A rude awakening!

Yesterday I was jolted from sleep by a sudden pain in and on my left nostril. It was 4:30 in the morning and I had been sleeping soundly. I instinctively grabbed my nose and squeezed before launching out of bed and running for the bathroom. In spite of exerting pressure on it there was blood seeping out through my fingers and I was still half asleep and had no real idea what had happened! Luckily I keep veterinary-grade styptic powder in the medicine cabinet and I was finally able to staunch the flow. Then I got a good look at the damage.

What happened, near as I can recreate it thanks to the testimony of my roommate who was also injured and was half awake at the time, is my elderly cat freaked out at something and streaked through and around the house, claws out, and finally ended up at the far end of the house where I was sleeping, jumped on top of me and then used my nose as a springboard to reach the window! One of her hind claws left a gash along the outside of my left nostril and where her claw slipped off the end it poked into my nostril and left another on the inside and of course, both bled like crazy! The styptic powder is very effective, but unlike human-grade stuff, it doesn't hide the scar under a whitewash. No, I've got a glaring black line down one side of my nose that curls around and under into my nostril. I look like I've been in a bar brawl!:;pirate

Anyone else have elderly cats? Is this normal?

 

I don't have an elderly cat (he's 3), but it is totally normal for him to tear around the house like a madman, seemingly randomly.

I'm sorry that happened! I've been scratched from him acting the same way, but thankfully nothing as bad as that!

 

Please tell me you put antibiotics on it after washng the wound. That must have hurt. My cat is around 8 + will tear around the house , up and over furniture , wild eyes etc. Sometimes it is to entice her best friend, my chihuaua to play and other times it is a little too much fresh cat nip, other times she is just being a cat. Alison

 

I missed my kitty's kittenhood I've had her since she was 4 but she'd never been the type to run around. She'd rather either sleep or hide. She's a very nervous cat. I've had cats before that would wake me up regularly in the wee hours with the sounds of thundering paws. Not this girl.

However, if she was like that in her youth, she's having her second kittenhood now!

Too my detriment...

@aliray, nope. At that hour I was just frantic to stop the bleeding. I just packed styptic powder on my nose until it quit. Then I nearly passed out and threw up, not necessarily in that order, so I took a Gravol and went back to bed

 

Ouch..what a rough way to wake up...my cat is 8 and she's nervous so she could do something like that..wondering what makes your cat freaks like that...Mine freaks when my dogs bark, when I bring something new in the house, when something or someone is too loud....she's a freak Good thing kitty didn't take your eyes as a springboard...

 

Mine is not a nervous cat. He's not lazy (quite high energy actually), but he doesn't spook or startle easily. I think sometimes cats just like running around and jumping on things! They're nocturnal (less so since we keep them), so it makes sense to them to do it in the middle of the night haha. Quite inconvenient for us!

 

Yikes! Hope your nose is feeling better.

 

Ouch, man. I hope your nose is feeling better
Yeah sometimes cats just have a random burst of energy. They need no reason.
I doubt it has anything to do with her age. Just a sudden freakout

 

Normally when something spooks my cat she goes into hiding! The things that freak my cat though are changes to furniture layout, changing the sheets, having visitors, stuff like that. The way she acted though I have to wonder if there was something outside. My personal phobia tells me it was a bear or a cougar

Agreed marijo! My eyes could very easily have been in the way rather than my nose. Could have been really bad!

Thanks Lchi87, I heal quickly I'll have an epic scar, that's for sure!

 

Just keep an eye out for signs of infection, redness ,drainage, pain, swelling. If you see it than get it checked ASAP. My cat was 6 and 1/2 years when we adopted her from the shelter and had been in there for 9 months . It took her a month to come out of the back bedroom. When company comes she disappears and most of the time nobody ever sees her . Did you check the inside for a mouse, maybe that spooked her. Alison

 

I grew up with nurses, I know all the signs of infection Not to worry though, it's healing quickly! That same blood supply that made the injury look so horrendous at 4 o'clock in the morning is also carrying the necessary building blocks to repair the damage

As for the reason, there was no mouse. Her style when she spots something huntable is to freeze and stare. Even if it's a tiny bug, she's completely focused. It's possible that It used to be funny might have been chasing something I suppose or racing toward a sound that she heard outside the window. There are shrubs out there, maybe she heard the twittering of a bird! I still think it was just one of her random freak-outs though. She'll gallop through the house with her tail bent in half and all of her claws out for traction with a wild look in her eyes for no apparen't reason. It used to be funny

Aww, I'm so glad you adopted a shelter kitty! How long have you had her? Mine ended up ripping a hole in the underside of the box spring and hiding in there when she got overwhelmed. She also used to be almost completely silent. I called her the humming cat because she didn't actually meow. Now she's found her voice and uses it