by Darris
(Melbourne, Vic, AUS)

Hi there, Dr. Neely,

My cat goes outdoors during the day and comes home inside for the nights. A few days ago, I noticed a brownish spot on my cat's nose and just gave it a wipe with a damp, warm paper towel.

However, with its return, I've laid her down and noticed it's now a larger scab-like buildup of dried pus. For the last couple of days, I've been wiping the wet part off and applying antibacterial rubbing alcohol with an ear bud.

I haven't wanted to pull off the dried part below, thinking this would only hurt my cat and so I tended to just where I thought the pus was coming from. However, today after soaking it, I decided to clean it right up and removed the debris. I discovered a much larger sore than I expected underneath and aren't sure what has caused it or how is best to treat it.

My kitty is usually treated monthly for fleas, however this month I have forgotten and she, in turn, has a number or tiny irritations over her body, but nothing of this degree.

It looks to me like my cat has been in a fight, however she is desexed, so perhaps just an accident outdoors?

Please give me advice on what to treat my cat's wound with or if I must take her to the veterinarian. Honestly, I'm trying to avoid an inflated veterinarian bill.

Thanks for any help you can give,
Darris

Hi, Darris,

It's impossible to know if your cat was in a fight or just sustained some type of trauma to her nose while outdoors. Even though she has been spayed, that certainly doesn't prevent other cats from attacking her.

It would be best to take her to the veterinarian since pus indicates infection and she could need cat antibiotics by mouth. However, if she is eating and drinking and acting normally, you could probably give it a day or so and keep it clean and see if it will heal.

I wouldn't use alcohol on it. That is painful to her and not necessary. You can use hydrogen peroxide to keep it clean and can put a dab of human skin antibiotic ointment on it.

Once you see that it is healing and there is no more pus, I would leave it alone and let it scab over and heal and let the scab drop off by itself.

Best,
Dr. Neely