? Bruising (pic)

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Kate & Toby

Kate & Toby

Member Since 2019
Hi all,
I have come home tonight and went to do a +11 test on Toby and his ear was all bloodied, I poked the other ear and cleaned his bloodied ear, except it wont clean, it's not blood its bruising .
I've been poking his ears alternating for months and never had a problem. It doesn't seem to hurt him but I feel just awful, any suggestions what I can do or why this has happened? Is this a blood clotting issue? He is on asprin and clopidogrel.

In other news he is looking so well and we are enjoying a run of gorgeous numbers which makes me a happy cat mummy

Thank you all in advance xxxx
 
Kate & Toby said:
Hi all,
I have come home tonight and went to do a +11 test on Toby and his ear was all bloodied, I poked the other ear and cleaned his bloodied ear, except it wont clean, it's not blood its bruising .
I've been poking his ears alternating for months and never had a problem. It doesn't seem to hurt him but I feel just awful, any suggestions what I can do or why this has happened? Is this a blood clotting issue? He is on asprin and clopidogrel.

In other news he is looking so well and we are enjoying a run of gorgeous numbers which makes me a happy cat mummy

Thank you all in advance xxxx
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Poor Toby! I have no suggestions Kate, I'm sorry, it could be a blood clotting issue but I haven't come across this before - hopefully you'll get some helpful responses soon (although the board is a bit quiet atm probably due to Thanksgiving, I imagine some people are away). You could always email the photo to your vet if you're worried maybe?

But I would like to comment on your "other news" and say I'm so happy that Toby is otherwise well and giving you some nice numbers - you really deserve it, I know you've put your heart and soul into making him feel better, and you take time to support others here too. You're a brilliant cat mum :)

Hope you get some clues as to the ear situation soon.
 
That looks like petechiae which could be from trauma (was he scratching at his ear at some point or get his ear caught on something?) or just from the pressure of holding his ear for testing simply because he is on anticoagulant medications. We know you aren't holding tightly but he'd be more sensitive to pressure than if not on the meds. I don't think you need to worry unless you spot the same issue elsewhere but you might want to call the vet and just see if that could be an indication he needs his meds adjusted.
 
Diana&Tom said:
Poor Toby! I have no suggestions Kate, I'm sorry, it could be a blood clotting issue but I haven't come across this before - hopefully you'll get some helpful responses soon (although the board is a bit quiet atm probably due to Thanksgiving, I imagine some people are away). You could always email the photo to your vet if you're worried maybe?

But I would like to comment on your "other news" and say I'm so happy that Toby is otherwise well and giving you some nice numbers - you really deserve it, I know you've put your heart and soul into making him feel better, and you take time to support others here too. You're a brilliant cat mum :)

Hope you get some clues as to the ear situation soon.
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Bless your soul Diana, thank you. He is doing so so well, but I count every day as a bonus xx
 
MrWorfMen's Mom said:
That looks like petechiae which could be from trauma (was he scratching at his ear at some point or get his ear caught on something?) or just from the pressure of holding his ear for testing simply because he is on anticoagulant medications. We know you aren't holding tightly but he'd be more sensitive to pressure than if not on the meds. I don't think you need to worry unless you spot the same issue elsewhere but you might want to call the vet and just see if that could be an indication he needs his meds adjusted.
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I sneakily caught my mum and dad doing a test at lunchtime via the web cams and they struggled to get his ear to bleed, but they said it was already bruised albeit not as bad as the latest photo.... so maybe they made it worse. . Not their fault as they dont do testing a lot...

I'm just worried it's a blood issue..
 
Sounds like it might be a case of pressure on the ear and the meds. I wouldn't worry that it's anything serious but to put your mind at ease, have a chat with the vet and see what he/she thinks.
 
I don't know much about feline anatomy so keep that in mind with what I say, but I do human (med student), and one thing definitely sticks out to me:

Could likely be a side effect from the Aspirin and Clopidogrel. Blood thinners can cause capillaries to burst under the skin. This looks like purpura/petechiae to me. I know it looks bad, but it's not hurting him. Could be from the poke spots, or even just the pressure you apply to his ears in doing so. If he were a human, I'd tell you to check inside the mouth and see if you see any there as well. But it's probably just from the extra pressure you apply on the ears.

How long has he been on the Aspirin and Clopidogrel? Was either started recently or increased in dose?

It'd be worth talking to your vet about, as it could be something else, but this definitely stuck out to me so I felt like I should say something :)
 
Some of those spots are not where I would typically poke. That seems odd as does the color since bruises are usually not that vivid red color.
 
@Noah & me (GA)
They definitely aren't bruises...they are petechiae which are tiny hemorrhages from the capillaries. The larger spots could be purpura which is basically the same thing only larger in size (the joys of medical jargon eh?!). That's why we think it might be from holding his ear to test not the test itself.
I don't know what Toby does, but my girl has a habit of twisting her head and trying to nuzzle my hand while I am testing sometimes which results in her ear being contorted a bit and that alone could cause this due to the meds Toby is taking.
 
This is what happens when I don't read every post. What's going on by the right thumb? I cannot picture myself holding the ear there but maybe I'm looking at it the wrong way. Either Kate has tiny hands or those are some big ears.
 
Chloe007 said:
I don't know much about feline anatomy so keep that in mind with what I say, but I do human (med student), and one thing definitely sticks out to me:

Could likely be a side effect from the Aspirin and Clopidogrel. Blood thinners can cause capillaries to burst under the skin. This looks like purpura/petechiae to me. I know it looks bad, but it's not hurting him. Could be from the poke spots, or even just the pressure you apply to his ears in doing so. If he were a human, I'd tell you to check inside the mouth and see if you see any there as well. But it's probably just from the extra pressure you apply on the ears.

How long has he been on the Aspirin and Clopidogrel? Was either started recently or increased in dose?

It'd be worth talking to your vet about, as it could be something else, but this definitely stuck out to me so I felt like I should say something :)
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Thank you Chloe, I really appreciate your input. He has been on the asprin and clopidogrel for a few months now, so not new. That is my preferred ear for poking, and where it's a bit colder here in the uk now his ears haven't bled as easily so I gave had to apply a little pressure. I feel just awful :-( will it heal by itself? I will of course not poke that ear at the moment.
Thanks again
 
Noah & me (GA) said:
This is what happens when I don't read every post. What's going on by the right thumb? I cannot picture myself holding the ear there but maybe I'm looking at it the wrong way. Either Kate has tiny hands or those are some big ears.
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Haha, my hands aren't huge and Toby's ears aren't small but maybe its the angle!
 
MrWorfMen's Mom said:
@Noah & me (GA)
They definitely aren't bruises...they are petechiae which are tiny hemorrhages from the capillaries. The larger spots could be purpura which is basically the same thing only larger in size (the joys of medical jargon eh?!). That's why we think it might be from holding his ear to test not the test itself.
I don't know what Toby does, but my girl has a habit of twisting her head and trying to nuzzle my hand while I am testing sometimes which results in her ear being contorted a bit and that alone could cause this due to the meds Toby is taking.
Click to expand...
Thanks linda, yes he has been a bit tricky lately, flicking his head or nudging me looking for the reward treat before I've done the test. Hes gotten so wise! So maybe ive inadvertently squished it too hard :-( he is so laid back that i can turn his ears inside out and get them in a good position for poking. I feel awful, so will of course be more careful.
 
We used to mark/measure petechiae and just make sure it didn't spread outside of the parameter marked. Sometimes it can be hard to notice if it looks like more bruising is in an area since we tend to pay attention to the coloring and not the size it was when we first noticed it.
 
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