I got one of my cats shaved today (he needs it) and the attendant noticed that one of his claws had grown long enough to dig into one of his pads and bleed a little.
What’s the best way to disinfect a recalcitrant cat’s paw?
How do I prevent it from getting infected, especially when he goes to the litter?
He’s old and blind and getting shaved was a lot for him so I’d like to take it easy on him while preventing infection.
That’s a tough one. You can bandage it and put on a soft cone collar, but I bet you’ll just irritate your cat and he’ll get the bandage off anyway. If it’s a small wound I’d just put a little Neosporin on it and keep an eye out to make sure it’s not getting infected.
A little Neosporin here and there. Cats are unbelievably resilient, even old ones.
Bag Balm.
They use it for cows udders, antibiotic, not harmful if they lick it off.
I use it on my dog with my vet’s approval.
Oh, poor kitty paw. I’m down with the bag balm. It’s good stuff.
I don’t think I’d use Bag Balm for wound, though, isn’t it more of a moisturizer?
I wouldn’t use it for a puncture wound. But it has antibacterials in it. It’s not just a moisturizer. Designed and still used for scratches, chapping, and other random problems cows and goats get on their udders.
Speaking as someone who has been dealing with this off and on since June (have seen regular vet multiple times, seen veterinary dermatologist, on third course of antibiotic shots along with topical antibiotics, have had multiple X-rays cultures and swabs) there is nothing you can do. Be prepared to spend your life cleaning up bloody footprints, cover any furniture he sits on and prepare to have your house look like an episode of CSI kitty. Also be prepared to buy new sheets because he WILL walk on them. I am currently treating with a topical antibiotic gel which just means I now have greasy bloody footprints everywhere. Oh and stock up on peroxide which removes a lot of bloodstains.