open sore crawling with parasites in 4 month old kitten

Question
we live in a very rural area and we have many outdoor cats ( plus feral ones)the one 4 month old kitten was found with an open sore that was CRAWLING with what looked like maggots...we cleaned it as well as we could but unfortunatley my husband said that it looked like whatever it was had eaten into his back end...any ideas what we could have done?? it happened so fast that im not sure if i missed something..

Answer
Hi
unfortunately this is what can happen. It sounds like fly strike. this is where a wound becomes infected by maggots and the maggots eat away at the flesh. if treated quickly enough by a vet with antibiotics and wound care it is possible for the animal to recover.

Please don't blame yourself, these things can happen quickly and it sounds like when you found the kitten the infestation was already very bad.

if the kitten is still alive, all you can do is to take it to a vet to see if they think he can be saved.

best wishes kate