Posted by Carlee on April 14, 2003 at 22:03:01:
I have 2 male guinea pigs that were housed in a custom built cage with no roof (they are inside) for practicality reasons. One night our cat snuck in and I found him with one of the guineas in his mouth, still alive (I give credit to the cat, he's a heavy pig!). The pig (Pugsley) was alright, but a few days later formed an abscess behind his shoulder from the cat bite. I took him to the vet who drained the abscess and put him on medication for 3 days. Pugsley got sick, basically from not moving (it hurt him too much), and he only ate greens for a few days (wouldn't touch pellets or a mix I give them). About a week and a half later, the empty pocket of skin eventually grew out, so there was a fairly large fleshy wound on his side. I've been treating it with peroxide which dries it out and forms a protective scab, applying it whenever the wound gets fleshy. But it irritates Pugsley to death! The scab itches him and he jumps around making a loud, painful noise and scratches and bites it, making the wound fleshy again (sometimes it bleeds) and so starts the cycle of drying it out again. I've tried a bandage over it but all he does is chew it. Its been 3 months since the cat attack. Pugsley is back to normal health, except he scratches the dry scab until it peels away and exposes flesh, it really bothers him. Does anyone have some suggestions to help it heal (it has reduced to about half its original size) or will I (and pugsley) just have to put up with it and keep applying peroxide? Its doing the job, but it is taking a long time and my guinea is nearly insane! :)
Thankyou in advance for any input, and sorry about the long post but I had to explain the full story.
n.b: The guineas are now in a fully enclosed cage!
