My cat has a deep open leg wound. How can I treat it at home?

Question

My cat gio has an open wound on his back left leg. It's decently deep, I don't have the money to take him to a vet an give him stitches what can I do. Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Male | unneutered | 5 lbs

Jenna Beyer, DVM, MBA, cVMA · Accepted Answer

The first step in wound treatment is to get the hair out of the way. You will need to use clippers to clip a wide area around the wound - you can't use scissors or a razor, you have to use the buzzing type of clippers. The next step is disinfection. I recommend using a first aid chlorhexidine scrub to gently rub into the wound, and wash copiously with clean water. You only need to do this once. The third step is to prevent Gio from licking the wound. Licking spreads bacteria and decreases the rate of healing. You will have to buy an e-collar or cone for her to wear since cats are very flexible and a bandage will not be able to stay in place on this area of her body. You can apply Neosporin ointment twice a day, making sure she doesn't lick it off. If you follow these steps, small wounds will often heal on their own. If the wound has already been infected, or continues to swell, oozes a creamy discharge, or he has a rectal temperature above 103 (normal is 100-102.5), Gio will need prescription antibiotics to allow the wound to heal.

My cat has a deep open leg wound. How can I treat it at home?

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