Malaysia Veterinary Forum (Archive)

Olivia · Joined: 04 Aug 2008 Posts: 2

Hello everybody,

I'd like to seek advice on my cat, 'Pot'. About 2 months ago, my mom found him having a round wound/sore the size of a 50 cent coin on his hip. She brought him to a vet. The vet had to take out some of the 'dead flesh' before stitching him up and my cat had to wear a cone around his neck to avoid him from biting the stitches.

After 3 weeks, the wound almost healed and we removed the cone. But the wound began to get bigger. Sometimes it seemed to be dry but other times it seems to be wet and there seems to be whitish discharge. The vet gave us hydrogen peroxide and a cream to treat the wound.

When it still didn't seem to heal, we brought it to the vet again. The vet said they would need to open the wound and take out the foreign flesh/tumour that has been growing on the wound which keeps it from healing. They said they would need to cut out the tumour until there is bleeding flesh before sewing the skin together on top of the bleeding flesh.

My question is could it really be a tumour/ cancer and do we need to open up the wound and take out the flesh? Is there any other way other than surgery and is there possibility it will slowly heal? My cat is very 'manja' and he had to go through a hard time during the previous procedure.

I would really appreciate another opinion on this situation from the vets online. Thank you very much for your help!

Dr Nat · Joined: 07 Dec 2005 Posts: 1834 Location: Klang Valley

Firstly, a clarification (for the benefit of all readers) - all vets here are not working full time online in this forum, we're all volunteers, and have jobs of our own be it working in clinics, learning institutions, pharmaceuticals, and many other lines.

In your case, it is best to seek clarification from your vet. If he/she says its tumour, then please get more information as to what kind of tumour it is. Ask to write it down if possible, and you can google it back home.

There are many kinds of woulds that dont heal or heal very slowly. Tumour is one of them. In some cases, complete removal is required for treatment. In other cases, removal would not do much if it has already been progressing for too long. There are also several other kinds of disease that would inhibit normal healing. It is best to seek further clarification from your vet. Either write all your questions down and visit your vet again, or give him/her a call.

If the explanation seems unclear or unsatisfactory, then you should seek a second opinion.

Olivia · Joined: 04 Aug 2008 Posts: 2

Thanks a lot Dr. Nat. I hope to bring my cat to another vet to get a second opinion. My cat remains active and healthy despite his wound. He also enjoys the attention we give when treating him :)

Anyways, I'm glad to have found this forum.. It's really nice to know there are vets who volunteer here for the love of animals and veterinary that goes beyond material gains..! What goes around comes around. Whatever good that benefits will surely be compensated in one way or another.. Thanks.

Dr HanMRCVS · Joined: 07 Jun 2006 Posts: 557 Location: Johor Bahru

sometime wound treatment can be quite painstakingly slow and unrewarding. while undiagnosed tumour is one possible cause of non healing wound, perhaps you can discuss with your vet if taking samples from the wound for bacterial or fungal culture will help?

i have encountered many non healing wounds and it is very difficult to get it right the first time .... all the time!

Dr Dunker · Joined: 02 Jun 2006 Posts: 463 Location: Puchong,Selangor

Wait...are we dealing with a tumor or is it just over aggrasive growth of granulation tissue? In some chronic wounds (wounds due to repitative iritation) the body forms granulation tissue, some call it 'proud flesh' though I normaly hear the horse vets say this. Some vats remove this "growth" to allow wounds to heal better. The process is called debridement.