My senior cat has a bloody skin wound. What should I do now?

This is a draining abscess. Please clean the area with a warm damp cloth until the discharge is gone. Then you can apply a thin film of antibacterial ointment on it. If he’s not neutered I recommend getting him fixed so he doesn’t get into fights. If he’s sick then he probably has a fever from the infection and should have a veterinary exam and antibiotics. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Jasu.

It looks like he had an abscess that burst open. It would be best to have your vet check this out. In the meantime you can use this wound spray on it. ( https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/vetericyn-cat-wound-and-skin-hydrogel )

I would strongly recommend taking her to your vet as she will need to have an antibiotic injection to prevent an infection from surely happening. the are should be clipped and clean as much as possible but a course of antibiotics is crucial.

Hello, thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. It appears Precious may have sustained an abscess, probably from a fight with another cat. The abscess ruptured, & Precious has been licking the area to keep it clean. Her sandpaper tongue can actually cause more trauma to the area. You can clean the area with a little warm water & a disinfectant such as Betadine, & you may need to put an elizabethean collar on her to stop the licking. These type wounds do not always need antibiotics, but it would not be a bad idea to let your vet have a look at it just to make sure . Hope she well very soon.

This looks pretty serious I'm afraid. I would be worried that this is a a cancer. You will need to take her to a vet for an exam. There is no way around that. This clinic in you area does $15 exams - they can tell you better what may be going on after they examine her in person. Then you can talk about your options. In the meantime, you can apply this topical wound spray gel (linked below) to hopefully help soothe the skin. http://www.sosohio.org/services-pricing/ https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/vetericyn-cat-wound-and-skin-hydrogel

This looks like it could likely be a ruptured abscess. These usually need antibiotics to resolve. I would encourage you to consider having him evaluated by a veterinarian soon. In the meantime you can clean up using a warm water and Epsom salt compress. I would do this several times a day. Best of luck and I hope he improves soon. Thank you for using Pet Coach.

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.