My cat's surgery incision is red and scabbing. Is it normal?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It looks good to me. The redness isn't terrible and doesn't worry me. The hanging saggy belly skin is normal for a cat and is more obvious after you shave the fur. If she is licking I'd use an E-collar. She is likely licking 10 times more than you are seeing. I wish Zoey a speedy recovery!

All in all, I think that Tokyo's incision looks perfectly normal for being about 10 days post-op. I can see that she's likely been licking the center part a bit more than she should have been since the tissue is still slightly red. However, it's still healing nicely. Since this area is a bit red, I would try to put an e-collar (cone) or baby onesie on Tokyo for the next few days to prevent her from licking at it. The white areas that you're seeing look like normal fibrin-rich tissues, which are normal in the healing process and will fall off shortly. I hope that she continues to heal well!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor T! The redness below the incision can be from normal bruising after surgery. As long as it doesn't get worse it should fade over the next several days. If T is lethargic, not eating, the skin is hot or painful or if the redness worsens I would have her rechecked today by your vet. I wish T a speedy recovery!

Then incision is more red than I would expect it to at this time. It could be just because he has been too active, or it could be early signs of an infection. If it is more red tomorrow then it is probably an infection. I would confine him to a small bathroom where he can’t jump around and keep his mouth away from the incision. Either a onsie or the e-collar needs to be on at all times to protect him from opening the incision. I would encourage you to have a follow up appointment with your veterinarian tomorrow to examine the incision and see if he needs antibiotics. I don’t see any need for an emergency clinic appointment today. Best of luck and I hope he heals soon. Thank you for using Pet Coach.

It actually looks like Lulu’s wound is healing very nicely. The redness will continue to resolve slowly over the next few days. I would recommend continuing the ointment your vet prescribed until the area is completely cleared and appears pink, instead of red. Another scab may form and this is fine. Just continue to keep the area clean, dry and medicated. It looks as if it will be completely healed in about another week. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Coconut and for providing a picture, it's very helpful. In the picture, I don't see any signs of infection, which would include severe redness, swelling, and pus from the incision. The incision looks closed in the picture, and I do see some scabs, which can be normal. There can be some discharge from the incision if the cat is moving too much after surgery, or if she was licking at it, which can happen when she isn't wearing a cone. At this point in time, I do not think she needs to see the vet. Keep the cone on her at all times, and keep her quiet. If the incision is opening up, you see the signs of infection that I mentioned above, and/or she is lethargic or suffering from a loss of appetite, then she will need to see a vet right away. I hope this helps!

The photo didn't come through. A small amount of spotting can be normal and generally the incisions on cats heal quickly even if they open up a little. As long as he's eating and acting normal I'm not overly concerned about this. Keeping the cone on will prevent his licking the area and it will heal more quickly. Should the incision look very red or have a bad odor then I would take him back to have it checked. I expect though that it will improve every day. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Lucas.