Cat wounds heal more slowly than dog wounds, and some become chronic and stall. A delayed or non-healing wound is a clue, not a diagnosis: something local (infection, a foreign body, tension, dead tissue, cancer) or systemic (poor nutrition, kidney disease, drugs, immune or endocrine disease) is stopping repair.
Key facts
Delayed wound healing at a glance- Species and system: cat; integumentary.
- Cause: species differences in healing plus local and systemic factors that delay it.
- Classic presentation: a wound that stays open, with pale, unhealthy granulation tissue, discharge, and edges that do not advance.
- Classic example: chronic axillary wounds in outdoor cats that wore a collar and went missing (Paulino 2023).
- Key principle: find and treat the cause; do not just change dressings.
- Zoonotic or reportable: no.
What's inside
12 sections in the full guide- Key facts
- How the NAVLE tests this
- Cause and pathophysiology
- Clinical signs
- Diagnosis
- Treatment and management
- Prevention, control and public health
- A structured approach to the stalled wound
- Prognosis
- Quick review
- Test yourself
- References
The full guide also has 3 tables, 1 figure, 3 self-test questions and 7 references, available to NAVLE members.
Read the full study guide
The full guide is part of every NAVLE plan, with diagnosis and treatment tables, figures, a quick review and self-test questions. Start a free trial to try the question bank, or log in if you are already a member.