My cat fought: Neck scab, fur loss. Abscess? Antibiotics or home care?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Judging from the picture, this could be a ruptured abscess or secondary to self trauma from him scratching at the area. I would recommend having him examined by a veterinarian so that the most appropriate treatment recommendations can be made. He will need the hair clipped from around the wound and the wound cleaned. I would also recommend an antibiotic and anti-inflammatory. I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

typically an abscess forms after the scab traps the bacteria under the skin. Salt water will likely burn and betadine can be caustic. You are better to wash it with mild soap and water and keep Neosporin on the area just minimize the licking. If you notice swelling then you will need to see a vet for medicaiton

Poor cat. This looks wide enough where it should at the very least get a topical treatment. You can try an over the counter antibitoic ointment or spray from your local pet store. Ask a store representative as to what is available in your area. You should also clean this area with Betadine diluted 50:50 with warm water to help keep bacteria and infection at bay. If it doesn't seem to be healing well in the next few days, then a vet visit is warranted at that point. I hope that this heals up well soon! Best of luck moving forward. Take care. : )

In this case a picture would be really helpful to understand the extension of the damage and offer you the best treatment options. Antibiotics are likely to be needed, but 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 licking/scratching (if any). 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!

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.

Certainly a buster collar would avoid further scratching and an antibiotics (oral, topical or in a shampoo formulation) will avoid any risk of infection. Even though a picture of the wound would help to determine the most appropriate underlying treatment more specifically, I think in this case a vet check up would be ideal. 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!

This lesion is very severe and requires antibiotics and proper wound care. The area surrounding the area affected must be clipped and disinfected appropriately and antibiotics (topical or systemic) are required.