My cat's leg wound isn't healing after antibiotics. What should I do?

It sounds like he had an abscess from an injury, probably an altercation with another cat. A veterinarian would likely not suture it anyway to avoid trapping any contaminants and causing another abscess. It looks pretty clean with healthy granulation tissue forming. The antibiotics, even intermittent have probably helped keep further infection at bay. Keep an eye on it, if he will let you, clean it gently with a damp clean washcloth and keep any debris or infected material cleaned out. It should heal from the outside of the wound to the inside, gradually shrinking and closing over the open area. As long as he continues to eat and drink and behave normally, and and the wound continues to look clean with pink and healthy tissue, he should do fine. He needs to eat, going without eating for more than a few days will cause liver problems in cats which would require a vet visit to be treated.

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!

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 !

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.

Hello. I would not try to dress the wound yourself. Some products can be very dangerous to cats, and due to excessive grooming they often eat products. I would recommend firstly to get an e-collar to prevent her from licking. Cats licking at a wound would prevent and delay healing. Also, if it has been 2 months and not healing, then I would be worried about infection, especially if she has been licking as cat's mouths contain very nasty bacteria. I would suggest having it seen by a vet. You can try the e-collar first for a couple days if Luda isn't bothered by the wound, and if it is healing you can leave the e-collar on for 10 days to allow it to heal completely. If it isn't healing then have it seen by a vet. Don't apply any bandages or products to it, you are risking causing much more harm, and not helping at all.

I am sorry this happened to your cat. This appears to be a very serious injury. Those are tendons showing. He should get antibiotics and this injury should be stitched up. If there is any way you can get him to a vet that is really the best option. I am not sure what products you have available for use in Brazil so I am not sure how to help you. I will try my best. If you can get Betadine solution I would make it into a dilution that looks like weak iced tea (light to medium brown). Do not use it straight. If the cat will let you I would soak that injury in that solution for 3-5 minutes a couple times per day. Discard the solution after each use and make a new solution. Do not re-use the same solution. If the cat won't let you soak the leg then you can just flush/wash the injury with that dilute solution. After that, dry the injury thoroughly, apply a thin layer of antibiotic ointment and then bandage it (not too tightly). Keep doing that until it is healed. It may take weeks. If you can keep him indoors during this time that would be best. Again, a vet visit is the best option in this case.

Poor kitty! Since this wound looks rather deep and he is limping, I would definitely recommend having him seen by a veterinarian - it looks like he will probably need an antibiotic and possibly an anti-inflammatory or other pain medication, in order to treat the injury and help it heal.