Fight Wound

I have what I think it a really big problem with my male cat Rascal. He got into a fight awhile ago and got a minor flesh wound on his head just below the front of his ear. Well for a while it was fine but then he got outside again and I think he may have re-opened it while escaping. It got infected and was oozing pus when by the time I actually noticed it last night. By then it was pretty bad and his ears were fevered, but he scratched it open and it started oozing from that. I went into the bathroom with him and was keeping it clean with just water (I don't know what else is safe to use) and wiping what pus came out. Today I figured I'd leave him alone for most of the day because his fever broke and his ears were back to their normal temperature. Problems started again early  in the day when he broke it open again and I had to hold him down to keep it clean. Well he was scratching it in his sleep and it pulled partly off and not wanting it to get worse I pulled it the rest of the way off and a hard core came out with it. He now has a small open wound on his head about a centimeter and a half deep and a centimeter wide. What on Earth can I do at home for him until I can get the money to take him to the vet? I'm really worried about him =( he's acting mostly normal but he's quiet and sleeping a lot more which is the not so normal part. He's eating, drinking, and using the litter box fine but I don't want to make this any worse than I already have =(.

Unfortunately, he has an abscess and needs antibiotics. Do you have a good relationship with a vet already? Maybe you could email them a photo of the wound and see if they will call in an Rx to a pharmacy for you?

Unfortunately no, he's only been to the vet for what he needed which admittedly hasn't been much just the basic. This is the first problem he's had since I've gotten him =(. I know I need to get him into see a vet, but right now there's no possible way. There will be but I don't want it to get worse before then that's my problem I don't know what to do to keep it from getting worse until I get him to the vet. (On the plus side I've seen abscesses on cats before but never asked how to handle them and I know that it's just a small gaping wound right now there's nothing left in it.)

Unfortunately no, he's only been to the vet for what he needed which admittedly hasn't been much just the basic. This is the first problem he's had since I've gotten him =(. I know I need to get him into see a vet, but right now there's no possible way. There will be but I don't want it to get worse before then that's my problem I don't know what to do to keep it from getting worse until I get him to the vet. (On the plus side I've seen abscesses on cats before but never asked how to handle them and I know that it's just a small gaping wound right now there's nothing left in it.)

Try a little neosporin... the kind that has the pain reliever.  You might have to be sneaky about it, because it feels odd and he'll try to clean it off.  But the pain reliever will at least help with the itchiness, and keep him from scratching at it any more.  If he still scratches at it, see if your vet will provide you with a small cone.  They suck, but they work.

He's really good about not touching it unless necessary so I shouldn't have any problems there. I wasn't sure if I could even use neosporin on cats, I was always told not to (I'm learning that I have been very misinformed on things like that lately.) Will a generic brand work?

Without even a picture or two it is difficult to decide what's going on.

What caught my attention was your mention: "I pulled it the rest of the way off and a hard core came out with it." That's not something I associate with an abscess, which is pus and goo and oozy stuff.

I think the hard core was maybe a claw sheath, or something else - could it have been a thorn of some kind? The infection built up around that but until the source was removed Rascal's immune system was dealing with an ongoing problem.

Keep the wound clean. If he'll let you try a warm-hot wet compress (soak a wash cloth, wring it partway out) a few times a day. That helps keep the wound open and draining so it heals from the inside out. Abscess forms when a wound closes at the skin but the infection is still active.

And of course as soon as you can get him to a vet for antibiotics.

I don't know if neosporin is cat-safe. Could Rascal lick his paw, clean the wound area with neosporin, lick his paw again and ingest any?

Healthy, healing vibes for Rascal.

A quick look on Google and I want to edit this to add:

When Neosporin Is Not Safe

Some antibiotic ointments contain added ingredients to combat pain in the wound. These types of the ointment are labelled "+ pain relief." While they may not pose an immense threat to a cat, antibiotic ointment with pain relief may cause irritation and could have ingredients that are not safe for cats. Owners should make sure that the antibiotic ointments they use on their cats do not include pain relief formula.

That's very interesting about the neosporin, Catapault. 

I was actually told by my vet that it was fine to use on one of my cats who kept scratching at a sore.  It did seem to keep her from scratching and allowed the sore to heal up. 

However, the suggestion of a warm/wet compress is also a good one. 

Thank you, especially for that extra note about neosportin. He won't be happy with me but the warm-hot wet compress is the best idea I've heard in the last 24 hrs. There was pus and goo and oozy stuff but I didn't think of the possibility of it being from an object.  There's a wild rose bush right outside the house and his "escape routes" usually involve windows. I think it may have begun to abscess because of the way the pus was looking as well as his skin around the wound but the redness has almost completely receded. I'll try what you suggested, thank you so much. I did manage to get him to let me take a picture of it. He doesn't really like cameras too much. 

UPDATE: Apparently a large part of his problem was the presence of another cut (don't know how bad he won't let me see it but there's no blood on his fur) on his side where i was holding him when I would try to look at the one on his head. 

You know what my first advice is? He needs to be neutered, or this will happen over and over again, but next time he may not be so lucky...if neutered, whether or not this is a bite wound or from a thorn, (I personally believe it's likely from a fight) he will not be trying to escape the house all the time, and he will not stand up to other unfixed males who are fighting for territorial rights, anywhere near an unspayed female is. They fight to kill basically, and let me tell you, I have seen unbelievable damage caused by unfixed male cats fighting. They are also the #1 spreaders of FIV and FELV (feline aids and leukemia) due to their vicious bite wounds, drawing blood. Saliva in the wound, well you get it.

I understand the financial end of it! I have a non profit cat rescue group, and we help the public as often as possible with spay/neutering and at our cost, which is $25.00 males, and $30.00 females. I know, cheap. See if you can find a local rescue who will help, or even some humane societies have vouchers for $25.00.

The most important part of his wound healing is prevention of infection. He should be on antibiotics as well as a topical ointment, but you might be able to get away with just a topical like polysporin. I wouldn't put in on in globs since he will likely lick it off.

Peroxide and witch hazel will help too.

Catwoman707 he is for sure getting neutered this month. We've managed to see to that ahead of time. I'm beyond sure that that will curb his urge to go outside and fight for territory rights/females. I know that that's part of why this happened sadly and I'm truly kicking myself for it. The money for it's been taken care of its only $48 where I'm taking him for neutering at least. Thank you for the advice though, I really appreciate it and knowing what topical things I can use to help is a big plus. Thank you so much.

Go to the drugstore and buy some sterile saline solution. Take an oral syringe(clean) and fill it up with the solution and squirt 10-12 cc into the hole. Flushing it is the first thing a vet would prob do if its still open. After that you can go ahead and put an ointment on until you get to the vet.

catwoman707 said:

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Peroxide and witch hazel will help too.

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Sorry, but I do not agree with this.  Google/Search for "peroxide on wounds", and you will see many articles that say NOT to do so.... including this article on PetMD

3.  ... Do not use alcohol or hydrogen peroxide on the wounds, as these will actually damage the tissue.

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Cleaning with compresses and saline, along with an antibiotic ointment is the best course of action for the short term.  Once a scab forms, a mild epsom salt solution can also be used as a compress to draw out infection.  This was also recommended to me by a vet many years ago.  But every time I have ever asked about peroxide or astringents, I received an emphatic "no".

I am so glad to know you understand and had planned to get him neutered.

This is the kindest thing an owner can do for his friend. 

Furmonster Mom, I read the article, it says to use an antiseptic, this would be what witch hazel is, I can understand not using alcohol, I would not. But I have used peroxide solution on an open wound several times with no problems, saturating it repeatedly until the bubbling stops.

I'm not sure what tissue damage this would cause, but okay, just different techniques when there is not funds ready for a vet visit.

I know my mom surely used it on our knees as kids, and I have good skin on my knees

Anyway, in the future, I wouldn't recommend tearing the skin off, let it do this when it's ready as long as the wound is able to drain, that is a great sign.

The big trouble comes when it is unable to drain, the puc accumilates under the skin and infection gets into their systems making this a much bigger problem.

I expect by the pic it will do okay, but do be very guarded with his behavior since he is already showing youhe has a fever by his sleeping, etc.

Good luck!!

Furmonster Mom, I saw that also but my mom and grandma used peroxide on extremely bad wounds a cat they had managed to get and she turned out fine so I wasn't sure which to believe. I guess that it can't do to much to healthy tissue when there isn't much healthy tissue that it's reaching though. But thanks for confirming what I read.

Catwoman707, like I said to Furmonster Mom I read about the peroxide thing and would probably only use that in cases of severe emergencies but like you said different methods. A cat's skin isn't exactly like ours so the difference probably lies there. Anywho, thank you, I know that neutering him is the best thing for him. His fever officially has broke and other than his current irritation at me he's back to his normal self. He's back to caterwauling up and down the hallway and getting in front of the monitor to try to get out the window behind the computer. So I think that whatever it was that was in his skin was the entire cause of this. He is letting me put some ointment on it (just a small dab) after I manage to catch him to put a compress on it. He just lashes his tail at me and stalks away when I'm done, but least his attitude is back, I was really worried. Also I wouldn't have tore the skin/scab off but the way he had it tore what would have happened is it would've completely healed over and stopped all chances of draining. I wouldn't have taken it off otherwise because it was letting it drain while still partly covering the wound preventing more bacteria from getting in. 

Have you taken him to the vet yet?  Do it sooner than later.  I have a cat who had a wound that abscessed on his knee, and I couldn't feel it, I thought it was bone.  I didn't know about it until he split his skin from his hip to his ankle.  It took 3 surgeries to correct it.  He's fine now, but I'm still sick over the torture he went through.  If I had noticed it earlier, he probably could have had a vet flush it out and then be put on antibiotics and that would have been it.  Probably would have cost a tenth of what I spent on him, and saved him so much pain.

Good luck with your cat.

Thanks, I'm honestly getting him to the vet asap, I've been very worried. It does seem like something other than an abscess though cause it's already been open and drained. It's healing very well, as well as the cut on his side. I had to take the same precautions with that one as well because it was worse than I thought. He wouldn't let me see really well before he'd get sick of being held (normal for him) and his fur (while very beautiful) is very thick so it was hard to see. It's also healing nicely now but I still am getting him to the vet asap to get it checked on.

It's probably an abscess that has burst.  It is possible that it will heal on its own, but it's also very possible that it will close up with an infection still under the skin, and the whole process will start over again.  Flushing would get a lot of the infected gunk out of there, but being put on an antibiotic is key.

Good luck going to the vet!

Thanks to you all who have commented. I'm finding myself having trouble getting the money together as quick as I want to. Does anyone know of any organizations who might help with the financial costs of this? I'm just getting increasingly frustrated (not to mentioned worried) with the way things are going in life and I need some help to speed things up...