puncture wound on cat's chin

My Cat got a decent size puncture wound (canine tooth) on her chin while I was away and wasn't made aware it happened but had scabbed over by the time I returned which then was too late for stitches. It looked really good but it is somewhat open again a few days later.... Any advice on what to use to keep it clean and/or bandaged while it hopefully heals? PS she HATES to be handled so this should be fun...

Hello - it sounds as if you know that the wound was made by a tooth - perhaps belonging to a cat - and cats teeth are almost always infected.  The body's typical response would be to wall the infection off in an abcess; over days, the heat and pressure within the abcess increase, until it eventually pops.  Traditionally, vets have treated these with antibiotics but not by stitching or bandaging them because the infection is 'better out than in,' as they say - and once the infection has resolved, bite abscesses can heal quite quickly.  Nowadays, the use of antibiotics is contraversial and varies case to case, depending on the tissues pdnetrated - many times, oral antibiotics are unlikely to penetrate to the infection.  However pain releif (to naximise wealfare and prevent self-trauma), keeping the area clean and sometimes antibiotics may be helpful.  It depends to quite a large extent on factors I can't see and although some abscess improve by themselves, we would reccommend a visit to the vet or asking for a triage phone call in order to assess the situation.

It was from a dog tooth not a cat and so far no signs of any infection, I'm watching it closely.. Was more wondering if I should bandage it and what antibiotic ointment might be cat safe?

Hello - it sounds as if you know that the wound was made by a tooth - perhaps a tooth belonging to a cat - and we know that cats' teeth are almost always infective.  The body's typical response would be to wall the infection off in an abcess.  Over days, the heat and pressure within an abcess will increase, until it eventually pops.  Traditionally, vets have treated them with antibiotics but not by stitching or bandaging them because the infection is 'better out than in,' as they say - and once the infection has resolved, bite abscesses can heal quite quickly.  Nowadays, the use of antibiotics is contraversial and varies case to case, depending on the patient and tissues penetrated - oral antibiotics are frequently unlikely to penetrate to the infection and some abscesses resolve.  However pain releif (to maximise wealfare and prevent self-trauma), keeping the area clean and sometimes antibiotics may be helpful.  It depends to quite a large extent on factors that I can't assess and although some abscesses improve by themselves, we would reccommend a visit to the vet or asking for a triage phone call in order to assess the situation.  Vets can give some treatments by a procedure of remote assessment, but are likely to need a consultation for antibiotics.

In general I wouldnt bandage a puncture bite wound - dog bites can be infective also - and ointment is unlikely to be helpful, because bite wounds penetrate deep and ointments only treat the surface.  Furthermore dog bites can cause deep tissue damage.   I think that my advice would still be for an immediate triage assessment with your vet.