My cat has a raw neck wound from a flea collar. What should I do?

Cats can be very sensitive to flea collars, and I would recommend taking this one off now and allowing the skin to heal. Unfortunately, herbal remedies are not reliable in preventing fleas, so I would recommend a topical flea preventative like Frontline or Revolution. Once the skin heals, you can try a Seresto collar that lasts 8 months as it seems to have less reaction on the skin.

Even though a picture would help to understand better the underlying cause, this presentation could be due to a trauma (bite wound) and/or localized spot of skin infection (likely to be caused by bacteria). A check up, appropriate disinfection and possibly antibiotics (oral, topical or in a shampoo formulation) are needed to solve the problem. 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. 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.

Poor M! I'm glad to hear that you're already using the e-collar because this will prevent M from scratching and worsening the issue. This lesion could be a result of a skin infection, ringworm, mange, flea allergy, among others. While you can use Neosporin, I do not typically find it to be overly effective for most wounds on pets. Instead, you can try a wound spray, such as Vetericyn (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=25902). Also be sure that M is receiving a high quality flea preventative, such as Advantage, Bravecto, or Revolution regularly. If this lesion persists or worsens, he will need to go to his vet for further evaluation. I hope this helps and that all goes well!

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.

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.

Depending on where it is located, you could try to do a light neck wrap using rolled gauze or a ace bandage. Do NOT stretch the material. Just lightly wrap it. You could also get a cone collar to prevent him from scratching if the sore is far enough up on the neck. I would try to use some oral Benadryl and Benadryl spray to help with e itching. You can also put a small amount of Neosporin on it twice a day to help it heal. If it isn't improving, I would have your vet take a look. Your vet will be able to put him on the proper meds and allergy meds to help it heal. I hope this helps! https://www.petcoach.co/canigive/cat/benadryl/

Hi A pic helps in this cases so I always suggest to attach pics. But since there are none , in general , if the cut is already healing and showing no signs of infection such as redness, discharge, pain, swelling and the cat is not bothered by it , scratching etc you can monitor it is healing till its gone. If Any signs as the one mentioned above start take him to the vet. Also according to your question the scratchbis under the collar so it may ne a good idea to take off the collar just for a while to air the area . Hope this helps