Cat with eye gash

[whethergirl]

My one year old cat just strolled in with a bit of blood in his eye, it looks as though he has been scratched in the corner of his eye. I tried to clean it with a wet cotton wool pad. Is there anything else I can do to avoid infection?

Not really, cats have an immune system.

I don't think they are immune to infection though are they?

I would take him to the vet in the morning, even if it doesn't look too bad. If he's been in a fight with another cat it could be a bite wound. Cats carry a bacterium in their mouths which means most bite wounds will turn into horrible abscesses without treatment. I usually give these guys an antibiotic, as the abscesses can be nasty, and can cause the cat to develop a high temp and be really unwell. Good luck!

Thanks Jooly, I know going to the vets would be the obvious thing but don't want to take time off tomorrow morning unless really needed, or spend money unnecessarily as I'm skint. Obviously, if it is going to turn into an abscess then I will do whatever is needed, but was wondering if there was anything I could do tonight to help prevent it from getting worse. Of course he has gone back out now so not sure if I'll see him til the morning.

Would it be too long to leave it for a day to see if it gets worse?

Roughly how much does a consultation/antibiotics cost?

You can bathe it with a mild saline solution (teaspoon of salt to a pint of water- shouldn't sting or be harsh, and is a mild antibacterial)

I would say it would be ok to leave it for a day, but bear in mind it can take a couple of days to turn into an abscess/ make him unwell, so if you leave it till the weekend and he suddenly gets ill, you could be looking at out-of-hours fees, which are generally lots higher!!

In our area a consult + ABs would be around £25-£30, but it does depend where you live and what they gave. If your vet does an evening surgery, maybe you could take him tomorrow night? It may not be a bite wound, and could possibly heal up without antibiotics, but hard to say without seeing it. Let us know how he goes

Thanks Jooly, and good point about the weekend! I'm in North London and it's quite expensive around here but just wanted to get an idea. Will try the saline solution, did think about doing that but wasn't sure if it would sting and I didn't want him to think I was hurting him on purpose!

I hope he'll be alright. Could it really be a bite though, right in the corner of his eye?