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My cat has a deep leg wound but seems fine. Should I go to the vet?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed | 6 years and 11 months old

Hello I recently noticed our cat has a wound on her leg. She seems her usual self purring and meowing, walking and jumping about. She cleans it a lot. It does seem pretty deep. Don't know whether to leave a few days and see how it goes or take her to our local vet. Thanks, Nath

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Emily, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on May 31st, 2017

Hello I can't tell from the picture how deep that wound is but it does look infected and there's underlying tissue and possibly muscle exposed. I recommend takinh your cat to see a veterinarian as she could be licking at the site when you're not watching and causing further infection. It may need to be closed or the vet may decide it should stay open (with some infected wounds closing can cause an abscess to form) and put her on antibiotics and pain medication. She might also need an E collar to prevent her from licking the area further.

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    Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

    Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer

    Published on

    Poor Lily! I agree that the wound does look quite deep - all the way through the skin, and I can even see a bit of tissue beneath the muscle layer in the photo. Because of this, I would really recommend taking her to the vet as soon as you can rather than waiting a few days - without antibiotics, it's very likely that she will develop a nasty infection in this wound, which will then be much harder to treat.

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