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My cat got this injury out of nowhere should I just keep it clean and let it heal? or is this more serious I’m scaring myself to death looking up things online. We literally went to the vet a couple days ago and everything was okay. he did have a scab there but it wasn’t that big I’m worried.

Posted by u/KirbySP

Siggy experienced the same type of wound and I, the same type of worry as above.

I didn’t notice the cut until I was grooming Siggy and saw it, with missing fur from scratching, under her right elbow. I, too, scoured the internet about what I should do.

At the time I didn’t know what caused it and became alarmed when a similar wound was categorized as a potential botfly, a type of fly that lays eggs inside the skin of a cat. According to Pet MD, “Feline botfly infestations are quite common. All ages and sexes of cats can be affected as long as the individual has access to the outdoors. In northern regions, most cases are seen in the late summer and early fall since botflies cannot be active in the winter.”

Siggy is an indoor cat with no access to rabbit holes or other botfly habitats. So I eliminated this ailment, but became concerned because the wound showed signs of infection.

I took Siggy to the vet who asked a fundamental question concerning this post. I had two options: schedule a surgery for Siggy so the wound could be stitched, which would require little follow-up treatment by me, or bring her home and apply a salve with bandage and antibiotics.

As surgery would have kept Siggy away from Freya, I opted for the second treatment.

Siggy trusts me fully. Here is a video of her on the car ride home from the vet:

The bandage was secured on her by gauze that wrapped around her neck and under her arm. I was told that the vet didn’t have one-inch bandages in stock and so had to use a two-inch variety. That caused another problem because the bandage covered fur around the wound.

I was supposed to remove the bandage every 24 hours to apply the salve. This was going to be a big problem because the bandage attached to Siggy’s fur as well as the wound. Removing the bandage caused Siggy pain and distress. Finally, I had to work the bandage loose as gently as possible.

I decided that the stress of changing bandages for a week was too great to continue, so I applied the salve and gave her the antibiotics with a syringe. She trusted me fully and allowed the treatment and didn’t fuss when I put the syringe in a corner of her mouth and squirted the pink liquid.

I did this for the entire week, and Siggy healed without any side-effects.

Keep in mind that this was my experience, and yours can be vary with a different outcome for better or worse. I am not recommending what I decided to do here, but I am recommending that you bring your cat to the vet any time there is a wound, especially one that has become infected, and follow advice as best you can.

There also may be different side-effects like continued licking or scratching of fur that may require a cone collar. If that occurs, or anything else out of the ordinary, once again, consult your vet and follow instructions.