Cats are every bit as susceptible to minor scrapes and cuts as we are. These aren’t the things that are going to threaten your cat’s life but will make her uncomfortable. If you find that your cat has sustained a minor injury that doesn’t need immediate veterinary care, here are some things you can do to help treat the cat wound.
What to Look For
If you find that your cat is limping, missing some fur, has some tenderness or pain or is bleeding, you’ll need to take a look and see what happened. Be careful when you do this because she is likely to be hurting and not necessarily happy to have you poking around at her. Pick her up gently, place her in your lap and see if she will let you take a look at her feet and other parts of her body. Something you want to be aware of is the possibility of infection if the injury is not fresh.
How to Handle It
Truly, what you can do for your cat at home is going to be up to her. These steps are important especially if it’s going to be a while before you can get her to the vet.
Bleeding: Try to apply direct pressure to the wound much as you would to yourself if you were bleeding. Be sure to cover the wound with a clean cloth or even some sterile gauze before applying this pressure. It may take a while for the bleeding to stop. Once it does, tape the gauze to the wound to avoid having the bleeding start again.
No bleeding: If your cat has a cut or scrape that isn’t bleeding, try to clean it with an antiseptic solution or plain water and a clean cloth. Stay away from using any kind of rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide because these solutions can damage tissue. You can use antiseptic solutions that contain either povidone iodine or chlorhexidine diacetate.
Puncture wounds: If there’s a deep laceration or a puncture wound, try to clean around the edges but don’t flush the wound itself. Your vet should do that.
Treatment
The whole point of treating your cat’s injury at home is to try to prevent infection and speed up healing. If the wound is minor, keep cleaning it and put on a topical solution like Neosporin. If the wound is deeper and more serious, you’ve done the right thing before getting her to the vet. It’s possible that a deep cut may need to have sutures or, if the injury is old, there may be an infection that needs to be treated with antibiotics.
Keep an eye on your cat’s behavior to make sure that you help treat any wounds that may crop up.
Photo Credit: istockphoto.com
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