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El gato tiene una herida. Lávela y cúrela.

El gato tiene una herida. Lávela y cúrela.
The cat has a wound. Wash it and treat it.
From Lesson 134:Pronouns with affirmative commands (dámelo, hágalo)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about El gato tiene una herida. Lávela y cúrela.

Why is the pronoun attached to the end of the verbs in Lávela and cúrela?
Because these are affirmative commands (telling someone to do something). In Spanish, object pronouns like la (it) must be attached directly to the end of affirmative command verbs, rather than placed in front of them.
Why do we use la here instead of lo? Isn't the cat masculine?
The pronoun la doesn't refer to the cat (el gato). It refers to the wound (una herida). Since herida is a feminine noun, we use the feminine pronoun la to say wash it and treat it.
Why are there accent marks on Lávela and cúrela?
When you attach a pronoun to a command, you add an extra syllable to the word. To keep the natural spoken stress on the original part of the verb (lave and cure), you have to add a written accent mark. Without it, the rules of Spanish pronunciation would force you to stress the new second-to-last syllable.
Are these commands formal or informal?
They are formal (usted) commands. You can tell because the verbs lavar and curar use the ending -e here (lave, cure). If you were speaking informally to a friend (tú), the commands would use the -a ending, making them lávala and cúrala.

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