My Tiggee was sprayed in the face by a skunk!

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Goobbee
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My Tiggee was sprayed in the face by a skunk!

Post by Goobbee »

Yesterday a skunk sneaked into our enclosed backyard where we let our cats play. Our Tiggee was sprayed in the face by the skunk. He initially foamed at the mouth and could not open his eyes. We washed and washed his face with water and put lots of water in his eyes.

Today he is doing better but his whole joy for life is gone. He doesn't talk or purr at all. And the smell from his head makes it very difficult to cuddle with him. The other cats avoid him and will not play with him as usual.

Will he recover to his normal happy self? He is eating and drinking well and sleeps more than usual.

Any suggestions for the smell? He hates water so bathing is not an option.

Thank you.
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fjm
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Re: My Tiggee was sprayed in the face by a skunk!

Post by fjm »

No skunks in the UK, thank heavens, but I believe the standard recipe involves 3% hydrogen peroxide, bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) and washing up liquid. As the recommendation is to avoid eyes, mouth and ears that may not be of much help to poor Tiggee even if he let you wash his face. Have you tried just the dry soda, very gently combed in and left for a while, then wiped off with a cloth dampened with vinegar? Safe, and might reduce the pong a bit. He must still be feeling decidedly yuck so I am not surprised he is a bit off colour.
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Ruth B
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Re: My Tiggee was sprayed in the face by a skunk!

Post by Ruth B »

Also in the UK so i've never faced a Skunk, but i've heard the tales and I'm glad we don't have them.

Firstly do not put peroxide anywhere near the eyes. As a contact lens wearer, I know how much it stings if you get it in your eyes. In the old days you used to have to clean the lenses in peroxide and then use a neutralising agent over night, I once forgot to change them to the neutraliser, you never do it twice. Lots of saline to bath the eye to try and reduce the pain. I would also query the peroxide and the bicarb being used together, peroxide is an acid, bicarb an alkali so they are just going to neutralise each other (maybe that is the point, i don't know.

As for the smell, the wife's tale I have heard is tomato juice to get rid of the skunk smell. I have no idea if there is any truth in it and I'm not sure I would want to wash a cats face in tomato juice. Peroxide is acidic, tomatoes are acidic, so maybe that is the link between the two options.

Personally I would ring your vet and ask for their advice, it is possible they have encountered the problem before.
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Re: My Tiggee was sprayed in the face by a skunk!

Post by susand »

This enquiry reminds me of the American neighbours I had when I lived in a flat some years ago. I caught the polydactyl cat I had at the time jumping off the roof terrace onto the ledge of the first floor neighbours window below, which was open but luckily not wide enough for him to get in. I went down to warn them that Toes was trying to get in and that they perhaps shouldn’t leave their window open any wider if they didn’t want him inside. When I did, the lady exclaimed “Oh that’s what it is. We’ve been noticing all these little paw prints on the window ledge but we assumed it was raccoons!” I had to explain to her that we didn’t really have much trouble with raccoons in North London.

We are very blessed in the UK. None of our wildlife sprays noxious substances at us, makes a habit of trying to get into our houses to wreak havoc or tries to eat us. I really feel for your poor pussy cat. Hopefully Tiggee will recover and be back to his normal self once the smell wears off. Hopefully he’s learned his lesson and will run the other way next time he encounters a skunk.
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Goobbee
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Re: My Tiggee was sprayed in the face by a skunk!

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Yes - our other 2 cats ( also rescues from a few years ago) who were also in the yard at the time knew to jump up on the chairs but our Tiggee is pure love and thinks the best of all animals. So he ran towards the skunk who was also very afraid. I chased the skunk around the yard until he ran out the garage door but not before he sprayed Tiggee. He is doing better today but still does not have his voice back.
The problem is we are trying to catch a new stray who has been coming up our driveway for food and the skunk keeps interfering so we cannot set a live trap. This will be our 18th rescue but this new one , we call Artee ( a young tuxedo cat) is very learly of the skunk which hangs around for food. It would be a nightmare of we caught the skunk in the live trap by mistake.
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susand
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Re: My Tiggee was sprayed in the face by a skunk!

Post by susand »

It sounds like a difficult situation. I hope Mr skunk becomes less bothersome and you manage to catch Artee ok. Good luck with it all.
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Re: My Tiggee was sprayed in the face by a skunk!

Post by Goobbee »

Thank you. It is very frustrating as Artee is very scared to go in the trap. Twice he had half his body in the trap and then jumped out. It is the largest live trap available and we have nice smelling chicken at the back and a trail of tid bits leading up to it. But we always get our kittee! We socialize them over a month and then turn them over to a local adoption agency that finds a good home for them. They call stray cats "Spirit Cats".
We got a long-range water pistol called the Soaker we will use to discourage the skunk from coming around but he smells the food for Artee.
Meanwhile our Tiggee ( middle photo) is a little better but still far from his usual loving self.
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susand
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Re: My Tiggee was sprayed in the face by a skunk!

Post by susand »

Hhmmm. Well, as we’ve already established, skunks are not our forte here in the uk but I’ve just done a quick internet search and it seems skunk spray can do more than just make your cat stink. If the spray got in his eyes it could have blinded him (usually temporarily so don’t panic) but even if blindness doesn’t occur a hit to the eye can cause a painful conjunctivitis. There is also a theoretical risk of it damaging feline red blood cells which could make a kitty very poorly although again, don’t panic, it’s merely a possible risk and not very likely. Skunks also transmit numerous diseases, including rabies. Sooo, it might be an idea to get Tiggee checked out by a vet, especially as he isn’t perking up the way you’d expect.
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Goobbee
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Re: My Tiggee was sprayed in the face by a skunk!

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Thank you for the information. Tiggee is starting to get back to his old self but he smells terrible and his breath smells just like a skunk. I still cuddle closely with him as I do not want him to think there is a problem but I now have the same breath smell!
Here is a photo from our trail cam that captured the same skunk last night chasing away the stray cat (we named Artee) we are trying to capture. We actually had Artee trapped yesterday but he got out of the trap and ran off. When he came back the skunk was waiting for the poor boy. Once we cature Artee we will not put out food so hopefully the skunk will go away but he sure has been a proble for us all!
Waddlee sprays Artee.jpg
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susand
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Re: My Tiggee was sprayed in the face by a skunk!

Post by susand »

Oh my goodness! I’ve never seen a skunk except in a cartoon, so thanks for that. How about trapping the skunk first and keeping him hostage until you’ve caught Artee, then releasing him? I don’t know the wisdom of that advice so may be run it by someone at a wildlife centre first but it’s just a thought.
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Re: My Tiggee was sprayed in the face by a skunk!

Post by fjm »

I'm not quite sure how one could trap/release a skunk without triggering yet more spraying?
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Re: My Tiggee was sprayed in the face by a skunk!

Post by susand »

You’d have to do it wearing full PPE, like hospital staff wear when treating COVID patients :lol: :lol: :lol:
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