Do I need to take my cat to the vet?

[Galsia]

Yesterday I noticed a couple of drops of blood in the hallway and presumed that it was from my housemate.

Today I noticed that one of my cat has a wound on her face. I've cleaned the wound and it doesn't seem to be bothering her but it looks quite nasty.

Do you think that I need to take her to the vets?

[whoami]

Looks nasty.

I would take the cat to the vet.

[Mr_C]

I'd take her just to have her checked out.

[MitchT]

Another vote for the vet here. Our cats occasionally come home with the odd minor injury, usually as a result of some fracas with another cat. Some very minor scratches we leave and just keep an eye out for signs of infection appearing, however, injuries of that magnitude and they go straight to the vet, if only to put our minds at rest. Usually they end up being injected with something to nip any potential infection in the bud. Cats do a great job of hiding their pain so don't be deceived!

[stevensdrs]

The wound doesn't look too bad and should be bathed with a solution of tea tree oil and water or some other mild antiseptic. The risk will be from infection to the wound which will be obvious within 48 hours.
You have 2 options.

Go to the vet immediately and part with about £60 for consultation and anti inflammatory and antibiotics.

Wait 48 hours and see if healing starts. If not revert to option 1.

[bexVN]

That is not a nice wound, it may even need a couple stitches as it's going to take a while too heal. If it were my cat I would want it vet checked.

Wait a couple days and you may end up with a wound needing more attention and costing more to treat than if you deal with it now. Obviously it may be fine left on its own but personally I don't think that should be chanced with this particular wound

[JJ55]

Take to the vet. He/she will need antibiotics to stop infection. Clean wound with warm salt water.

[steve954]

JJ55 said:

Take to the vet. He/she will need antibiotics to stop infection. Clean wound with warm salt water.

This! Same sort of thing happened to my cat he had a antibiotic injection and we had to clean the wound for a few days.

[MitchT]

Just showed it to the OH. She's had cats all her life.

"That's deep, definitely get her to the vet. She'll need antibiotics and possibly stitches".

[bexVN]

Yep I mentioned stitches aswell, glad to see someone else think the same

[ChrisR99]

Another here for the vet!

Maybe try and clean wind with a bit of warm water and tiny bit of salt in the meantime? That's what my mum always does and our cats don't complain too much.

[Galsia]

After a clean and keeping the cats separated overnight she looks much better this morning. I'll still take her to the vets for a check just in case.

[bexVN]

Does look a lot better. How deep is it, can you tell? It would be good to get the hair trimmed away, makes it easier to monitor. At least it doesn't look like it needs stitches anymore, though difficult to tell from a photo, next trick is to make sure she doesn't rub it etc!!

Edited by bexVN on Thursday 12th March 08:25

[Galsia]

I took her to the vet and he said that it certainly wasn't a bite or burn. He thought that it looked like a skin condition. He noticed that she has another tiny one near her ear. He checked her temperature which was fine and gave her an antibiotic injection. If if doesn't clear up in two weeks I have to take her back for further investigation. He mentioned that it could be Herpes.

There was another couple in the waiting room with a cat which looked very similar to mine. They ended up putting theirs down. Not a sight I wanted to see.