cut/sore that won't heal

[kris]

Worth letting a vet have a look at it, my boy had a wee scab on his back/shoulder blade area, sort of injection site area and it wouldn't heal and where it was the scab kept knocking off the the wound got bigger and bigger, I was beside myself. In the end it took an operation to cut out infection and close the wound with stitches  and even then it took two further vet visits for loads of staples, I was scared it would never stop. What started as a teeny tiny little lump/scab turned into a 2-3 inch stitched wound. He was an otherwise healthy, 4 year old so these things can happen without it being sinister.

So don't think the worst but perhaps just certain bits of the body are tough to heal because of the movement etc.

He's fine now thankfully!

[Desley (booktigger)]

Please dont delay the appointment any longer, and get him in asap - it might not be cancer, but equally it might be something that the longer you leave, the less chance there is of sorting it out.

[Dawn F]

diabetes inhibits healing in humans is it the same in cats?

[Sue P (Paddysmum)]

Hello Gizmo. 

It would be difficult to say, because there are different types of cancer so treatment and responses would differ.  Of course it might not be cancer, but something else.  I think the best thing would be to let the vet have a look as soon as you can, and then you can put your mind to rest or get to grips with the issue one way or another.   Sending lots of positive thoughts to you and your little feller.   

[gizmo30]

thanks everyone

I've decided to keep an eye on it for another week or so,  I dont think it will change in that time as it's been the same/got bigger in the last few weeks. The scab which to begin with was really crusty mmm nice lol, it fell off but this time it's like a proper scab... some of you said it may have been knocked off repeatedly meaning it won't have been given enough time to heal... well the scab has been covering the sore/cut for a few weeks now, it's remianed in place, and it still feels pretty sturdy...

I'm thinking it's cancer now, I read one of the symptoms and it sais 'sores that won't heal' and this is exactly what Gizmo's got - given the time scale of all this, it should have healed 4 or 5 times over.

If it is cancer, is there anything the vet can do? I realise there isn't a cure,  but is there something that can slow the process down?

[Sue P (Paddysmum)]

Hi Gizmo

Welcome to Purrs to you and your senior gentleman.  I think I would echo what Blackcat and Sam have said about keeping an eye on the wound and letting the vet have a look as soon as you're able.

I bet he's a beautiful boy, and at the age of 19 he's obviously had impressive care from you over the years.
Let us know how you get on.   

[Sam (Fussy_Furball)]

Hi Gizmo and  to Purrs,

Sorry I can't offer any advice o the cut/wound ... the only thing I can think of that would be delaying the healing process was if there was something under the skin (a foreign body) but your vet is the best person to investigate and check it out. 

I agree with BC that it might be worth clipping his fur back but again this might be something you would prefer the vet to do.

In the meantime before you get him to the vet it won't do the wound any harm to bathe it with warm salt water just to keep it clean.

Good luck and please let us know how you get on. 

[blackcat]

not at all sure what it could be, something only the vet could answer, but if it is being regularly knocked and the scab removed, that could be delaying the healing process (assuming it is nothing more sinister like a skin cancer). But a quick trip to the vet will soon sort it out. In the mean time, try to trim the hair away from that area so that there is minimal risk of the scab becoming embedded in the hair. Better a bald patch than a nasty wound ...

[gizmo30]

Our cat is quite old now, he's about 19 years old and a few months ago I noticed a small cut on his chest, it had a scab which fell off and the wound underneath looked sore and raw... he's a Himalayan and hates being groomed, especially on his chest, so it's difficult to get there each time, and as a result he sometimes gets a bit of a knot on his chest but before it gets too bad we deal with it.

anyway, because he doesnt like being groomed, we left that part of his fur for a few weeks... so a few weeks later, he had a small knot that needed to be dealth with, but as we were sorting it out, we noticed that the cut/scab was still there and the scab was now burrowing up from his skin and through the knot on his fur... we removed the knot, and the scab fell off and once again the cut was red raw... we decided to keep checking it for the next couple of weeks to see if it would heal but it hasn't... the scab is still there, and it now appears much bigger than it was - and I'm worrying now!

I'll be getting him to see the vet sometime next week, but was wondering if anyone on here might have an idea of what it might be?

because he's old, he doesn't go outside very often, he doesn't have fleas and he doesn't spend much time in the sun... I'm at home a lot of the time, and when I am, he sits on my lap and I've never seen him scratch or lick the wound, in fact, I think it's in a position that's almost impossible for him to do so and he doesmt seem bothered about it when I've been looking at it, or touched it...

So he's had this wound/cut/sore for a while now and it looks like it's getting bigger/worse, it always has a scab, but underneath the scab it is just raw, it just looks liek a fresh cut....If anyone might have an idea what this might be, then please let me know!

Cheers.