My cat lost part of his ear, no bleeding. What to do until the vet?

Poor Mishka. Thank you for providing a picture, it's very helpful to me. I would gently clean her wound with warm water and antiseptic soap. To keep her from scratching at it, you can put an Ecollar on her. You can get one at a pet store or make one at home. Keep her indoors for now at all times while this is healing. Do not let her outside, especially not with the Ecollar on. I wouldn't even take it off to let her outside, as she will immediately try to scratch the wound. Keep the wound clean and dry, and monitor it for signs of infection. If you see redness, swelling, warmth to the touch, or pus, then it is infected and she will need to see the vet for antibiotics to treat it. I hope this helps!

Many cats get their ears sliced during a fight and the ear usually heals by itself. Just watch for swelling, and oozing of pus (infection). If that occurs you will need to take your kitty to a vet. Do not remove the crust or put ointment on it. It should be ok.

Hello. I am so sorry for your worries with Margaret. If she seems comfortable, & is no longer digging at her ear, then you can just watch this for the next couple of days. The cause could be anything from self-trauma due to an intense itch in her ear, trauma from shaking her head & possibly hitting the ear flap on something solid, or rough play with another pet, if there is one in the home. At this point, I would just leave it alone to see if it becomes worse, or just fades on its own. You do not want to treat or put anything on the ear as this might just cause her to pay more attention to the skin. See how this is in a few days, & if it still concerns you, the best thing is to have your veterinarian look at the ear & deep into the canal to rule out any underlying causes. Best to you & Margaret & thanks for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

It’s possible that Mellow scratched the inside of his ear after the cleaning even though you can’t see a wound, or if you used a Q tip you may have inadvertently caused bleeding in his ear canal. Occasionally the ear canal can bleed with a severe infection or polyp. If Mellow’s eats seem to be bothering him, if he seems painful, or if the ear continues to bleed you should see your vet.

I just realized that it is after midnight where you are and by the time you get to the vet it will be around 3 am. If you can get Cosmic to a veterinarian first thing in the morning and the bleeding has stopped then he should be ok to see your vet in the morning. If you do that please confine him and place an elizabethan collar on him so he does not scratch the lesions. Have a good night and I hope he feels better soon.

Hello, and thank you for your question. Poor Jughead! I would be worried some of these injuries came from cat scratches or bites, both of which can cause nasty infection. I would start by using a dilute solution of betadine and water (1:10) on the cut area behind his ear, twice a day. This is an antiseptic solution. If the area still looks like it is bleeding with a whitish discharge tomorrow, I would recommend taking him to the vet, as he likely requires systemic antibiotics. In the meantime, I would also put an e-collar (cone) on his head to prevent him from scratching or rubbing the area again. If the cone itself is abrading against the wound, then you could try wrapping the neck loosely with a handkerchief or something similar. I hope this helps, and that Jughead feels better soon!

This definitely looks like a traumatic injury (bite/scratch). The first thing you should do with it is flush the wound using a syringe or other dispensing device with warm water for five minutes. This may not be easy, because cats tend to hate water getting near their face. I recommend having someone help you with this and wrapping Dixie in a towel to make sure the wound gets flushed well. Below is a link to a demonstration of an eye flush that shows how to restrain her well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDGzdUTUdNI Infection is the biggest concern with these wounds; so after flushing, it's best to apply an antibacterial cream to the wound. In order to keep the wound clean, it's best to flush the wound 1-2 times a day and gently wipe away any big crusts - make sure not to scrub the wound, because this can make it worse. Apply the antibacterial cream after each flushing. If the ear starts to swell or have pus oozing from the wound, then I'd recommend she go to the vet for treatment. Otherwise, the wound should heal fine over the next 2-3 weeks. I hope that helps and Dixie gets better soon.