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This guide is a home-care support tool. It does not replace personalized advice from your veterinarian. For any questions, contact us at 514 223-1197.
Why a treatment on the skin?
Creams and ointments are prescribed for various reasons, most often a bacterial or fungal skin infection. The treatment is very easy to do at home. The key: keep the medication in contact with the skin for the whole prescribed duration.
Bacterial infection
The most common reason for a cream on the skin.
Fungal infection
Skin fungi; some, such as ringworm, are contagious.
Another skin condition
Irritation, a wound, or a lesion your veterinarian wants to treat locally.
Contact is everything
The medication only works if it stays in place. Your veterinarian often shaves the hair around the area so the coat does not mat with the cream and contact stays optimal.
What you need
Your veterinarian will provide the essentials. Here is what you need to work cleanly.
Cream or ointment
The medication prescribed by your veterinarian.
Exam gloves
Latex or equivalent, to protect you.
Gauze pads
To clean the area if needed.
Cleaning solution
Diluted, warm antiseptic (chlorhexidine or povidone-iodine), or a mild soap.
An Elizabethan collar
Or an anti-lick device, to prevent licking.
Why gloves?
Exam gloves (latex or equivalent) protect you from contact with any bacteria or fungi on your pet, and protect your skin from the medication too. They matter especially for a hormone or cortisone cream, which can pass through your skin; children and anyone pregnant or nursing should be even more careful. Wash your hands right after.
The right product, in the right place
Apply only the product your veterinarian dispensed for this problem: do not add or substitute a human, over-the-counter, or leftover cream, since some are toxic to pets even in small amounts. Apply it only where indicated and keep it out of the eyes: a skin cream is not made for the eye. For a lesion near the eye or ear, follow our instructions precisely.
Before you start
This guide applies to the medication your veterinarian prescribed after examining the skin. Work calmly and without forcing: your confidence reassures your pet. The signs that should make you call are gathered below, under "When to call."
Is your pet resisting a little? Take a break.
Speak in a calm voice, do not scold your pet, and do not hold it more tightly. Stop for now and try again later: it is better to end on a good note. Watch for early signs of stress (lip-licking, freezing, ears pinned back, low tail) and take a break before your pet gets worked up. Reward calm behaviour at the very end, once the treatment is done and the cone is on, never before: your pet must not lick the fresh medication.
Is your pet struggling or becoming aggressive? Stop.
Do not force it: forcing today makes every session and wearing the cone harder, and raises the risk of a bite. The area may be too painful without additional medication, and strong resistance can also signal a worsening that deserves a prompt reassessment. Do not risk a bite or scratch: stop and call us.
Applying the medication
Allow about five minutes, a little more if crusts need to soak to soften. Work calmly.
Set up the session
With a calm or sleeping pet, one person is enough. With a young, very excitable animal, have a second person distract and hold your pet while you apply. If the handling stays too difficult, talk to us: there are alternatives.
Clean the area, if needed
If the area is dirty, clean it first with a warm, diluted cleaning solution (chlorhexidine or povidone-iodine, never undiluted, or a mild soap), at the dilution your veterinarian specifies. Soak a gauze pad and gently wipe away debris. For crusts that stick, hold the moist gauze on the spot for five minutes to soften them, then remove them gently. If the area is already clean, move to the next step: repeatedly cleaning already-clean skin can slow healing.
Prevent all licking
This is essential: some medications that work on the skin are harmful if swallowed. Put on an Elizabethan collar to protect the area while the medication absorbs. For a paw, a sock can help; for the trunk, a t-shirt. Cats groom a lot and can lick a topical off within seconds: licking control must be even stricter and the cone is often non-negotiable.
Apply the right amount
Squeeze out, onto your gloved index finger, the amount for one application, like a dab of toothpaste on a brush: from a hazelnut for a small area to several strips for a wide one. The goal is a thin film. When in doubt, check the amount with our team.
Spread gently
The ointment is colder than the skin and can surprise, especially on a raw wound. Spread with a light touch, in small circular movements, without forcing. Aim for a thin film over the whole area, for gradual absorption over several hours.
If your pet licks or swallows it
If your pet licks off or swallows a meaningful amount of cream: wipe or rinse its mouth with clean water, do not make it vomit, and call us with the product name on hand.
Dial 514 223-1197. Outside opening hours, see our emergency options.
After the treatment
A few simple steps to finish cleanly and safely, then keep an eye on the skin over the next few days.
- Throw away the leftover cleaning solution, the gauze, and the used gloves.
- For each treatment, start fresh with new solution and new gauze, to avoid any contamination.
- Wash your hands.
- Close the medication and store it out of reach of children and pets.
- Do not reuse what is left on a new problem or on another pet without checking with us: each diagnosis has its own treatment. Check the expiry date and discard any expired product.
Healing takes time
The skin should start to improve within the first few days. Some infections, fungal ones such as ringworm in particular, take longer to show improvement, and a more serious problem can take longer still. Visible improvement often comes before the skin has truly healed: keep up the treatment until your veterinarian gives the go-ahead, even if the area already looks healed, otherwise the problem can come back.
When to call us
The skin should improve gradually. Contact us promptly if you notice:
- Discharge appearing or increasing at the treated area.
- More marked redness, swelling, or heat, or a lesion that is spreading.
- Pain that is increasing.
- A reaction right after applying: intense itching, hives (welts), or new redness or swelling. In that case, stop the product and call us.
- A pet that is lethargic, feverish, off its food, or in pain elsewhere.
- A cat that refuses to eat for more than 24 hours while wearing the cone, or that stays very distressed in it.
- Being unable to apply the medication properly.
Dial 514 223-1197. Outside opening hours, see our emergency options.
Your questions, our answers
What owners ask us most about treatments on the skin.
My pet is with me all day. Why make my pet wear a cone?
How often should I clean and apply the medication?
Should I stop as soon as the area looks healed?
I forgot an application. What should I do?
Can I catch what my pet has?
Are there any restrictions for my pet?
Related guides
A simple step, contact that counts
A clean area, a thin film of medication, and a cone to prevent licking: that is all it takes for the treatment to work and your pet's skin to heal. See it through to the end, and at the first doubt, pain, or resistance, set the treatment aside and call us.
Worried about your pet's skin?
Redness, a wound, itching, or a spreading lesion? Our team can examine your pet's skin, make the diagnosis, and show you the right technique. Book an appointment.