My cat was cut while grooming. Is the wound healing or infected?

Ouch! That looks like a large bit of skin was taken. It if is larger than 2-3 inches in size, I would have your vet suture it with a drain to keep it from getting infected. If it's smaller than that, keeping the area clean and dry and keeping Leroy from licking it is best to prevent infection. Signs of an infection starting include oozing or debris, swelling, pain, or heat/swelling around the area, which needs to be treated with antibiotics from your vet.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It is superficial enough that I think it is possibly going to heal on its own with more time. My concern is that it could also get infected. Try to keep the area as clean as possible and try to prevent her from scratching at it. If no improvement is noted in the next few days or it is worsening, have her evaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Good luck and have a great day!

Hi, it looks like Gelato has an infected wound. If you take a close look to the picture you can see there is a yellow tinge to it. It is not going to heal while infected. To start with, you could clean the area with some salty water putting one spoon of salt in a mug of hot water and leaving it to cool down. Once the salty water is luke warm, you can use it on the wound with some cotton wool. It might be that the yellow scab comes off and it leaves an open gap that it oozing some discharge. I also recommend to wear gloves to clean the wound. If possible at all, nest to have it checked over so your vet can clean it for you, and give antibiotics. Hope this helps !

This presentation could be due to a trauma or localized spot of skin infection (likely to be caused by bacteria). It may heal on its own, even though it will take few days. Disinfection may be done at home with very diluted hibiscrub or betadine or salted water baths twice daily. Buster collar may be useful as well to avoid any licking. If the wound will not heal/or at least improve in 5 days, a check up, appropriate disinfection and possibly antibiotics (oral, topical or in a shampoo formulation) are needed to solve the problem. 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. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

Tuna could have been injured. If you have clippers, trim back the fur in that area. Wash the wound with warm water and antiseptic soap. Keep the wound clean and dry, and monitor it daily. If you see signs of infection (redness, swelling, warmth to the touch, pus), you will need to take her into a vet immediately.

It will heal fine. Trim the fur so the air can get to the skin and then clean the area with hydrogen peroxide to prevent infection. Luckily cats heal skin wounds quickly if they stay open to prevent infection under the skin. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you get answers to your veterinary questions.

Surgery may be needed to clean the edges and see if the wound can be repaired. Often times, this does require some times for the tissue to declare itself before this is done to see what tissue will be healthy to save. All you can do until it is ready for surgery is keep it clean and stay on antibiotics to prevent an infection. Rechecks should be frequent to determine when surgery would be best. Cats are the best at healing and granulating in new tissue as long as the infection stays under control.