Is this wound on my stray cat's throat a botfly? How to treat?

I'm sorry but it is impossible to tell just by looking at a photo. If you put a thick layer of Vaseline over the hole that will cause the bot fly larvae to go to the surface if there is one in there. It is also possible that there was a larvae in there but it has already come out. Be advised that this would only happen if the kitten is outdoors and has come into contact with grass. The time period where the larvae matures to the maggot stage is 3 to 7 weeks so, it would not be that likely in a one month old kitten. I would suggest you take the kitten to your vet for an exam.

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.

Hello! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Without seeing Zeus it's hard to say what's going on. I suspect the wound is from a cat fight and is probably a ruptured abscess. I recommend washing the area with a mild soap and rinsing well with water. I wouldn't recommend wrapping it because it will trap the bacteria. You can use neosporine around it but it is likely Zeus will lick it off. Most importantly, it will be ok to wait until morning as long as you clean it tonight. Good luck and congrats on your new cat!

This looks like a wound from a cat fight or mild injury. You did the right thing removing the scab. If there was infection trapped you have cleaned it up now and the area is open to the air so it should heal quickly. You can clean these type of sores with hydrogen peroxide and if it’s in an area like this that he can’t lick you can apply a thin film of antibacterial ointment on it. This should heal in a few days. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Max.

This looks like some sort of wound either from a cut such as against a fence or even from another animal. It does look infected so if he would allow you to clean it off with warm water and a little mild soap that might help. Ideally he would be given antibiotics to help this heal. However that could be very difficult with stray cats. Do not give any pain medications meant for people as they are very toxic to cats.

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!

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.