Cat Fights of Male Cats

Timmy's damaged nose. I'll show a picture of his wound next post.

The cat fights of male cats can be heard at night around here. For territorial reasons male cats get into cat fights. This shows how close to the wild dometic cats still are. Obviously a cat has to be an outdoor cat to get into fights although it might happen indoors too. Only indoor cats living with other cats are so close together they will have adapted to the lack of territory and come to accept it - i.e. no cat fights for territory in the conventional sense.

Timmy, the stray cat I feed, keep warm, rest up and generally care for when I can, gets into cat fights. There is nothing I can do about it as he is not mine. Well there is something I probably will have to do about it (see below). After the last fight he got sratched. He had small cuts all over his head and shoulders etc. and on his nose (see picture). I discovered late in the day what appeared to be a fairly innocuous scratch on the top of his head. This over a period of a day or so developed into a lump and off to the vet we had to go as it was almost certainly an infected wound, which turned out to be the case.

He was very well behaved throughout the journey and the minor operation to drain the puss from his wound (there was quite a lot of it). He was given a pain killer and anti-imflammatory and antibiotics. I have to give him an antibiotic pill daily and wash his open wound with salt water daily. The wound is left open for more rapid healing but I am worried about this because he sratches it. What can I do? He just comes and goes.

One last point. I asked the vet to confirm that Timmy is "whole" -- not neutered. And she confirmed this. So the next thing to do it to have him fixed, I guess. This is not something I want to do but we owe it to cats generally to do this as there are too many abandoned cats and Timmy could make more of them! The cat fights of male cats are normal but I wish they could apply a bit of commonsense. Some animals balance the benefits and downside to their actions.

The Cheetah will not fight for her prey that is being stolen by other large predators because if she gets hurt she will lose her speed and that is her main weapon of survival.

Update next day 20th Feb 2009: No sign of Timmy today, yet. He left our home yesterday after the visit to the vet. He ate well and as I said, he left. I couldn't keep him in. I tried but cats have well developed habits and his is to go home, wherever that may be. I am worried for him. He may be a time share cat, sharing accommodation with another person's home. If he is the other person has a bl**dy smelly home because Timmy always comes in smelling. Anyway, that person, if he exists, may keep him in as Timmy now has a noticeable wound on his head that needs to be aired but he needs antobiotics regularly. I am concerned that if he doesn't get them he will become seriously ill. We'll just have to wait and see. - further update about 8 hours later - he turned up, ate well, I washed his wound with salt water and gave him an antibiotic pill and them he left! I love him. This is the wound one day after the vet's treatment.


Timmy's puncture wound after treatment.

Timmy had a cat abscess - see what this means and how it is treated.