Dog and Cat Wound Care

This informative article on skin wounds does not substitute for veterinary examination or treatment. If your pet is sick or injured, please seek veterinary attention as soon as possible.

Dogs and cats can injure their skin many ways. How you treat a dog or cat wound will largely be determined by what caused the wound to begin with. If the wound is caused by self-trauma then the cat or dog wound will only heal if the underlying cause is eliminated. Example: a dog or cat that is scratching because of a flea allergy will only be able to heal if the fleas are eliminated with a product such as Frontline Plus or Advantage.

Always assume that a wound is going to be painful. Even if your pet is well mannered when not injured, he/she may try to bite if you attempt to clean and care for it′s wound.

Do not use hydrogen peroxide in the ears or in deep open wounds. Although hydrogen peroxide will kill bacteria, it also destroys healthy tissue. If applied to a ear, it can cause damage to the ear drum and can cause intense irritation. Most of the time it is not needed, and all of the time sterile saline will be okay to use.

Types of Skin Injuries or Wounds

Abrasions — Abrasions are caused by extreme friction or rubbing of an affected area. Common causes for abrasions in cats in dogs are when a vehicle hits them and their body slides along the pavement or when they try and crawl under a tight area and scrape their skin along a rough metal or cement area. Abrasions can be very painful and are easily infected. It is important to clean dirt and debris from these wounds and apply a good topical antibiotic. For superficial abrasions a product like MalAcetic Otic will work well for cleansing the wound. For deeper wounds, light or general anesthesia may be required for adequate cleaning of the wound. It is important that once cleaned a good topical antibiotic is applied 2 – 4 times daily. Triple Antibiotic Ointment is a good topical antibiotic that will help keep the wound from drying out and prevent infection of the wound. Deep and large abrasions may require oral antibiotics also.

Superficial Lacerations (Cuts) — Superficial cuts are usually caused by sharp objects or from bites and scratches. Superficial means that the skin is not completely cut through. There is no exposed muscle or fat tissue. Unless they are longer than 1 – 2 inches, superficial lacerations usually do not need to be sutured close. Cleaning and flushing the cut with sterile saline and then applying a good topical antibiotic such as Triple Antibiotic Ointment until the area has healed will usually take care of a small superficial laceration.

Deep Lacerations — Lacerations that extend all the way through the skin will require suturing unless they are very small (less than 1″). It may be hard to tell if a cut goes all the way through the skin. Have a veterinarian examine your pet if you think the injury may go all the way through the skin. If the laceration was made by something relatively clean such as glass, it will need to be cleaned and sutured under general or local anesthesia. However, if the injury is the result of an animal bite or a dirty object such as a piece of metal in the dirt, then special tubes may need to be placed under the skin before it is sutured close. These tubes are called drains and allow the body to expel debris and infection out of the wound while it heals. It is important to keep the drainage area clear of scabs and keep your pet from licking and chewing the drainage area. Drain placement and suturing wounds require general anesthesia.

Puncture Wounds — Animal bites or sharp pointed objects cause puncture wounds. It can be very hard to tell if a puncture wound goes completely through the skin. If it does not, the wound can be cleaned with a routine cleansing agent such as MalAcetic Otic and antibiotics applied topically to the wounds twice daily until healed. A good antibiotic ointment for dogs and cats is Triple Antibiotic Ointment. If swelling develops under the skin of a puncture wound or, the wound penetrates the skin, oral antibiotics and possibly general anesthesia and drainage may be needed. Wounds that on the outside of the skin look minor can be very severe underneath the skin. Do not wait and see if a wound such as this heals without veterinary attention. Infections can develop quickly and within 48 hours a wound can go from just needing minor care and antibiotics to extensive surgery and hospitalization.

This abscess is causing swelling on the face and is close to rupturing. The scabbed area is one of the initial puncture wounds.

Abscesses — Abscesses in the dog and cat are caused from previous bite wounds. Cat bite abscesses are a very common type of cat wound in outdoor cats. The skin has healed over the puncture through the skin, but the bacteria from the mouth and teeth of the animal that did the biting are still growing. The body′s response is to produce a localized immune response and wall off the bacteria from the rest of the body. This produces a yellow and red colored thick discharge. This discharge is actually the body′s immune cells and serum. Initially there will just be some redness, pain, and swelling around the area of the bite. The swelling, redness, and pain gradually get worse until the abscess ruptures, expelling the infection. The complete process from puncture wound to draining abscess takes about 3 days. If you suspect an abscess on your pet, get your pet examined as soon as you can. Ruptured abscesses can heal without treatment, but most of the time they do not. Usually, a chronic infection sets in which makes the abscess harder to treat in the future. An untreated abscess can cause extensive and life long damage.

Thank you for reading this article on dog and cat skin wound care. Please visit our online pet supplies store www.ACatDog.com in order to purchase some of the products mentioned above.