Anyone who has a cat will know that, due to his curious and exploratory nature, it is very easy for him to get injured or scratched. We must avoid cat fights, because someone always gets hurt, although that is not an easy task. We should also be well informed about how to treat our cat's wounds.
You will notice that when your cat has a wound, he often licks and scratches himself in that area. Do not worry, it is normal behavior since cats are very clean animals, but this can cause complications in the healing and healing of the wound. Therefore, if you want to know how to prevent my cat from scratching a wound, keep reading this new article on our site, where we will give you some tips on the matter.
Your cat may have come back from exploring or playing with others and may have gotten a scratch or injury while playing or fighting. As soon as you detect a wound on your cat, you must disinfect it and, depending on the severity observed, you must go to the vet.
Therefore, the main thing when we see that our furry friend has a wound is to make sure that the wound is as clean and disinfected as possible. We should also do cures or cleanings often as as the vet tells us.
But, if we want the wound to heal as soon as possible and to do so well, then it is very important that we prevent our cat from touching the woundWell, otherwise you will do more damage and contaminate it, even if your intention is to take care of yourself. It is also possible that our colleague has just had surgery and therefore we must prevent him from scratching, licking, biting or rubbing the wound in any way so that it can heal properly.
Preventing a cat from reaching any part of its body is an almost impossible task, since they are very elastic. But there are some ways to do it, or at least to avoid direct contact.
For example, one of the most common ways to prevent a feline from scratching a wound on its head or from chewing on a wound elsewhere on its body isthe Elizabethan collar You have to carefully measure the size of the collar needed for each cat and you will have to check and adjust it from time to time, because you will surely try to remove it more than once time.
It is very important that we help our feline to get used to the collar with positive reinforcement. But if we really see that as the days go by, the collar causes problems and stress, instead of helping as we had thought, we should remove it and find another way to avoid contact with the wound.
We can consult with our veterinarian about the use of some healing ointment to help speed up the healing process of a wound. This way the cat will suffer discomfort for less time.
But this is an aid to speed up the healing process and won't stop the curious feline from nosing around in his wound. So it is good that the healing ointment is used at the same time as an Elizabethan collar or other solution. You should clean the wound and reapply the ointment as many times a day as the vet tells you.
Another very good option is to make a bandage on the area of the wound The wound or scratch should be cleaned well, put a gauze over the wound and then make the bandage. It is always better that the vet does it first and teaches us how to do it ourselves so that we can change it at home as many times as necessary.
The problem with this solution is that the cat will probably end up ripping off the bandages if they bother him. Therefore, it is good that we always keep an eye on it. Thus, if that happens, we will have to clean the wound again and re-bandage as soon as possible. As always, it is good that we help our cat to feel better with the new situation, whether it is the Elizabethan collar or a bandage, based on positive reinforcement.
Instead of using a bandage, once the wound is covered with gauze, you can put clothes on the cat, a sweater or special pajamasfor cats or small dogs.
There are lotions and ointments that are used to relieve the itching of wounds in cats. These are mostly antihistamine or cortisone products to reduce inflammation and reduce itching and pain.
We should consult with our veterinarian if in the case of our cat, there is any lotion or ointment that can help reduce this discomfort. This way we will achieve much less scratching or avoid scratching altogether if the wound no longer bothers him.
In addition to all of the above, it is good that we make sure that our partner has clean and well-groomed nails. Thus, even if it scratches, less damage will be done. If the wound is still opened, there will be less dirt and fewer problems can occur.
We will have to cut them just enough with special scissors and make sure they are blunt and clean. Although this will surely not be to his liking, we will have to try to hold him with his nails like this until the wound has healed. Then you can go back to the scraper to sharpen them well again.
The most important thing is that we have a check-up and care routine while the wound is healing. So we must clean the wound how much and how the veterinarian tells us and we will cover it again or place the Elizabethan collar after doing so. We can also apply ointments that relieve itching and pain and also healing creams that our veterinarian recommends. We must ensure that our cat is not constantly trying to remove the bandages or the collar, or trying to scratch the wound, and positive reinforcement will be good for this.
With this care and patience, in a short time our cat companion will be cured and will be able to return to his normal activities without any collar or bandage that bothers him.