Cut cats fur too short

[xenabean]

Ugh! I feel like an awful cat mom! My cat had a few matts under his front leg that I cut off. I always cut his matts myself but this time I cut a little too low without realizing and drew blood. Not a lot and the cut isn't deep but it is enough that he gets mad when I tried to clean it. It's like the top layer of skin peeled off. My bet friend told me to just put some bacetraycin ointment on it and keep and eye on it but that it should heal on its own since it's not deep but i feel so bad and I'm worried. Has anyone ever done that before?

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• xenabean
• Mar 10, 2016

 

[janneb]

I seem to remember doing something similar when I was trying to remove matts from my family's kitty years ago. I felt so sick about it, stomach dropped. However, it wasn't very big, I just freak out easily. Rufus didn't even notice. I can't tell how large the cut is (honestly it isn't pretty) from your picture, but if it's tiny and truly the first layer (pinky nail size), I would just put on the cream and watch him closely and check the wound often. If your vet friend said the same, thats likely all they would do at the vets. The risk is infection so keep it clean, which is hard if it will come in contact with litter or if he is an outdoor kitty. But if it's big (if it was on you, would you need stiches?), you should probably take him in.

 

[xenabean]

I seem to remember doing something similar when I was trying to remove matts from my family's kitty years ago. I felt so sick about it, stomach dropped. However, it wasn't very big, I just freak out easily. Rufus didn't even notice. I can't tell how large the cut is (honestly it isn't pretty) from your picture, but if it's tiny and truly the first layer (pinky nail size), I would just put on the cream and watch him closely and check the wound often. If your vet friend said the same, thats likely all they would do at the vets. The risk is infection so keep it clean, which is hard if it will come in contact with litter or if he is an outdoor kitty. But if it's big (if it was on you, would you need stiches?), you should probably take him in.

If it was on me I definitely would not need stitches. It would look like a scrape on me. It doesnt seem to be bothering him at all. Only when I try to look at it, he gets mad but I was able to put the ointment on it last nice and this morning. This morning it already looked better. I think he was cleaning it himself. It was no longer red, just the same color as his skin. Phew!

 

[janneb]

Good! If it's not oozing anymore then it's probably well on its way to healing. Just keep an eye on it til it's for sure better. I'm sorry that happened. There's nothing worse than accidents like this, I know. Maybe you should look into grooming tools if mats are common. Long haired kitties with fine fur need to be brushed frequently, but mats happen. Maybe there are specific tools for cutting mats that protect the skin?