My cat has a painful bitten ear. What can I do at home to help him?

Bite wounds are often worse under the surface of the skin than they appear externally. I'm glad to hear that Alfred does not appear to be forming a swollen abscess, but he probably should receive a course of antibiotics from his vet. You can try keeping the open wounds clean with an antiseptic soap (such as Betadine or Chlorhexidine), but avoid putting hydrogen peroxide on the wounds. Be sure to keep Alfred from scratching at the wound and put an e-collar on him if necessary. I hope that all goes well!

Owie, it looks like your kitty has a cat bite abscess in her ear. Almost all cat bites are infected, so this is not unusual. The location is rather unusual. Maggots are gross, however in this case I think they helped clean the wound. Maggots are often used in human medicine to clean out infected wounds, so this is a tried and tested method, albeit, in your kitty's case not originally intended. This is all you can do for tonight. You did na nice job cleaning the wound and I see it is quite swollen, so now the swelling needs to go down. That might take a few days. Your vet will likely prescribe an antibiotic to keep the wound from festering again. If you have an e-collar at home, you could put that on your kitty to keep her from scratching the wound, however I suspect she will leave the wound alone anyway.

I wouldn't recommend it, because this drug has a narrow margin of safety in cats and can cause serious harm to kidneys and gastrointestinal tract. Please read the article at this link below for more information about giving aspirin to cats. https://www.petcoach.co/canigive/cat/aspirin/ The best thing you can do for a suspected infection is keep the area clean and covered if possible. Here are my recommendations: 1) Wash/spray the area with just cool, clean water (no soap or other antiseptics) for at least 5 minutes at a time. Do this at least twice a day. 2) Bandage the wound with gauze and apply an over-the-counter antibacterial cream (i.e Neosporin) to the wound. Only apply the cream if the wound can be covered - otherwise, she will likely lick it off. I still recommend she sees a vet sometime soon though. An infected cyst is not common and may actually indicate a tumor or other problem, so you'll definitely want a vet to examine the wound. I hope that helps and Gia gets better soon.

Unfortunately there are no over the counter medications that I would recommend starting until you can see your vet. I also don't typically recommend cleaning a cat's ears with any washes or solutions unless your vet instructs you to - cats have very sensitive ears and can develop vertigo from vigorous ear cleaning. Your best bet is to see your vet as soon as you can.

This is a severe infection and should be treated as soon as possible. Some amoxicillin and clavulanic acid both locally and systemically could help and should be the first choice. If this antibiotic won't help a bacterial swab should be taken to identify the type of infection more specifically. Always handle this wound with gloves as well. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

This is probably self inflicted and due to generalized itch or inflammation infection of the ear canal. A check up would be immediately required to determine specifically underlying cause and treat appropriately. Disinfection may be started at home with very diluted hibiscrub or betadine or salted water baths. Buster collar may be useful as well to avoid any scratching. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

No, please don't give your cat over the counter medications. Cats are extremely sensitive to them and you will not be able to get a dose small enough for a 1 pound cat. It is not recommended you give any medicines over the counter. If this was from an ingrown nail then he will need some antibiotics. It is likely infected which is why it is swollen. He really needs to see a vet for this issue. That way he can get the proper treatment. In the meantime you can soak the foot in an Epsom salt bath for 5 minutes 2-3 times per day. This may allow the infection to come to the surface and open. Hope this helps. Best wishes.