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If you take your pet to the vet for treatment or clean a cat wound, they may need several appointments and tests before being approved on medication that will work best with them.
However, a lot of people would rather just clean up any injuries themselves instead of going through all this trouble at home.
This comprehensive guide will help you understand when to treat cat wounds at home and those that require professional care. It covers everything from deciding if it’s time for surgery or not, to what equipment is needed in order to provide first aid treatment.
Here’s how to keep your cat healthy and happy.
Contents
Ways To Clean Your Cat’s Wound – DIY
If you see a cat in distress, it’s important to approach with caution. Make sure that the animal is safe and healthy before taking any action. This includes handling them so be mindful of their well-being!
Cats can be very sensitive to their surroundings and may even panic if they feel threatened. So the first thing you should do when checking up on your cat at home (or anywhere else) stays calm! Here are some steps that might help:
- Make sure to make your cat feel safe
- Slightly reach the wound
- Use saltwater or in some cases an antiseptic to clean it
- Cover it
- Keep a check on healing phase.
These steps are explained below.
First Step
To start the remedy, secure your cat. A wiggling kitten can make it difficult to treat and could worsen their injury if you’re not careful with them! In addition, they may scratch or bite which will leave wounds that need cleaning up.
Know The Wound
The type of wound your cat has can determine whether you should take them to the vet. A wide, gaping incisional or traumatic injury may need veterinary attention because it could cause infection and complications. For instance, pain during healing would be difficult for both human beings as well pets.
If your cat picks up a deep cut from a fight, it’s best to seek help. These wounds can easily get infected and often require stitches because they are open on top. Consequently, the bacteria will enter the tissues underneath causing inflammation. That is why these types of injuries need treatment right away if possible!
On the other hand, Cats are known for their sharp teeth, and it’s no surprise that they receive bite wounds at some point in life. Some bites can cause deep puncture injuries or gaping holes depending on the type of cat! However, you can treat these at home (while keeping your house clean with cats).
Clean The Injury
The easiest way to clean out any dirt or bacteria from your wound is with a sterile water solution. You can use plain old tap water in an oral syringe if you want, but it won’t kill all those nasty germs on its own! we recommend using some kind of salt-based cleaning agent too.
Either commercial grade varieties available at most stores today like Saline Soak (made by BIOFREEZ) OR DIY methods via homemade mixtures found online.
To clean a cat wound with saltwater, simply fill the syringe and release it across your pet’s injury. This will help stimulate healing in order to close up any cuts or scratches.
Don’t Let you Cat Lick Them
If you notice that your cat is licking at its wounds, this may be an attempt to clean them up. However, it could also mean there are bacteria left behind from before when you cleaned the area! This would make sense because cats are natural cleaners themselves with their tongues being covered in sandpaper.
Check the healing process
The next stage in cat wound care is to heal your pet’s injury and make sure they are going through proper stages of healing. You should inspect the area thoroughly, applying bandages or dressings as needed for protection against further trauma until it has healed enough that you can remove these precautions.