My cat has a smelly open head wound from a fight. What can I do?

Question

Our cat has had a wound on his head for about a week caused by a fight (I think). The crust just fell off leaving an open wound smaller than 0.5 cm. We have cleaned it with salt water solution. There doesn't seem to be any significant swelling. He isn't bothered by the wound but it does have a relatively pungent smell to it. Our dog is very interested in it and has licked it on multiple occasions. We would like to avoid going to the vet, so we'd like to know what we could do tonight to help him? Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Male | neutered | 3 years and 1 month old | 12 lbs

Linda G, MS, DVM · Accepted Answer

Hello. If you have or can purchase a skin antiseptic, one with either 2% chlorhexidine or 1% povidine iodine, then you can gently clean this 2 times daily. Antibiotics would hasten healing, & if the wound is not looking better by early next week, I would consider a veterinary visit. But by keeping this clean, it will heal, & yes, this has the look of a typical cat bite abscess, so he did get into an argument with another cat. Thanks for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

My cat has a smelly open head wound from a fight. What can I do?

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