Be Prepared To Deal With Cat Wounds

My cat had been in a fight. Despite a few little scabs, my cat did not look hurt. After a few weeks a lump or swelling appeared on the side my cat. He then became less agile and started limping. I had a look over him, and there was no cut or scab near this lump but I could smell a really stale smell coming from him.

I realised the importance of treating this early and I knew that he would need to go to the vets, but I would have to wait till the vets was open and I could get an appointment. I kept a close eye on him and on a later inspection I noticed that there was some dried blood around but I could not see any opening or fresh cut and so did not know where this came from. I got some cotton wool and warm water and bathed the area but could still not find any opening where this blood was coming from.

Again the next morning, I went to find the cat straight away and there he was sitting on his favourite chair. The lump did not appear to be on his side on anymore but his fur in that area did appear to be wet like he had been licking himself clean. Now the lump had disappeared, I could see that there was some puss seeping out of the holes from his side and the horrible foul smell had not disappeared.

I didn’t know what to do now. I couldn’t take him to the vets yet as they were not open. I knew that my first priority was to try and ensure that I got this wounded area clean and kept it clean. I didn’t want him to get any more of an infection and although he wanted to clean it himself, he could be transferring dirt and germs instead of getting it clean. How do you clean a cat’s wounded side. I thought that the only way to clean him was using a bowl of clean water and cotton wool, but was not sure that this was sufficient in these instances.

I then realised that I needed to like wash and flush the wound out to remove any remaining puss, dirt and debris. I then decided that I wanted to flush the wound out and would need to use the bath. This meant that I would need some assistance and get someone to hold and keep the cat in the bath. I went to look for an item I could use to squirt or pour water over this area. By using one of these methods pushing the warm water solution out with some force on, above and around the area, should force and wash the area removing any puss, infection, dirt and debris away and less likely to move around any infection to a different area.

This way of cleaning the wound or flushing the wound, was certainly a lot quicker than dabbing with cotton wool and hopefully should have cleaned the wound a lot more thoroughly with less risk of spreading the infection. With the wounded area now cleaner, I need to ensure that it stays clean and does not become infected again.

My cat was actually in less discomfort and pain now that the abscess and infection had dispersed, the swelling removed and the wounded area was clean. He didn’t seem to be trying to keep cleaning the area himself. However as it was a while since we could get an appointment with the vets, I regularly kept cleaning this wounded area myself, using this flushing method to ensure that it remained cleaned. This lump had been an abscess, from a very small puncture wound when he had been fighting but had left no mark.

It is hard to know what area to clean when your cat has a puncture wound, as you can’t really see it, but you do need to look out for any signs that an abscess can be forming and the sooner it is treated, the better the chance for a quicker recovery from your cat.

This article points out just what does happen. Fortunately this lady was prepared and knew pretty well what to do.  It also shows the problems (if not panic) that can occur when you are not prepared for these times.  Be sure you do not get stuck when something nasty like this happens to your cat.

Click here to check out Dr. Andrew Jones and his Pet First Aid Secrets