cat bite

Question
I think my cat was bitten by an animal while outside.  Its an indoor, outdoor cat. Shots are current and he is fixed. It has 2 small spots on the side of his body by the hind leg.  I did not notice it till yesterday when he crawled on my lap and I began to pet him. When I pet his back he acted as if to bite me but did not.  Very unusual for him.  He did not want to go outside today and was acting unusual.  Hiding a lot. When he finally came out I pet him and felt something odd on him like a sticker or something stuck in his fur. It was dried blood.  A very small spot. I put some hydrogen peroxide on it with a small syringe (with out needle).  What else should I do.  What should I watch for. He ate a little less today but did eat.

Answer
Hi Anna.


There may have been a tomcat around a female and your cat got too close. Or there could be a new bully in the neighborhood.

The main thing about animal bites is that they abscess easily. Mainly because of bacteria in the other animals mouth. They are difficult to treat at home because they need to be kept open to drain and heal from the inside out.

Hydrogen peroxide is good because it draws infection out. (what you see bubbling). But it can damage the skin.

The cat is probably acting unusual and hiding because it scared the bejeeses out of him.

You can hope that it was just a scratch that you can put Neo-sporin on and it will be OK in a couple of days.

I would cut away the fur around the wound and see if it is a puncture wound or a gash. If it is a puncture wound, if possible, I would take the cat to the vet to have the wound cleaned out and the cat given some antibiotics.

If it does abscess and if you try to treat it at home you have to try to keep it open but It will eventually burst  (from healing inward) which is very messy and unsanitary. And the cat will probably feel ill until it does burst.

I am including a link to an in-depth article about cat abscesses and other wounds that is very informative. It should be helpful to you.
Copy and paste the whole link in your address bar:

http://www.vetinfo4cats.com/cabscess.html#Abcesses

Let's hope it doesn't abscess but be prepared that it might.

Carol