Keegan's Mom Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 A little off topic, it deals with my cat. However, can you use peroxide, neosporin, etc. on animals? Our oldest fur kid has a pretty significant cut on her back just down from her neck. It doesn't bother her, she lets us touch it. I have no idea how it happened as it wasn't there before we left for dinner and was there when we returned. I was hoping that we could keep it cleaned up with some peroxide and neosporin...your thoughts would be much appreciated!!!! Rachel Keegan's Mom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puppydog Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 My BC has a cut on his nose right now. I used soap and water to clean it. And then neosporin on it to help it heal. As far as I know it is safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keegan's Mom Posted December 11, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 I think it is safe as well, but I wasn't sure if there some sort of limit...like should I only apply it once a day to be safe. I just feel so bad for the fury kids when they get hurt because you don't know if it is causing pain unless you touch it and they make noise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
INU Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 My cat had a very similar problem one night! I didn't see the scar but suddenly appeard (and it was pretty big) I took her to vet next morning, the vet said it had been there for at least a month but when the cat scratched it, it got bigger and revealed. I put neosporin that night but the vet gave me this animal only ointment called ani...something. Red and white. She said it helps to heal a lot faster if applied twice or three times. Because she keeps scratching it, she is wearing e colar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK dog doc Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 Hi Rachel The rule of thumb on open wounds is not to put anything in them that you wouldn't put in your own eye - so no alcohol and no peroxide. This is because the tissues in an open wound are about the same sensitivity and delicacy as those in your eye, and alcohol and peroxide can injure the cells and actually delay healing (there are times when this is desirable, but probably not in this case). If you want to clean the wound, you can use water or saline (saline can be gotten easily at any grocery store in the contect lens aisle - get the thimerisol-free version if possible), and if you want to disinfect, mix it with enough betadine solution (not the "scrub" version, which is soapy) to make it the color of iced tea. You can use things like betadine scrub and phisohex to scrub a wound if it's dirty, but most of the time they don't need that much cleaning. We generally use the betadine scrub only once, when it first gets cleaned up. Thereafter, if we're irrigating it, we use the diluted betadine solution in saline. As far as dressings go, Neosporin (or generic equivalent) is my personal favorite for over the counter stuff. It's in a surgical-grade carrier and in human studies has been shown to speed up wound healing. Plus, if the animal licks it, it won't hurt them. (For this reason I avoid the "pain control" version of the product, since I have no idea how much lidocaine they have to ingest before there's a problem.) You can apply it two to four times daily as needed. Older animals heal more slowly than young ones, but cats are pretty good at it in general. If the wound isn't obviously improving within 2 weeks, or if it fails to heal completely, I'd see the vet (sooner if it starts to look worse). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keegan's Mom Posted December 11, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 Thanks a lot...I was doing it all wrong. I am not even sure that I got that much peroxide in it since I was using a cotton ball. I currently have the pain relief neosporin so I will change that. I have both betadine and saline so if I think it needs cleaning then I will use that. Although, it looked pretty clean last nigth when we got home...we just don't know how she came about this wound. It is not swollen either and she doesn't mind us touching around it so it doesn't seem sore. I will keep an eye on it over the next two weeks and if I don't see an improvement then it is off to the vet we go. Thanks again for the info, it is greatly appreciated!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK dog doc Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 You betcha! And if you were using a cotton ball, I doubt you did much harm - it's not like you just poured it in there, and even if you had, a single episode won't significantly delay healing. Stings a bit, though, I imagine. Cats are usually really good healers - that's why they're so good at making abscesses. The skin heals so fast it traps bacteria inside and pretty soon it's aaaaall swollen and gooey in there. (As a vet, I adore abscesses, but I'm sure the cat population takes a dimmer view of them.) At any rate, this sounds as if it will do fine in your capable hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaos Posted December 11, 2003 Report Share Posted December 11, 2003 My parents vet told them that the polysporin ointment wasn't good for dogs but that the cream was acceptable. My father didn't remember why. Has any one else heard this? I was wondering if it was petroleum based products that were to be avoided rather than whatever makes the creamy stuff creamy. Interesting topic, How about witch hazel in an open wound? I certainly wouldn't put it I my eye and therefore would now rule it out, but I have used it in the past. My houndX had a massive autoimmune reaction (developed into a baseball sized tumour we had removed) and I'm wondering now if I brought it on by repeatedly cleaning the cyst with witch hazel.... sara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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