Cat got bitten on the ear and its infected

Question
My cat was bitten on the ear by a stray cat, I'm sure, and his ear is swollen. I put hydrogen peroxide on it and it started bleeding and oozing pus. When I put the peroxide on it I could see it went all the way through to the backside. Now the tip of his ear is starting to turn inside out. It's still bleeding ALOT and was wondering If there's something else that might help or if I need to take him to the vet. I've never seen an ear turn inside out like that. It's been about 5 days now. Thanks so much for any suggestions!!

Answer
Hi Michelle.  Yes, it certainly does sound like it's time for an antibiotic, which the vet will need to provide.  Abscesses are less common on the ears than on thicker tissues where bite wounds can penetrate more deeply, but they do occur.  And these pockets of infection can be dangerous.  The bacteria can travel into the blood stream causing a deadly condition called septicemia (infection of the blood), if the infection goes untreated.

If there is a lot of pus trapped in the wound, the vet will need to peel off the scab if there is one present in order to drain the pus.  If no visible scab is present, the vet may need to lance the wound to drain it.  It will be your job at home to make sure that the wound doesn't scab over again until the infection has clearly drained out of it.

Peroxide is less desirable to use on cats than some other disinfectants, because it can react with their tissues, giving off a small amount of gas inside the wound, which can lead to swelling.  So your vet will probably give you a blue flush called Chlorhexiderm to use to cleanse the wound a few times a day.  Short of that, the best idea is usually just an antibacterial hand soap, such as Dial.

Cat bites can spread deadly diseases such as feline leukemia and feline AIDS.  Anytime there's a deep, penetrating bite like this, you may want to consider doing a test.  However, you would need to give the body some time to develop antibodies and antigens, which the test relies on.  If you decide to go for the test, you should have the vet run the test 2-3 months from now.

I hope he's all better soon!

Jessica