My cat's chemical burn is infected and won't heal. What should I do?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Skin lesions like you are describing can have a variety of causes, including skin parasites (fleas or mites), an infection (bacterial or fungal), allergies, or another underlying medical issue. I would recommend he be evaluated by his regular veterinarian to determine the underlying cause for his skin lesions, so he could start any treatment (antibiotics, anti-itch medications, parasiticide) that he may need. In the meantime, I would clean the area will diluted betadine if possible and then keep it dry, and trim his nails back as much as possible to keep him from scratching at it. Good luck!

Hi, and thanks for your question. This presentation could be due to a trauma (bite wound, or a burn) 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 (if any). 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. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

Poor Gravy! Those do look painful. If you haven't yet, a skin scraping of the site sent to a lab may help determine if there is a specific bacteria or infection causing the wounds. This may give your vet the ability to target it better with a more specific antibiotic that will help it to heal. Making sure to keep Gravy from pawing at the spot with an Elizabethan (cone) collar can also help promote healing and prevent further irritation. In long-term non-healing wounds, many vets have also found success using Manuka honey (different than the honey you get in the grocery store) as a salve to help promote tissue growth and healing. If you'd like a more specific consultation, or have additional questions, I highly recommend scheduling a consult with one of our vets as they will be able to assist you in a more chat-like setting and can provide you with more detailed answers and information.

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.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I think at this point it seems like your veterinarian has tried symptomatic therapy to try to help. I would consider taking a culture of the lesion and using the indicated antibiotics. Also, it would be important to ensure that he is unable to chew or lick at it as that will continue to worsen it. You could consider an e-collar which you may get from your local pet store. If it does not resolve, a biopsy of the lesion should be considered. Good luck and have a good day!

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Those wounds need to be cleaned properly, possibly sewn up, and it looks like Nosh needs antibiotics as well. I recommend bringing her to a vet as soon as possible, as she likely will continue to scratch and cause more damage. If you can get an E-collar on her, and if it will prevent scratching and isn't just irritating the wound itself, then you can do this as a temporary fix until you can get her to a vet. Best of luck with Nosh.

She could have a foreign body or infecion in that area that won't properly heal. I would have your vet look at it to ensure she doesn't need some antibiotics or even a culture of the area to ensure it isn't a resistant infection. Finally, if it won't heal, she may need that area surgically removed as I have had a similar case where we surgically removed it and sent the tissue to the lab and there a piece of grass was embedded in that tissue. I hope this helps.