs, please take all precautions to prevent them from getting to the pigs. A quilt isn't going to keep a determined cat from getting into the cage and if you have a cat with a high prey drive, it's highly likely s/he'll keep hurting and/or possibly killing one or more of your pigs.

**Toadies** · #3 10-28-09, 01:36 pm

Paula's right. No matter how good your cat is, it's still a cat and will always have a degree of unpredictability. Better safe than sorry.

**blackarrow** · #4 10-28-09, 01:39 pm

Vet, vet, vet. That might need stitches.

I'm sorry for the poor baby.

**JD In Van** · #5 10-28-09, 02:14 pm

Especially if there's a possibility that it's a cat it needs to go to the vet. Cats have a bacteria on their claws that is specifically meant to cause rapid infection in prey animals that will kill prey that get away.

**Paula** · #6 10-28-09, 02:23 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by JD In Van

Especially if there's a possibility that it's a cat it needs to go to the vet. Cats have a bacteria on their claws that is specifically meant to cause rapid infection in prey animals that will kill prey that get away.

Excellent point, and something I'd forgotten about. This is also true of their saliva; so either way, if there's any chance it was a cat that did this, and based on the photo of the wound I really suspect it must have been, the piggy needs to get in, stat.

**Cogni** · #7 10-28-09, 02:37 pm

If it's a C&C cage, the grids are big enough for a cat's paw to get through.
They could nose the quilt aside a little and then stick a paw in to try to get the poor piggie. Can you zip tie closet shelving around the accessible parts of the cage?

**Heady** · #8 10-28-09, 02:39 pm

Hi Evelynscavies! Everyone here is giving you excellent advice, and I hope you are able to find a vet to treat your pig.

I wanted to post because I have cats too, and one ALWAYS wants to be with the pigs. He is allowed to sit with them during their play time, but I never leave him (or the other 2 cats) unsupervised with the pigs. Since you only have a quilt to use to cover the cage, I figured I would suggest what I do and maybe you can make it work.

Right now my cage is 3 grids by 4 grids. I didn't have the money or the resources to make a cage topper out of closet shelving (which, if you can swing this, you should! It looks very secure and a lot of people on here use it...there are lots and lots of pictures and advice on how to make it!!), so I took 4 pieces of foam core and taped them together. Inside the cage, in the middle, I have a milk crate on its side to support the foam core topper when it's on (I take it off during the day) and it's about 4 inches short of reaching the other side, so I use 4 grids zip tied together to cover the 4 inch opening that goes along the one side.

I don't know if I described it right, but I will try to get a picture up of what I'm talking about. If you can't afford to buy closet shelving, this works well for me and the cats can't get in! Having rulers tied to each upper corner of the cage helps to keep the foam core from being caved in as well.

I hope you get to find a good vet and I really hope your piggy recovers!

***EDIT**** I also forgot to say that having the cage off the floor helps some too! That way they can't lounge next to the cage and get their kitty paws inside!

**2pigs2kids** · #9 10-28-09, 03:17 pm

Oh gosh, please get him right to the vet, I agree it looks like it will need stitches and you really don't want to risk the possibility of infection. Good luck!!

EvelynsCavies · #10 10-29-09, 12:59 am

The piggy is not doing very well. Her mother is rejecting her, won't let her nurse or even come near her or the other babies. The piggy was eating/drinking for me earlier on but now won't take anything I offer. I'm worried she's not going to make it, I feel so helpless, I wish I could hit a rewind button and prevent this from having happened :( This incident will DEFINITELY be incorporated into my cage remodel. I will be making the cages completely impenetrable by the cats. Our cats are young and can reach through the closet shelves, which is why I haven't wasted my $$ going that route, I will have to be more creative I suppose. I have the piggy in some cozy towels by my bed for the night, if she isn't going to make it she at least deserves to be warm and in a loving environment instead of hiding in the corner of her cage while her mom and siblings avoid her like the plague!

**Peggysu** · #11 10-29-09, 01:15 am

Did you contact a vet?

**Toadies** · #12 10-29-09, 06:43 am

Piggies give up pretty quickly. GET IT TO A VET! You can drape or wrap your cage with a $4 roll of window screen to keep your cats' paws out until you can make other arrangements.

**JD In Van** · #13 10-29-09, 07:58 am

A vet can give you anitibiotics to stop the infection and save the piggie.

**tree_hugger** · #14 10-29-09, 07:59 am

Just checking to see how your pig is doing. I hope you got him to a vet.

**Paula** · #15 10-29-09, 08:27 am

Quote:

The piggy is not doing very well.

Did you contact Dr. Weinstein or Southwest Animal Hospital? Either could have helped you with this pig and given you proper treatment to help this animal, and possibly still could if you call them this morning. If neither of those places is convenient, I know of at least two others that are available today.

Quote:

I have the piggy in some cozy towels by my bed for the night, if she isn't going to make it she at least deserves to be warm and in a loving environment instead of hiding in the corner of her cage while her mom and siblings avoid her like the plague!

She deserves to be euthanized humanely if you aren't going to get medical treatment for her rather than slowly dying in pain in your home.

**fieryone** · #16 10-29-09, 08:44 am

This animal deserves to be seen by a vet just as a dog or cat does. Please bring the poor baby to the vet either for treatment or euthanasia if it's now too late for treatment. It's not fair for it to die a slow and surely painful death when some antibiotics and stitches would have saved the pig. Maybe it still can?

**angiekay** · #17 10-29-09, 09:29 am

Oh my gosh, this brought tears to my eyes, that baby is a bit smaller than my 2 babies I just got!! I can't imagine how I would feel, and DEF would take to vet for care, I would be histerical until I KNEW I did what I could to help the poor baby!!! Poor little thing.......

EvelynsCavies · #18 10-29-09, 10:26 am

I did take the baby piggy to the vet. She received stitches and an antibiotic. She is just giving up living. Her mother (or any of my other pigs) will have nothing to do with her and she now refuses to eat anything I offer, including formula. I love how everyone on this site is quick to assume that individuals are neglectful and don't properly treat their animals......

**Paula** · #19 10-29-09, 10:28 am

Which vet, out of curiosity?

And what antibiotic were you given? Did you also get something for pain and probiotics to give?

**JD In Van** · #20 10-29-09, 10:29 am

Well you didn't say if you'd gotten treatment. Just that she was dying. Does your vet have critical care. You can force feed her.

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