Help!!! Veiled attacked by my cat

[NatureButch]

I woke up to my cat up near Beau's cage, yelled at him, and was about to kick him out of my room and on my way to the door, Beau was laying on the floor. He is breathing, but barely. He is about 7 months old. Called emergency vet and they said to clean him off using water if I didn't have betadine and keep him warm. I've done that. What else can I do?? I've given him drops of water which he has closed his mouth and took. I'm trapped at home due to blizzard outside. I'm soo sad. Last pic was him just yesterday.

 

[ReptiGeek]

Honestly dude I would just keep doing exactly what your vet advised. Unfortunately these tragic events happen and the best thing to do is to take it one step at a time. Right now you need to make it through the night, and once you do there will be more people chiming in tomorrow. My prayers go out to your little one. Stay strong for him and hopefully he will stay strong for you.

 

[StreetMoggy]

this is the second cat thing I've read in a 24 hour period.
I'm sooo sorry this happened. I really hope your little guy makes it.
It makes me worry because I have 3 cats.

 

[Mmcbain1]

I wouldn't keep your hopes too high this guy looks bad. He looks dead. Do you free range your chams?

 

[xxzmmorexx]

Sorry to hear that, but from the looks of him id say you need more than heat and water to help your little guy. He prolly went into shock instantly and honestly looks like he is about done. I dont have cats anymore but when I lived with my mom that cat wasnt allowed to even look at my bedroom door. Its sad, and im sorry but there are lessons to be learned from this.

 

[NatureButch]

Beau didn't make it :'(

I am so sad. I am beating myself up for all of you echoing the comments made above.

He was not free roaming. I never let him out w/o me holding him. He was in an enclosure near my bed and I keep my door closed to my room. It is not unusual for a cat or two to sleep in my room with me. However, it is the first time they have attacked. I bought crickets at Petco in preparation for the blizzard (in case my cricket order didn't get delivered) and they are chirping away. Since I normally get smaller crickets, it is unusual to hear the crickets and I wonder if that is what made him go to the cage.

Thank you for your responses.

 

[Miss Lily]

OP - I am so sorry you had to go through this. I love my chams to bits and I also know how it feels to lose one. It hurts, no matter how they passed. But knowing it was something preventable must make it hundreds of times worse. I know I would be inconsolable if my cat ever got to Monty, Zippy or my geckos.

I have to agree with Stan 100%, I am truly sorry that that poor baby had to go through that pain and fear, it just breaks my heart to hear these things and to see pictures that are horrifying to look at, I know we have made some mistakes with Picasso, but to let a cat into the same house with a cham is just unacceptable behavior and irresponsible....I do feel bad that the op had to have this happen to him and I'm sure he is very sorry and unaware this would happen, my sympathy goes out to him.

I have a cat and chameleons - the cat was here first. She never takes any notice of the chameleons. In fact Monty is far more aware of the cat than she is of him. Having said that, I also have nocturnal geckos and I would never leave the cat in the lounge overnight with them bounding about in their vivs, so she is always shut into the kitchen every night. The cat takes a bit more notice of them when they move around, as their movements are faster and much more 'prey like' to her. I saw a pic on facebook the other day of a crestie sat next to a cat with its paw out. The owner said the cat would not harm the gecko, but there is no way I would even risk getting mine that close to find out.

 

[laurie]

I am very sorry this happened to you and your cham. Losing a pet we love is always hard.

I removed the posts that were attacks, you don't need that kind of help.

 

[deadhd5]

I am very sorry for your tragic loss

 

[Olimpia]

Really? Instead of offering advice to potentially help this owner and his pets, perhaps giving tips on how to prevent this from happening in the future (since probably most of us live with reptiles and cats/dogs), most of you just decide to get on your high horses and pretend that you have never made a mistake.

Really nice, guys. Laurie, I think perhaps we should close this thread.

To the OP, I am very sorry this happened and I am so sorry that he passed.

 

[squeekz1992]

I am so sad. I am beating myself up for all of you echoing the comments made above.

He was not free roaming. I never let him out w/o me holding him. He was in an enclosure near my bed and I keep my door closed to my room. It is not unusual for a cat or two to sleep in my room with me. However, it is the first time they have attacked. I bought crickets at Petco in preparation for the blizzard (in case my cricket order didn't get delivered) and they are chirping away. Since I normally get smaller crickets, it is unusual to hear the crickets and I wonder if that is what made him go to the cage.

Thank you for your responses.

I am so very sorry for your loss. You shouldn't beat yourself up about it sweetie. It was an unfortunate accident. I really was hoping to read a better outcome for your little guy

You did everything you could given the circumstances. Again, I am really sorry for your loss. Do you know how your cat got to him? I'm so sorry

I hope that this doesn't turn you away from chameleons, or this forum. I hope that when the time is right for you you get another and stay part of this forum. I know there are some disrespectful posts, but there are people who truly care and sympathize with you.

I also would not commend kicking the cat... a squirt bottle or spank it is much less awful... and just as effective if you are consistent.

Again I am terribly sorry for your loss and for some of the people who have responded rudely to you.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

To the people who responded with attacks and rude comments: you should be ashamed of yourself. Tay and A, rango87, blueberry, especially psychobunny, and lovepicasso (seriously lovepicasso after what happened to you?) yes I am singling you out and I am disappointed in you. Absolutely ridiculous. Olimpia, I think we should leave this thread specifically as a reminder of their behavior.

To NatureButch, is your poor chameleon still alive or did he pass? If he is still alive he will need to see a vet. Cat bites are very serious injuries. Putting aside the wounds themselves, cat bites have a second component. What is often worse than the injury itself is that cat saliva has a lot of very nasty bacteria in it and the secondary infection that comes with even a tiny cat bite can be enough to cause death by itself. A cat bite can kill a totally healthy bird in less than 48 hours just from the bacterial infection. If a dog bites a person in the vet field you clean it up and let it heal. If a cat bites a person you go straight to the emergency room or urgent care because you have to be on antibiotics as soon as possible! Just to highlight what a little bacteria can do to bigger organisms. So they are serious injuries in reptiles as well. So if he does pull through he will need antibiotics.

Accidents can happen to anyone; that's why they are called accidents. I have had two chameleons bitten by my cat. They were in their outdoor cage that has bigger mesh and their tails were sticking out the bottom so my cat was playing with it like a toy and bit it when it moved, as cats will do. The first time I swore I wouldn't let it happen again, but the second time I didn't know my husband let the cat out while the other cham was in the outdoor cage. Lesson learned and antibiotics both times so they were fine. After that I put a finer mesh on the bottom to completely prevent it. Would anyone like to bash me like they did to this person brand new to the forums and asking for help? Mistakes happen. Other people can learn from them. It is easy to judge people without knowing the whole story or having been in their shoes. Let's not be that kind of community. If you don't have anything nice to say then don't say it next time.

 

[dom1959]

sorry to hear of your loss


to anyone with cats,
i use 2 sided tape around the areas my cat is not allowed.
it works really well, when the cat puts the foot down on the sticky tape it does not enjoy it, so it learns really quick not to step there.
i have used it on the floor, on the cage stands and on the shelves that i don't want her to be comfortable using as a resting place.

just fyi

 

[lovepicasso]

Let me apologize for my attack on NatureButch, I know I have no room to say anything negative to anybody on here, after what happened to my boy. Everyone has been so sympathetic and concerned with Picasso, I truly and honestly appreciate every person on this forum, I was out of line and acted on my pain and horror out of what happened to that baby cham, after reading about the cat attack yesterday I felt anger over what happened.....I love cats and have had several before and would like to get another someday, if I offended any cat person or cat owner I do apologize to you also, I never have thought that any cat owner on here would ever put their cham in danger, again let me say how sorry I am for the loss and sorry for the attack on you NatureButch, also to all that I may have upset on these forums.

 

[italian chameleon]

to anyone with cats,
i use 2 sided tape around the areas my cat is not allowed.
it works really well, when the cat puts the foot down on the sticky tape it does not enjoy it, so it learns really quick not to step there.
i have used it on the floor, on the cage stands and on the shelves that i don't want her to be comfortable using as a resting place.

just fyi

great idea! thx!

 

[pigglett79]

I am very sorry this happened to you and your cham. Losing a pet we love is always hard.

I removed the posts that were attacks, you don't need that kind of help.

I am very happy that you deleted those other posts. I was concerned with the comments in this thread, as well as the other thread with the graphic photos. Accidents do happen and we are here to help, we shouldn't attack people and if we allow them a comfortable environment to share those accidents, we might all learn how to prevent them. I have been very proud of the community on this forum and would like to see the maturity and openness continue.

 

[ReptileLove18]

NatureButch, im so sorry to hear about the loss of your cham its soooo hard losing them and my thoughts are with you...
despite some of the mean things said on this subject, there are many people here that support you and are sad for the loss of your baby. there was a very tragic and deathly cat attack posted on here the other day and i think everyone is still upset and angry about what happened in that situation.
please don't beat yourself up about this, accidents happen and you did everything in your power to help your buddy while you could... give your heart time to heal and things will get better, i promise. my little veiled cham passed away as well and it was really hard. you cant rip yourself apart for it tho and im sure when you're ready you can provide a very loving and fulfilling life for another baby cham
keep your chin up

 

[ReptileLove18]

I am very happy that you deleted those other posts. I was concerned with the comments in this thread, as well as the other thread with the graphic photos. Accidents do happen and we are here to help, we shouldn't attack people and if we allow them a comfortable environment to share those accidents, we might all learn how to prevent them. I have been very proud of the community on this forum and would like to see the maturity and openness continue.

i agree completely!

 

[OldChamKeeper]

to anyone with cats,
i use 2 sided tape around the areas my cat is not allowed.
it works really well, when the cat puts the foot down on the sticky tape it does not enjoy it, so it learns really quick not to step there.
i have used it on the floor, on the cage stands and on the shelves that i don't want her to be comfortable using as a resting place.

just fyi

Stungun worked on my wife's cats back when they tried to get my son's geckos.....


Looks like I missed quite a bit.

To the OP: Accidents happen. I've had my share over 35 years of keeping herps. Your poor critter had three things going against it when a cat bites, 1st is shock. 2nd is the saliva. 3rd is the compression/crushing damage. Don't beat yourself up over not being able to get him to a vet in a blizzard, he wasn't going to make it based on those photos you posted.

So who were the idiots who would attack a keeper over a cat getting a cham and then coming here looking for some help? I'd say ban them since they have nothing to contribute with that attitude.

 

[Tay And A]

It's funny how I see all the arguments on this forum constantly of people putting each other down. But when I say something I'm suppossed to get banned! Jeez! Lame!