mysterious cat fight in apartment

Question
I have a 8 month old male not yet neutered and we live in an apartment on the 5th floor.
I came home with my cat lying in the corner his fur matted and covered in feces. There was a fowl smelling stench throughout my living room. There was feces smeared on the wall and even a little on the ceiling. His nose is bloody and there is a wound on his left thigh. These are signs of a cat fight right? but i don't know how a cat could have gotten into my apartment. The solarium window was open but i can't see how a cat could get in or out when we are in the 5th floor. I'm so confused as how my cat got injured. Any idea?

Answer
Nancy,

I have absolutely no idea how your cat was injured but it does sound like he needs fairly urgent medical attention to prevent him from getting abscesses in his open wounds. I would also recommend neutering him as soon as possible just in case this is a result of him wandering out somehow to mate with an intact female, getting into a fight and somehow getting back into the apartment. The foul smell is likely from a discharge of your cat's anal glands (they have scent glands on either side of their anus that contain a foul smelling discharge and they will often release these when they're very frightened).

This is a very odd situation and I really have some serious doubts that another cat caused the injuries to your cat. I would check around your home for signs of a break in and/or ask management if they had occasion to enter your apartment just in case these injuries were caused by a human being's act of cruelty, your vet can offer an opinion on the cause of the injuries. Some cats have been known to be quite territorial when it comes to protecting their human caregiver's home from burglars or people they aren't familiar with and feces on the ceiling sounds a little out there for a straight forward cat fight.

If you have any further cat related questions or concerns please don't hesitate to contact me again, I'm more than happy to help in any way that I can.

Kind regards,

Ali