wound healing or not? advice please?

my 13 or so yr old girl Raven was treated for an infected wound on Nov 4th -She got a shot of convenia antibiotic and a shot of depo

she had a follow up shot of convenia on the 10th

all has been going well, she's in a soft e collar and doesn't mind it at all
but late last week, she accidentally stepped out of the e collar (she never tries to take it off, good girl!!) and managed to get a few licks in, to that wound

it looked ok til a couple of days ago, when i noticed one red raw spot that was warmer than the rest of it (the rest of the wound is covered by a thick scab, and is the same temp as the rest of her body)

this one small raw and warm spot has me worried that there is still an infection present- OR rather, that those few licks she got in, re introduced bacteria and now she's got a second smaller infection going on there.

any thoughts about this? i've washed the wound with warm water. I'm very hesitant to use any thing but water.

i don't want to rush her to the vet if this is normal, but i don't want it to turn into another full blown infected mess, either

should i wait and watch, or try to head this thing off before it gets worse?

advice please?

i don't have any experience with this sort of things, never had a cat with an open wound before.

it seems to be taking forever to heal, but then i guess two weeks isn't really that long.
just *seems* incredibly long, i guess, because the poor girl has had to be in the e collar all this time

Based on your description, you could be right that there's still some infection in that particular spot. It doesn't hurt to call the vet and ask for advice. Your vet may wish to see your cat again or may even prescribe some oral antibiotics if they feel it's necessary - but you won't know unless you call.

I second Strange_wings suggestion. Give your vet a call and see what he/she thinks.

Vibes for continued healing!

Please call the vet and talk with them as the others have said

I agree. Call your vet to get their opinion.

Just a question. If it's been going on for awhile and required multiple convenia injections (I say multiple because that usually stops skin wounds in their tracks) have they considered debriding and suturing the wound? Freshen up the edges and suturing to get a clean slate of sorts? Are they concerned about anesthesia because of her age? If it's been going on for coming up on three weeks now may be worth considering.

hi
thanks everyone, well i did call the vet but ended up talking to the receptionist, who is not even a vet tech

she seemed to think it was ok. pfftt!

I'm going to watch it carefully and if it doesn't look any better by tomorrow I'll take her in.

It was debrided the first time she saw the vet, and they shaved that area, too-
but there is nothing to stitch, the wound is a scrape, not a cut, so there's nothing to stitch together.

I was told that the steroid shot can slow healing, so I am guessing that is why it's taking so long
although I suppose from the 4th to today, that's what, 19 days? it *is* healing, it's just very slow going, it seems.

at least she doesn't mind the e collar! the soft one that is; when I put the hard plastic one on her, she went nuts. I got a nice soft one online and she hasn't even tried to get it off.
It did come off one time accidentally, as I mentioned but otherwise she's tolerated it very well.

Thank heavens, because it looks like she'll be in it for at least another week or so.

Please call back .. Sorry but the MAJORITY of vet clinic receptionists GIVE OUT Wrong info.. ask to at least speak with a tech or have the vet CALL YOU back

Originally Posted by sharky

Please call back .. Sorry but the MAJORITY of vet clinic receptionists GIVE OUT Wrong info.. ask to at least speak with a tech or have the vet CALL YOU back

Click to expand...

Agreed. Usually a tech will be able to answer questions like this. Or at least you'll have a go between who can ask the needed questions and get back with you.

Yes, definitely, you need a vet's opinion, not that of a receptionist who, while probably very good at her job, clearly doesn't get the whole "training = D.V.M." thing.

Sounds like you feel the same way yourself, from your "pfftt!". LOL!

Call tomorrow and let us know how it goes!