My cat's ear wounds won't heal after antibiotics. Could it be serious?

Poor Gravy! Those do look painful. If you haven't yet, a skin scraping of the site sent to a lab may help determine if there is a specific bacteria or infection causing the wounds. This may give your vet the ability to target it better with a more specific antibiotic that will help it to heal. Making sure to keep Gravy from pawing at the spot with an Elizabethan (cone) collar can also help promote healing and prevent further irritation. In long-term non-healing wounds, many vets have also found success using Manuka honey (different than the honey you get in the grocery store) as a salve to help promote tissue growth and healing. If you'd like a more specific consultation, or have additional questions, I highly recommend scheduling a consult with one of our vets as they will be able to assist you in a more chat-like setting and can provide you with more detailed answers and information.

That is a pretty large wound! That being said though, it looks like it is healing fine. It does not appear swollen or to have discharge coming from it. The tissue looks healthy. Having it stitched when it first happened which would have allowed it to heal faster. I am not sure how long it's been but a wound that size would take weeks to heal without stitches. If I were you I would keep applying a topical antibiotic cream and just leave it be. Stop using the Betadine. If he is licking it you must stop that behavior by using an Elizabethan collar (cone). As long as he keeps licking it will not heal. If you want it to heal faster you need to take him to a vet to have it stitched. Hope this helps. Best wishes!

Skin cancer is unlikely at that age. It is more likely that there is an infection there which did not clear up as antibiotics are needed. Bite wounds must be considered always infected. A check up is needed. Your veterinarian will flush the wound first and prescribe local or systemic antibiotics.

Hi, I am sorry to hear about Sparrow's ear. The inside of his ear looks clean as you have shown in the picture. The back/base of his ear unfortunately looks quite infected. It is great that you are keeping the Ecollar on to prevent him from scratching the ear. Sometimes topical treatment alone will not be able to heal this type of infection. The area looks very moist, either from infection or the ointment(s) that are being applied. Typically when cats have an infected area on their skin, we want the area dry and do not put on topical treatments. This wound would most likely heal very quickly with a visit to Sparrow's veterinarian. The doctor can clip and clean the wound with medical grade gentle cleansing solution and get Sparrow on antibiotics. The antibiotics (which needs a doctor prescription) is the main treatment to get this to heal. I cannot recommend any further over the counter treatments that would allow this to heal. I am sorry about that. I would recommend to keep him indoors only, keep the ecollar on, and hold off on the ointment so the area can dry up. The veterinary appointment can hopefully happen soon and Sparrow will be on his way to healing quickly. Best of luck.

Ouch! Those look pretty painful. If the medication isn't working it may be a good idea to take a sample of the lesions to be sent out to a lab for testing to see if there is a more specific medication that can be used, or if there is another cause for the lesions. Some viral illnesses can also cause lesions, in which case antibiotics wouldn't work to treat the underlying cause, only to prevent secondary infection from forming. Since they are coming back and look pretty painful, additional examination and bloodwork is also a good idea to narrow down possibilities. Keeping your catch from biting at or scratching the lesions with an Elizabethan (cone) collar is also a good idea to help prevent further irritation while it tries to heal.

From the picture I can only say this may be due to a trauma or localized spot of skin infection (likely to be caused by bacteria or fungal). A check up, appropriate disinfection and possibly antibiotics or antifungal meds (oral, topical or in a shampoo formulation) are needed to solve the problem. More investigations like sampling and bacterial swabs would be needed to determine the underlying cause more specifically. In my experience I have seen large wounds like this one from Poxvirus infection (but usually other wounds are present as well). I would suggest to handle this wound always with gloves (you are doing it anyway as I can see from the pic). Buster collar may be useful as well to avoid any licking. 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 presentation could be due to a trauma (autotraumatism) or localized spot of skin infection (likely to be caused by bacteria). A check up, appropriate disinfection and possibly antibiotics (oral, topical or in a shampoo formulation) are needed to solve the problem. 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.