Found injured stray, can't afford vet. What to do for wounds?

Question

I found a stray with a deep 3inch gash on her back and some puncture wounds on the base of her ears. She has dried blood all over the gash and may have more wounds. I cant afford to take her to the vet but want to help her. What can I do? Can I clean the wounds with water and shave surrounding hair? Or should I wait for her to heal before touching the wounds and cleaning off the blood?

Andrea M. Brodie, DVM · Accepted Answer

It would help to know if you are talking about a cat, dog, squirrel, etc. as each species is to be treated differently. You can shave the hair around the wounds, clean up the wounds with wound cleanser available from a pharmacy or H2O2 (only once with H2O2 in order to remove debris and dirt. do not use it more than once as it can hinder healing). She will likely need antibiotics, so maybe you can find some money to take her to a vet. There are quite a few ways to get financial help with vet bills: https://www.youcaring.com/blog/2016/need-help-with-vet-bills https://www.avma.org/public/YourVet/Pages/Financial-assistance-for-veterinary-care-costs.aspx https://bestfriends.org/resources/financial-aid-pets https://www.paws.org/cats-and-dogs/other-services/help-with-veterinary-bills/ http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/trouble_affording_veterinary_care.html?credit=web_id98635957 American Animal Hospital Association  http://www.aahahelpingpets.org/ "Through the AAHA Helping Pets Fund, veterinary care is possible for sick or  injured pets even if they have been abandoned or if their owner is experiencing  financial hardship." Angels 4 Animals  http://www.angels4animals.org/  "Our services range from financial aid to complete treatment  to those pets and pet owners in need." Care Credit  http://www.carecredit.com/  A credit card company for health care, including veterinary care.  "With a comprehensive range of plan options, for  treatment or procedure fees from $1 to over $25,000, we offer a plan  and a low monthly payment to fit comfortably into almost every  budget." Feline Veterinary Emergency Assistance (FVEAP)  http://www.fveap.org/sys-tmpl/door/  "Seniors, People with disabilities, People who  have lost their job, Good Samaritans who rescue a cat or kitten - any of these  folks may need financial assistance to save a beloved companion." The Feline Veterinary Emergency Assistance Program is a nonprofit 501  (c)(3) organization that provides financial assistance to cat and  kitten guardians who are unable to afford veterinary services to save  their companions when life-threatening illness or injury strikes. God's Creatures Ministry  http://www.all-creatures.org/gcm/help-cf.html  "This fund helps pay for veterinarian bills for those who need help." Help-A-Pet  http://www.help-a-pet.org/home.html  "Our efforts focus on serving the elderly, the disabled, and the  working poor." IMOM  http://www.imom.org/  "We are dedicated to insure that no  companion animal has to be euthanized simply because their caretaker  is financially challenged." The Pet Fund  http://thepetfund.com/  "The Pet Fund is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit association that  provides financial assistance to owners of domestic animals who need  urgent veterinary care." United Animal Nations  http://www.uan.org/lifeline/index.html  "The mission of LifeLine is to help homeless or recently rescued  animals suffering from life-threatening conditions that require  specific and immediate emergency veterinary care. We strive to serve  Good Samaritans and rescue groups who take in sick or injured  animals. In certain cases, LifeLine can also assist senior citizens  and low-income families pay for immediate emergency veterinary care." Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please take the time to mark this question as helpful or not as it helps us to improve on the quality of our answers to other pet owners. Thank you kindly!

Found injured stray, can't afford vet. What to do for wounds?

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