Tail wound - picture in comments

[NotanotherboxofFrogs]

Boy cat has come in this evening and has been fussing over his tail more than usual so I took a closer look and it seems there is a wound, he doesn't seem to be in any pain or distress apart from licking it all the time.

I'm going to phone the vet's in the morning and send in pictures to see if she needs to see him but in the meantime is there anything I can do.

I only discovered this in the past hour so apologies it's a late night question or that I can do for him overnight. I've given some loxicam just in case.

Thanks in advance

I'd give it a clean with salt water. If it's a bite then it's likely to get infected regardless. Cats seem to fight at this time of year and invariably one of mine will end up at the vet needing antibiotics where they've been bitten by another cat.

Thank you @DappledOliveGroves. I will do it now.

Don't delay a vet visit. One of my cats had similar and we ended up with a bill approaching £800... (lockdown, bank holiday, out of hours)

@Grumpyoldpersonwithcats

Don't delay a vet visit. One of my cats had similar and we ended up with a bill approaching £800... (lockdown, bank holiday, out of hours)

In cat circles this is known as a “Full house”.

How is your cat @NotanotherboxofFrogs?.

Checking back in, lovely vet did at video call at 4.30pm as their practice was overloaded today and they have no appointments left at the moment until Saturday so a video call where she looked at the pictures and the cat bouncing off the furniture, he has eaten a full days food, no signs of pain except for the constant licking of that area and an occasional wince when tail is tackled by his sister in play fighting. I think she knows it's a weaker spot for him at the moment.

Vet advised to continue washing it out with salt water and vet left out a script to be collected before 5.30pm so friend has picked it up and will drop off on her way home later. Cream twice a day and buster collar and keep inside, he won't be happy but it will stop him licking it. If it gets worse over the following days, we have a plan for the other main vet's who are open on Saturday and will have a note of him just in case as the nearest "emergency vet" is 50/60 miles away and he doesn't like the car so least distress.

He has a pencil in appointment for Monday afternoon just in case it's needed but I will ring on Monday morning and cancel if not needed.

Picture of the cats and not just the bite to the cat's tail. He is the one on the left.

I reckon he’s in pain if he’s licking, if it wasn’t painful he’d ignore it.

Beautiful cats though.

@Fluffycloudland77, good point. Il keep a close eye on him, he will be annoyed by the cone but needs must.

3ml of loxicam, once a day for now and will keep monitoring it. Friend will drop the cream off in the next hour.