Tips for stopping licking?

[Alanna]

Hi guys, well Thumps made it to the vet's for his neutering and was making a beautiful recovery (he was even binkying and talking to us again!), but then he came down with an infection and now he's on oral antibiotics twice a day and absolutely hates us! It's awful, he won't come anywhere near us and thumps whenever we approach him. :cry1::cry1:

Anyway, the vet says he probably infected the area himself through licking. We tried to put one of those conical collars on him so he couldn't lick but it was awful. He freaked out completely, and managed to get his head halfway through the collar and nearly choked himself to death!!! So no collar for my little man.:disgust: I asked the vet if there wasn't some sort of unpleasant tasting spray we could put on the area to deter him, but she said she didn't know of anything that would be safe for him to ingest if he did lick it.

So I just don't know what to do, I can't watch over him 24/7, and he won't let me anywhere near him anyway. It's all a bit heartbreaking. What can I do to help him, and will he ever forgive me?:bigtears:

 

[m.e.]

Yes, he will forgive you. He really will

Bitter Apple is safe for Thumper and should keep him from licking:

http://reviews.petco.com/3554/2094/reviews.htm

 

[ra7751]

Hi,

Couple of things....first, what antibiotic is he on? If it is Baytril (which I don't like to use) it can be flavored if given orally. Many vets will crush the tablets and mix into a suspension. The ones most vets have are for dogs and are flavored similar toliver. They are so nasty that nothing will cover that taste. Back in time when I did use Baytril more often, I would use the injectable Baytril and flavor it with FlavorX...you can also use food flavoring like vanilla or sugar free sweetener. Baytril is much more effective when administered by injections...sub-q is quick, easy to learn and effective.Skin type infections are generally responsive to oneof the sulfa drugs also. We have used a topical....like silvadine...for many skin issues without problems from ingesting.

Next....licking issometimes a sign of being uncomfortable.It is the animal's way of trying to clean the infection. Any body sensation is technically "pain"...and there is good pain and bad pain. I might would discuss some pain meds with the doctor. In this case, it could just be the inflammation so something like Metacam might do the trick.

Something else that might be an issue....was a culture performed before the antibiotics were started? Maybe a cytology performed? It might not be a bacterial infection at all. How long has he been on the antibiotics? If Baytril works....it takes at least 48 hours to start building to a working level in the blood stream. So it might take a few days to start getting any resolution assuming the drug works. That is one of the reasons I don't use Baytril with wildlife....takes too long to get to work in there.

Hope this helps...best wishes to Thumps.

Randy