I dont have any advice, I just wanted to tell you how handsome he is and good luck. I know others will be along today with advice for you, the forums are slow on the weekends.
Christine

Oh Rocky is beautiful! I adore his eyes of different colors!

I too have a polydactyl (photo of her sleeping on her heating pad). When I adopted her about 19 yrs ago as a young cat, the vet advised me to keep her "extra claws" trimmed because they could grow around into her pads. Fortunately I've remembered to do so over the years before any ingrown claws caused infection, so I can't report on my own experience with this. I'm not sure what course of action I'd want to take. It sounds like poor Rocky has a really formidable infection. :-(

I can empathize with how quickly those claws on their extra toes can grow around in a circle. In fact, I'm making a mental note right now to get out the clippers.

Good luck with Rocky. (Is this the cat that you were having trouble integrating into your household because he fought with your other cats? If so, it looks like he is doing very well, and I hope the same is true of your other kitties. Anyways he's a real beauty and so unique looking. No wonder you endured much to keep him! Or I might be remembering someone else entirely who posted - old age has not improved my memory!)

You're right, Spedigrees--Rocky's the one who got in a terrible fight with my older female. He's as loving as he is beautiful (with people). At this point he spends his days outside with Scruffy, a stray we recently had spayed. She's small and tough, and they've become good friends.

For a while I tried bringing Rocky indoors several times a day, moving Pogo, Peachy, and Annie upstairs. But that resulted in Pogo (male) and Rocky marking their territory (my living room), so I had to stop. The present arrangement works well because I'm outside a lot this time of year. He's eager to come in at night, and willing to go out in the morning. Winter is a different story, though.

The claw that caused the infection is actually between his extra toe and the other toes. Does that sound like what your cat has? The skin around it opened up with the initial infection; we could actually look inside, and thought we were looking at a bone. It turned out to be a claw.

Your calico is gorgeous! She would be lovely even without the extra toes, but those big mittens are just so sweet.

I have four polydactyls. I know exactly what you're talking about. That little, recessed claw tucked down between the primary and secondary pads can be a real pain, both for them and for me. Not only will it not extend so that I can reach it easily with my clipper, but it also seems to be much more sensitive to touch than the other claws. This makes my polys extremely uncooperative when I try to get those little hidden daggers clipped. And spedigrees is right. Because the hidden claws don't come into contact with the ground, they don't wear down, and they can quickly grow and circle back into the pad. Like I said, they're a pain.

It sounds like your handsome boy may have a bone infection from the ingrown claw. I would think that a normal soft tissue infection would have resolved by now, unless it's caused by a drug-resistant bacteria. Hopefully the vet will be able to find an antibiotic that will effectively kill the pathogen. Has the wound been swabbed and cultured to identify exactly which pathogen is present?

Laurie

Has the wound been swabbed and cultured to identify exactly which pathogen is present?

Not to my knowledge. I know the vet cleaned out the wound last time we were there. The wound doesn't seem to hurt him; he lets us pick up the paw and look at it, sniff it, whatever.

Maybe the second vet (I know and like them both) will have a new idea tomorrow.

Yes, and no. I did have a cat who had an inturned claw when I found her as a small kitten of a feral. It was inturned because she had brachial palsy and her whole paw was turned inward and I suspect had no sensation. The vet was hoping that by casting at such a young age, the nerves would repair and we could save the limb and it might be functional. I treated the infection, like you, several times and when it was casted, it festered inside the cast, even though I detected the smell and had it checked. It ended up traveling up the foreleg under the cast and she had to have the whole limb amputated. It's really something one has to be aggressive with, especially if they detect the aroma of infection as I did.

Amputation is what I'm afraid of, Calliope. It's a horrible thought. Years ago we had collie-shepherd whose leg had to be amputated because a hunter shot off her foot. I remember what that was like--and she wasn't an outside cat. I can't imagine how Rocky would manage outdoors, unable to defend himself if necessary. Also, I remember the terrible arthritis our dog ended up with later in life as a result of getting around on three legs. Again, she was a dog, he is a cat. But still.....

I'm wondering if someone dropped Rocky off on the road because of this infection. He just showed up here one day in March.

This post was edited by alisande on Mon, Jul 22, 13 at 17:34

Do you know if surgery to remove the extra digit itself would be an option?

That wasn't mentioned, but I'll bring it up tomorrow, thanks.

Went to the vet this morning, and Rocky's have the surgery today. The vet agreed the surgery poses a risk of trapping the infection and making it worse, but felt there was a bigger risk of letting it go longer while we go through another round of antibiotics. She said if it were her cat, sheâÂÂd want to operate now.

She mentioned several times what an amazingly good cat he was. She cleaned out the wound, poked and prodded it, etc., and he just lay there letting me pet his face. So sweet. She thinks itâÂÂs possible that the infection was chronic, and that could be the reason why someone dropped him off on our road. He was so tame and friendly when he showed up.

I've been worried about him, and hope we can get him over this infection. I'll have to keep him in the guest room (I should rename it the Cat Motel) for at least a couple of weeks afterward. I hope I can keep a cone on him. Those extra toes act almost like thumbs.

Thanks for your concern and input!

{{!gwi}}

I was just wondering how Rocky is doing. I hope his surgery went well and that he is on the mend. That is a lovely photo of him.

Rocky is doing great--thanks for asking! The vet recommended two weeks of staying indoors wearing the cone collar, so Rocky has been ensconced in the guest room. It'll be two weeks on Tuesday, and I'm sure he'll be more than ready to get out.

He's so good, though. I take the collar off two or three times a day so he can eat. Afterward he has a strong desire to groom. I let him lick his chest, but when he moves to the next step, licking his right paw, the collar goes back on. He's amazingly cooperative about it.

He's on Clavamox, and the paw seems to be healing well.

So happy to hear Rocky is doing well. He is a handsome boy and very lucky to have found such a wonderful home !