How can I tell if my pet's pressure wound is healing properly?

That is a pretty large wound! That being said though, it looks like it is healing fine. It does not appear swollen or to have discharge coming from it. The tissue looks healthy. Having it stitched when it first happened which would have allowed it to heal faster. I am not sure how long it's been but a wound that size would take weeks to heal without stitches. If I were you I would keep applying a topical antibiotic cream and just leave it be. Stop using the Betadine. If he is licking it you must stop that behavior by using an Elizabethan collar (cone). As long as he keeps licking it will not heal. If you want it to heal faster you need to take him to a vet to have it stitched. Hope this helps. Best wishes!

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 !

Hi there, and thank you for including the picture as it is helpful. I see the area in question and it looks like a large scab from the incision may have come off. Of course a picture is not as helpful as seeing the wound in person but the underlying tissue looks healthy. This may take several weeks to completely heal and seal closed. I would encourage you to have a follow up appointment with your veterinarian in the next few days to make sure they don’t have any other concerns. In the meantime keep the area clean by using a clean but moist wash rag to compress the area a few times a day. Best of luck and I hope William continues to heal quickly! Thank you for using Pet Coach.

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. That is wonderful of you to try to help care for this stray cat! Wounds can be challenging to manage, especially if a cat will not tolerate you trying to clean it. It is possible that the wound will heal over time on its own with scar tissue. However, there is also a chance that the skin is too damaged or will become so infected with bacteria that it will not heal. I recommend monitoring the area frequently and bringing the cat back to the veterinarian if the skin appears to be becoming black or nonviable, or you notice excessive abnormal discharge that is yellow/thick. I hope this is helpful - and best of luck!

Yes the wound looks quite healthy and this is likely to be granulated tissue. Unfortunately this is a pressure point so the healing is definitively slower. Antibiotics are needed to prevent any infection.

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.

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.