My cat has an open wound or mass. Is it infected? What should I do?

Hi and thanks for posting. From the pictures, the area looks red and infected. I would advise Khora be taken to a veterinarian so they can clean the wound thoroughly and give Khora a course of antibiotics. In the mean time, you can keep the area clean with a mild cleansing cloth or 3% hydrogen peroxide a few times daily, but I would highly recommend seeing a veterinarian. I hope this helps and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

This is an open and infected skin wound. It may be the result of trauma (cat fight) or self inflicted from scratching ( fleas or ear mites). A hands on exam by a veterinarian can help you to determine the cause and also prescribe an antibiotic and assess the wound. If your cat does appear to have fleas or ear mites, that can also be treated. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach

Hello I can't tell from the picture how deep that wound is but it does look infected and there's underlying tissue and possibly muscle exposed. I recommend takinh your cat to see a veterinarian as she could be licking at the site when you're not watching and causing further infection. It may need to be closed or the vet may decide it should stay open (with some infected wounds closing can cause an abscess to form) and put her on antibiotics and pain medication. She might also need an E collar to prevent her from licking the area further.

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.

I am sorry to hear that Cloudy is hurt. It looks like the wound is becoming infected. I would encourage you to have him evaluated by your veterinarian soon. He likely needs antibiotics. In the meantime you can try a warm water and Epsom salt compress to the area for several minute trying to soak off that debris. Best of luck and I hope he improves soon. Thank you for using Pet Coach.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I'm sorry to hear Ringo has a wound on his neck. Based on your picture, it does look like he might have a skin infection of some kind, even possibly from a ruptured abscess. Does he go outside? I would recommend having him evaluated by his regular veterinarian to have area clipped, cleaned, and assessed to determine what may be going on, and what treatment (antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, or possible surgical repair) may be needed to resolve it. If he goes outside and the wound may have come from an unknown animal, I would also recommend his rabies vaccine be boostered as well. Good luck!

Hi. It is hard to tell in the photo where this is, or if it is a mass or flat. But, this area appears to be very infected. There is some swelling there as well. So it could be a mass that is secondarily infected. Skin infections can occur from bacteria, funguses, parasites, chronic irritation to an area (like a skin fold), trauma to an area, or a mass that is oozing and causes the immediate area near it to become moist/irritated and secondarily infected. There are some metabolic, endocrine, and immune disease that can cause a pet to have a harder time fighting infections. Fom this photo and without more history, we can't tell you what this is exactly, and what the treatment would be. But those are some possibilities. I recommend getting Sammy seen and have that area looked at and treated so that he can be more comfortable. Good luck.