My cat has a scratch on her neck with fur loss. Should I see a vet?

Question

Hi, my cat has a little scratch yet a fair bit of fur lost from the area. even more now it has been a week. I think she is scratching it but I haven't seen her do it. It doesn't look like ringworm nor is it infected. I disinfected the area at the back of her neck. it has been on her since last week. No signs of healing yet - I think she has scratched the scab off. Do I need to take her to a vet? Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed | 2 years and 7 months old | 6 lbs

Kevin Sanada, DVM · Accepted Answer

This does appear to be due to a traumatic injury (bite/scratch), but is not too bad, so it's fine to treat it at home for now. I don't reccomend applying any strong disinfectants to the wound, because this can actually make it worse and delay healing. It's best to just flush the wound using a syringe or other dispensing device with warm water for five minutes. This may not be easy, because cats tend to hate water getting near their face. I recommend having someone help you with this and wrapping Wednesday in a towel to make sure the wound gets flushed well. Below is a link to a demonstration of an eye flush that shows how to restrain her well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDGzdUTUdNI Infection is the biggest concern with these wounds; so after flushing, apply an antibacterial cream to the wound. In order to keep the wound clean, you should flush it 1-2 times a day and gently wipe away any big crusts - make sure not to scrub the wound, because this can make it worse. Apply the antibacterial cream after each flushing. If the wound starts to swell, gets bigger, or has pus oozing from it, then I'd recommend she go to the vet for treatment. Otherwise, the wound should heal fine over the next 2 weeks of it's a simple scratch. I hope that helps and Wednesday gets better soon.

My cat has a scratch on her neck with fur loss. Should I see a vet?

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