How do I know if my cat has maggots? What are the key signs?

If you keep finding maggots there is a relatively large infestation, You should shave the hair around the wound and wash it well with disinfectant removing all the maggots. If you cannot do that you will need to take your cat to your veterinarian for a clip, clean, disinfect, and exam. Maggots can kill your cat. Neither you nor your dog will get maggots unless you have the respective blue bottle or similar flies in your house and a wound into which the flies can lay their eggs

It would be best to take your kitty to a veterinarian to have them remove the rest of the maggots. The vet can then also check inside the vagina and retrieve any maggots. As your kitty was not spayed there is a possibility that she has a uterine infection which enticed the flies to lay eggs on her genital area. Please take eher to a veterinarian this evening, or a petER.

Oh dear! If Mau has maggots in his tail, this is really something that needs to be seen by a vet right away - if you saw one on the outside, chances are that there are many more under the skin. Maggots are usually a result of some type of open wound or sore, so it's also important to see a vet to determine why Mau has maggots and make sure that the underlying problem is appropriately treated as well. I would really recommend taking him to the vet right away for an exam, rather than attempting any kind of home remedies.

I am very sorry to hear about Sottey. She definitely needs to be seen by a vet to have the wounds addressed. The vet will remove the maggots from the wounds (may do this manually, or with special drugs) and then clean the wound. Often these wounds have dead tissue that needs removal. The wounds then may be left open or closed with a drain depending on the size and antibiotics and pain medication will be prescribed. We often check bloodwork for underlying disease as well to be sure the pet isn't systemically ill. The cost of this will depend on your vet and the area you live in.

Unless that is something Fa-Fa stepped in and is stuck in her fur (you may try to clean this off), that could be maggots. If this is not something that is simply stuck to her fur, I recommend to take her in to see her veterinarian today. Maggots will infect a wound and can cause serious damage. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.

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.

Just wanted to add that you can use Capstar (a flea tablet that is available over the counter) to kill maggots very effectively in cats - so this is something that you could try as well. Just give the tablet by mouth, and the maggots will die within 30 minutes to an hour in most cases.