My cat has an open wound from cancer. How do I clean it safely?

Question

Hello, My cat Bugger has an open wound due to Squamous cell carcinoma. I clean the wound twice a day with saline and then apply Neomycin and Polymyxin B Sulfates and Dexamethasone Ophthalmic ointment. The wound bleeds and stings after using the saline. I am going to clean the wound with sterile warm water and then use the ointment. May I have your thoughts please? Thank you. Linda. Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Shorthair | Male | 17 years and 6 months old

Lauren Jones VMD · Accepted Answer

Hi Linda. I'm sorry to hear that Bugger has squamous cell carcinoma. If you're cleaning the wound simply to remove any build up of discharge, then saline alone is sufficient. However, if you're looking more for antiseptic properties, cleansers like chlorhexidine (Hibiclens is a trade name) or betadine are more effective. Either of these should be rinsed well with water. With that said, if his SCC is near his eye, avoid other cleansers, as they could cause eye irritation. Generally speaking, I try to avoid medications containing neomycin in cats because many cats can react poorly. Additionally, the dexamethasone may help minimize some inflammation, but is likely to delay any healing. Ultimately, your best option is to establish a care protocol with Bugger's vet since I don't know the extent of this lesion nor its location. In the meantime, you can stick with saline cleaning if the lesion is near his eye, or switch to the antiseptic cleansers mentioned above if the lesion is elsewhere. I hope that everything goes well.

My cat has an open wound from cancer. How do I clean it safely?

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