Bacitracin for Cats

Cats are susceptible to various wounds, particularly from the outdoor environment. If your cat is prone to fighting with other cats, scratch and puncture wounds may be relatively frequent occurrences. Cats who like to hunt rodents and other small animals are also prone to receiving skin wounds from animals' claws or teeth, or from sharp items or thorned plants in the natural environment. Bacitracin may be used as a treatment for a skin wound on a cat, though larger wounds should always be checked by a vet and may require suturing if an individual wound is longer than one inch.

  1. Bacitracin

    • Bacitracin is a topical antibiotic that comes in the form of a sterile ointment. Because bacitracin is not very effective if taken orally, it is almost always applied directly or "topically" to a wound or infection. In humans, bacitracin is used specifically for infections of the eye.

    Indications for Bacitracin Use with Cats

    • Bacitracin can be applied in moderation to skin wounds on a cat. It is possible that the cat will lick off the bacitracin, but because it is possible for bacitracin to be used as an orally-administered antibiotic, eating the bacitracin should not pose a health hazard.

    How to Apply Bacitracin

    • Bacitracin must be applied only to a completely cleaned wound. Your cat may not cooperate willingly with wound cleaning, but it is important to remove any dirt, foreign bodies, crusts, or scabs from the wound before bacitracin is applied. Do not use hydrogen peroxide, which may destroy healthy tissue, to clean the wound--according to Cat Health Guide a better choice is a sterile saline solution.

      Apply bacitracin ointment to the wound two or three times per day, and optionally cover the wound and ointment with a bandage, which additionally will help limit cat ingestion of the bacitracin ointment through licking.

    If Bacitracin Is Ineffective

    • Because bacitracin works on specific types of bacteria, it may not have an effect on a cat's infected skin wound if different bacteria are present. If bacitracin does not aid healing of the cat's wound after several days, consider having a veterinarian take a culture of the wound in order to identify the bacteria present, and therefore the appropriate antibiotic to use for treatment.

    Other Considerations

    • Bacteria or other material trapped in a wound may preventing draining; this is the the most common reason for a cat's skin wound failing to heal. Another possible cause is placement of the wound in an area of the cat's body that is constantly pulled upon as the cat moves. Cats with thyroid-related problems often have more problems with wound healing. The skin wound healing process may be aided or sped up by careful nutrition, including sufficient levels of zinc and vitamins in the cat's diet. If a wound persists without healing, consult a veterinarian.

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