We decided not to take the risk to wait until tomorrow morning as the wound is on the neck. From what I know of puncture wounds, the antibiotic treatment has to start as soon as possible to prevent pus formation. Also, he wasn’t eating at all, which was worrying.
So at 8.30pm, we took Cow Mau to the 24hr veterinary hospital down in KL.
Unfortunately, there was only one vet on duty, so we still had to wait a bit.
The vet checked Cow’s temperature and he has no fever. She then shaved the area of the wound in order to determine how deep it is. As I had guessed, it was a single puncture wound so it must have been a claw wound and not a bite wound (this would be two puncture marks).
Then she cleaned the wound and applied a bandage around Cow’s neck. Since we already have Tramadol and Beazyme at home, all Cow Mau needed and this was very important, is the antibiotic, Clavamox.
The vet gave an Ampicilin injection (antibiotic) for tonight as the injection would work faster but it would only last 8 hours. This is to be followed by oral Clavamox (the vet gave a liquid form) for 7 days, starting tomorrow, twice daily.
After examining the wound, the vet said there is no pus (yet). The area around it is swollen, most likely due to the trauma of having that claw-punctured wound.
Hopefully, the antibiotics will kick in soon and prevent the formation of pus.
The vet said to monitor the wound for 3 days. If there is no improvement, Cow Mau would need a follow-up. Maybe the wound would need to be drained if there is pus. She mentioned that a local anaesthesia can also be used for this procedure, if need be. I was worried if a general anaesthesia is needed as Cow is already 17 years old.
The vet also said that the wound is superficial and there is no serious rupture of any kind. I did ask if the swelling would impede his breathing and the vet assured me that that is not likely to happen as the wound is superficial.
We reached home at 11pm.
Cow Mau was given a hero’s welcome by all his friends.
Indy was on hand to welcome his comrade-in-arms.
There are, after all, only two of them now in the Brotherhood.
I’ll have to clean Cow Mau’s wound daily and re-apply a fresh bandage.
Cow Mau is eating his Coco&Joe’s!! This is a good sign.
The Blondies were all around their hero, Uncle Cow Mau.
Back to more normal behaviour. Perhaps the Tramadol has kicked in as well.
Cleo decided she would have a snack too.
Meanwhile, when we came back, Ginger and the Monsters were unusually quiet but they too came to the screen doors to check what is going on.
Now, which of the Monsters attacked Uncle Cow Mau???
I guess we will never know.
But boys will be boys.
I’d have to think twice about leaving Stargate open for easy access. Our warriors are still warriors. All it takes is a few seconds of a scuffle to inflict such injuries. Cow Mau and Indy are getting old and they are not as fast as they used to be. The Monsters have the benefit of youth.