Treating Minor Wounds at Home

Very small scrapes or cuts to your cat are often not worth worrying too much about. Minor abrasions will usually heal on their own without human intervention. If your cat does suffer a small injury, keep an eye on the wound site and watch for signs of healing. If swelling, redness, or oozing occurs, it’s time to seek professional help.

Wounds without puncture sites or that bleed just a little can be treated with a bit of feline first aid.
Step 1: Secure Your Pet

Even the friendliest cat can scratch or bite if they are in pain or frightened. Wrap your cat in a towel to keep them still while you’re applying first aid. It helps to do this part with two people, though with care, one can manage alone if need be. Wrapping your cat in a towel is a technique many veterinarians use. If the towel will interfere with access to the wound, another option is to hold the cat by the scruff of their neck. Again, an extra pair of hands can make this much easier.
Step 2: Examine the Wound

Make sure it is not deeper or more serious than you might have assumed. If the wound is minor, you can move on to cleaning it yourself.
Step 3: Clean the Wound

Fill a syringe with a mixture of water and antiseptic solution. Rinse the wound site several times with this mixture. Antibacterial soap can work, as can the antiseptic soap you’d buy in any regular pharmacy’s first aid section.

Minor wounds often heal best when able to breathe, so you probably want to skip a bandage. What’s more, some veterinarians note that pet parents sometimes wrap bandages too tightly, causing circulation problems. If you think your pet needs a bandage, it’s best to let your vet do it.
Step 4: Keep a Close Eye

Keep your cat inside and watch the wound for signs of healing. If the site begins to look red or inflamed, or if pus develops in or around the wound, contact your vet immediately.

If the wound is on your cat’s paw of foot, swap out the kitty litter for newspaper, to avoid litter particles from irritating the wound or causing an infection.
More Serious Wounds

Any wound that involves punctures or more than minor blood loss should be treated by a vet as soon as possible. Puncture wounds, especially those caused by a bite from another animal, can easily become infected, as can deep cuts. These wounds can seal over, trapping dirt and bacteria inside. You’ll also want to make sure your pet’s rabies vaccine is up to date if the wound is a bite from another animal.

Injuries of this type that are left untreated can result in the formation of abscesses, or pus-filled pockets at the wound site. These abscesses can be very painful to your cat and can also result in lethargy and fever.

Watch for these signs as well as limping or tenderness of the wound as indications that an emergency vet trip is required.

Should your cat suffer a serious injury and you can’t get to the vet right away, you may have to apply pressure to the wound to stop the bleeding. You can also clean around the edges of these larger cuts, but let your vet flush the wound.

Last, check around your cat’s body for any additional injuries it may have gotten, that you might have missed while tending to the biggie. And of course, be sure your cat’s vaccinations are up to date, especially if wounds were inflicted by another animal.
I hope this helped. a tip if in doubt take your pet to the vet.

She has never had any kind of surgery. The wound (or whatever you want to call it) only appeared for the first time 2 nights ago, hence why it’s such a shock and why I’m so confused as to what it is.

i would absolutely take your kitten to the vet – pain is an indicator that something is wrong!  your vet should be able to tell you why your kitten is in pain.

Yes take her to a Vet….there is obviously something going on with her foot that needs investigating.

UPDATE: took him to the vet today, for the past couple days before our appointment we’ve had him on bed rest and that helped alot. The limping got less severe and it seemed like he could put more weight down on that leg. The vet had said it could be a partailly torn ligament in his knee from the exam. X-rays at the beginning of next month and he’s currently on some doggy pain killers and inflammation drugs and two weeks bed rest! But he’s walking on it even better with the drugs even after one dose.

He might of hit his head pretty hard sense you can’t afford a vet just watch him for a few days and if it gets worse you gotta to the vet.;)

Hello Brittany, I agree with Brooke your dog is in pain and needs to see a Vet. If you don’t have the funds then please get them from somewhere…..borrow the money phone Vets see if they will let you pay it off. Dogs like people need medical attention sometimes and your dog needs it now. 

If you haven’t already taken him to a Vet then you need to take him urgently. Hes in pain and suffering. Please don’t just leave him like this. You need to find the money to take him from somewhere. 

UPDATE: It’s only been a few hours since my post, but the thing ruptured. It’s gone from the dark purple to a clear ring with slight red around it. I’m guessing it was just a large pimple or blister of some kind. I’ve cleaned and disinfected it. I’ll keep an eye on it, but I’m guessing she’s going to be just fine.

Hello,
Sorry your cat is not feeling well.

To transport him to a vet, you’ll just have to be gentle with him. He needs to go so just take your time. Maybe slide a towel under him and wrap the sides up around him like a burrito,,then gently lift it and place him in a cat carrier. He will probably howl or hiss, but you’ve got to take him to be seen. Just do it quick but gentle.

If you have a cat carrier you can usually remove the top and just set him inside, then screw or snap the top back in place. If you don’t have a carrier, find a box, poke holes in it that are size of a quarter, then put him into the box for transport.

Good luck!!
~kelly