My cat's ear tear from a fight isn't healing. Can it be glued?

Question

Approximately 3 weeks ago, I discovered my cat had wounds consistent with a cat fight. I took him straight to the vets where he was given the treatment required. A couple of weeks on I noticed that a mark on his ear, which I thought was just a scratch, had formed a 1cm tear, and it has not healed together. Could this have be glued at the time I took him to the vets, or is skin glue not used for this sort of feline injury?

Christie Long, DVM · Accepted Answer

Skin glue can be used to close small lacerations, however ear lacerations are very difficult to get to heal "cleanly" (i.e. achieve closure) due to the relatively small surface area of the 2 edges you are trying to bring together. Also, most of the tissue in that location is cartilage, which doesn't heal very well in the best of circumstances. It wouldn't have been wrong to try to glue or suture this injury, but I would have been pretty pessimistic about chances for normal healing, even if it was addressed at the time you first brought him in. If you are really concerned about this, the way to approach it would be to debride both edges (that means to take a scalpel blade and scrape until the tissue is bleeding) and then suture closed. Obviously this would require anesthesia, and I'm just not sure it's worth it.

My cat's ear tear from a fight isn't healing. Can it be glued?

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