Wound Care for Cats: What You Need to Know

A cat’s skin can sustain damage to one or more layers, leading to the formation of a wound. While some wounds heal quickly with little to no medical attention and some wounds need treatment. You should use customized strategy to treat the wound because the nature of every wound is different. If you are a cat lover then you should know about wound care for cats.

A Cat Wound: What Is It?

Any kind of trauma or damage to the skin, fatty layer, and underlying muscles, nerves, bones, and organs is a wound. Cuts, scratches, and burns are examples of superficial wounds. Deeper wounds include bite wounds and burns. Injuries needs surgery or other treatments.

Bandages are frequently needed for wounds that are allowed to heal without surgery, and they may need to be changed frequently.

Types of Cat Wounds

The following is an organization for cat wounds and this will help you in wound care for cats:

Lacerations

A laceration is a skin cut or rip. Small cuts typically heal on their own, but deep cuts involving blood arteries, tendons, ligaments, or nerves frequently need to be repaired surgically by veterinarians.

Pierce wounds

Pierce wounds can result from foreign items like sticks, sharp plant parts, or even glass, as well as bite wounds from other cats and animals. These wounds can affect any area of the body, but they typically affect the face, neck, and limbs.

Many times, puncture wounds can get a infections and turn into abscesses. Cleaning, debriding (removing) contaminated tissue, and implanting a surgical drain to permit discharge to exit the site are the standard treatments for puncture wounds.

Hot Spots

Hot spots and rashes are examples of superficial wounds that frequently result from allergies. The skin that has wound usually looks wet, got irritation, and red, and it frequently gets infection as a result of the cat biting, licking, or scratching.

Hot spots and rashes typically appear on the face, neck, abdomen, and rear. You should clean the area around a hot spot because dirt and hair can enter in the wound, increasing the risk of infection. 

Ulcers

Ulcers can be deep or superficial and frequently manifest as open sores or wounds. Though they can appear anywhere on the body, the feet, nose, or lips are the most common places to find them. Cleaning, topical ointments, and bandaging are usually effective treatments for ulcers if you can discover it early.

Burns

Depending on the number of skin layers involved and the degree of damage sustained, burns can range from minor to potentially fatal.

They can blister, enlarge, and discharge, and they are frequently unpleasant and red. Severe dehydration and loss of sensation are possible outcomes of deep burns.

Injuries known as “degloving” occur when a section of skin is shaved off but leaves the base remaining connected. Skin loss can be from the tail.

Injuries

When a car hits or drags a cat, degloving injuries frequently result. In addition to frequent surgery, such as skin grafts, and extra therapy to address underlying damage, these wounds necessitate immediate veterinarian attention.

Gunshot Wounds

Due to the bullet’s severe damage, you should treat these wounds as emergency. These wounds an gain infection due to hair removal with the wound or bullet

Is It Emergency Care for Cat Wounds?

Not every cat wound needs to be taken to the ER. Certain wounds can be treated at home, while others need to be evaluated, and still others are serious enough to need immediate medical attention or surgery.

How Should a Cat Wound Be Treated?

The majority of cat wounds should be evaluated by a veterinarian; yet, there are three fundamental steps in wound care for cats:

• If there is any foreign stuff, remove it.
• Eliminate any sick or dead tissue.
• prevent the injury from infection.

When healing minor wounds at home, the following procedures may be helpful:

1. Keep your cool.
2. Put pressure on the wound with a sterile or clean cloth or bandage if it is bleeding. Seek immediate veterinary attention if bleeding continues.
3. As much as possible, try to remove or shave the fur surrounding the area to prevent any fur or debris from going inside the wound because a cat’s fur can harbor bacteria and debris. To achieve this, sanitize the wound with sterile lubricant before trimming the fur.
4. To lessen bacterial contamination and remove hair, debris, and dirt from the wound, wash it and flush it. You can use tap water or sterile saline to clean the wound. Avoid using creams, ointments, or sprays to the wound unless your veterinarian instructs you to do so.
5. Don’t cover the wound with a bandage (as explained below) or keeping the cat from licking, chewing, or scratching at it with an e-collar.

Conclusion

Examine the wound every day. Over time, wounds frequently evolve and even get worse. Granulation tissue is a positive indicator of healthy wound healing; it is pink, wet, and may bleed readily when poked. Any tissue that perishes will require surgical excision. Follow these steps for wound care for cats.

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