Does dog and cat saliva have curative properties ?

I know that the cone is so they can’t lick the wound and maybe pull out the stitches or tape. I know pets also have many germs in there saliva just like humans and I don’t see that as a good thing for a healing wound.

But they do it instinctively.

I have always heard that their saliva helps heal wounds. That could be one of those things you hear that turns out to be complete bullshit though and it’s a great question.

As far as the cones go, I think in the case of your son’s cat, the cone is in place for a good reason. They want the surgical wound to not get messed with by the cat. They wouldn’t do it if it was harmful.

Animals in the wild lick their wounds, too. I suspect it helps by possibly clearing away the bacteria that might otherwise collect. ¯\(ツ)/¯

Considering what I have seen all of my pets eat over the years, I“d say no.

As a child I found that sucking on a burn on my fingers or extremities helped.

Cleaning out the wound has to be better than leaving dirt and stuff in it.

Everything I’ve read, some properties in the saliva can prevent bacteria growth, but the saliva can also cause infection, and I say it’s not worth the risk. I’m not a doctor or vet.

Probably, it’s instinctive for a dog to lick a wound initially to clear out any debris, and if it’s a fairly shallow wound that is bleeding, the bleeding will help keep it clear of infection. Deeper wounds are more problematic. That’s true in general with wounds, bleeding can be your friend as long as it’s not excessive.

Ongoing licking might be a way the dog tries to sooth the area, but could keep tearing it open.

It’s better not to let your dog lick in my opinion, especially after a surgery when they could tear out stitches.

We can care for the wound better with medical intervention if it’s our own pets. Keeping it clean, antibiotic salve or pills if necessary.

As far as letting a dog lick a human wound, I personally would never risk it if I could avoid it.

My dog just had a bug bite/sting lanced. The vet washed it out, and we had to put a cone on her. All saliva has bacteria. Whether it’s beneficial to a wound or not is debatable. Probably better than leaving in dirt and other junk.

Cato locks my owies @JLeslie. He’s just trying to help.

I’m sure he is trying to help. It’s very sweet, but I wouldn’t do it. You can obviously do whatever you want.

I’m not a ridiculous germaphobe.