The cat got my Russian Dwarf Hamster... please help

[noyasux]

Last night, my sister’s Russian Dwarf’s cage was toppled by the cat as she forgot to close the door to her room. We were out in the evening for 3 hours and do not know when this happened but when we got home we found him downstairs in our Dachshund’s mouth (not in a violent way, she had brought him to us gently).

He was still alive luckily and was moving around normally. He didn’t seem shocked at all and was happy to go in his cage and rolled around in his sand bath as he was a bit wet from the dogs mouth. However he did have a scab on his head and a small one on his side. It was about 11pm on a Sunday so we couldn't really take him to the vet and he was behaving strangely normally for a hamster than had been presumably dragged around the house by a cat for god knows how long... he responded normally to food and water and he was happy to run on the wheel for a bit as well so we decided to see how he was in the morning as there wasn’t much we could do until then.

Early this morning, my sister and mum checked on him but he didn't want to be disturbed, probably because he was sleeping. He is like this every day so it seemed normal. Then I checked on him at around 12pm and he ate some cucumber and didn't seem stressed at all when I handled him for a bit. He was walking fine and his eyes looked bright and his nose and tail were normal.

My sister and I told my parents we should take him to the vet since the event must have been incredibly traumatic and stressful and he may not show signs of illness/distress until a while after the event, but they said no as he seemed fine.

But I just checked on him at 11pm today and he was completely huddled in t corner of his cage, looking at the walls and not moving. I got scared and thought he was dead so I put my hand in the cage near him and he didn’t respond at all. After I stroked him a bit he did move a bit and open his eyes, but they didn’t look.... happy. They were half open and he didn’t move until I picked him up. When I put him back in the cage, he seemed to have a limp in his back left foot as he didn't walk on it and he just.. kept it forwards tucked in towards his body and kept falling over on his side when he tried to walk.

He went to the log tunnel in his cage and started to chew on it for a few minutes which was strange as he had never done this before. I tried to give him a tiny piece of lettuce (which is a treat for him occasionally) and he ate it and ate a bit of cucumber as well. He then shuffled/limped into his bed however.

Im so worried he wont make it through the night.. and I cant believe my parents didn't want to take him to the vets today. We will take him to the vet tomorrow I hope. But does anyone have any advice?

[souffle]

He may have some delayed shock or possibly an internal injury that may not show until a bit later. The vet would likely just say to monitor him anyway however you need to watch the wounds carefully as bites can easily get infected. Make sure they are clean and not swollen or oozing pus. If he continues to seem out of sorts the he needs a vet visit. Make sure he rests and is kept very quiet to get over his fright too.

[noyasux]

Originally Posted by souffle

He may have some delayed shock or possibly an internal injury that may not show until a bit later. The vet would likely just say to monitor him anyway however you need to watch the wounds carefully as bites can easily get infected. Make sure they are clean and not swollen or oozing pus. If he continues to seem out of sorts the he needs a vet visit. Make sure he rests and is kept very quiet to get over his fright too.

We took him to the vet 2 days after it happened and they gave him some antibiotics, but said he was fine. I really didn’t think he was fine because of the limp. When we took him home, he developed a new limp in his front paw. He wouldn’t put weight on it at all. After giving him the antibiotics he just wanted to rest, huddled in the corner of the cage so we put some bedding over him, so he wouldn’t get too cold, and put some food near him and left him for the night.

This morning, 3 hours ago we checked on him and he was okay, eating, walking (still with a limp) and grooming himself normally, then he went back to sleep in his usual bed so we thought he might be improving. But we just checked on him now, and we are pretty sure he is dead I feel absolutely terrible, but I’m sure my younger sister feels even worse as she forgot to close the door to her bedroom allowing the cat to come in. He was only 2 months old.. I feel so guilty and bad about what happened.

RIP Benji August 2019 - 16th October 2019 :’(

[souffle]

I'm so sorry. Accidents do happen so don't beat yourselves up about it. He must have had some sort of internal injury it seems.
Run free at the bridge little one x

[Dalis_mum]

Gosh, this was like a blast from the past.

When I had my first hamster as a child over 20 years ago, a Russian called Russia, he escaped, jumped/fell from the bookcase the bookcase his cage was on and was gently scooped up by our Welsh Terrier and handed to my mother. Our Russia had to have a leg amputated in the aftermath but lived another 2 years.

Basically, hamsters have been having out of cage adventures since the dawn of us keeping them as pets. You did your best

[Nancy's Hamsters]

Sadly Cats saliva has a toxic ability in Rodents. I am so sorry for your loss and please give your Sister a hug and let her know you don't blame her for the accident. Cats will be cats and a Hamster is a rodent to them which needs to be removed from the masters home. Kitty was only doing what instincts tell them to do. Hamsters can hide pain and illness very very well so your parents not thinking a VIP trip to the Vets the night of the accident is not to blame either. RIP little Dwarf Hammy you had a short time on this earth but you gave it your all to please your Humans. Hugs to you Noyasux and hope you may find comfort in knowing you gave your pet a very good life.