my poor cat has a swollen face :(

[gracey]

my cat came in the other day with a lump the size of a golf ball on the side of his face, obviously we went straight to the vets, where he has had shots and come home with anti b's .. then he scratched at it, and all the fur has come off and although the lump hasn't burst, its all black under the skin .. i am bathing it twice a day, and i now have a cone for his head .. he is looking so sorry for himself, I am wondering though if it would be better if i asked the vet to burst the lump to let the infection out? (he hasn't been back to the vets since he scratched his fur off, but i have rang them and told them..) i don't like to ring back yet again, so i thought i would gather opinions ..

thanks xx

 

[Umbongo]

If it is a puss filled abscess then it would certainly need to be lanced or have a draining hole. It isn't going to get better quickly without all that puss going somewhere! He would feel a lot better too. I would go back the vets and ask why it wasn't opened? Perhaps they think it's something else?

I had a cat that came in with a huge lump on the side of his face. The abscess was lanced. However not long after he developed glaucoma and the eye was eventually removed. My vet was highly suspicious that the abscess caused some sort of trauma to the back of they eye as it was so large.

Don't mean to scare you, just giving my experiences! My poor cat seems to get quite a few abscesses and now I am SUPER vigilant about them.

 

[gracey]

thanks umbongo ..tbh it was my o/h that took him to the vet, and i was quite surprised he had neither a collar on or the lump lanced! I thought it was a tooth abscess and the vet thought it was a bite that had become infected, obviously, we trust my vet to know what he is doing (and really i am very fussy with my vets!) I have rang them twice since he has been in to see them, but i am thinking I will have to take him again in the morning.. .. your story scares me!! i hope your cat is ok now? xx

 

[Fransurrey]

My cat once had a cheek abscess which was allowed to progress naturally. Once it burst, it drained really well with no antibiotics. I'm not a fan of giving antibiotics for abscesses. The only time I ever had a problem was in fact when the vet gave him a shot of the damn things. He threw up for a week! Don't panic, Gracey. I've never heard of eye damage from a cheek abscess. It's just worth bearing in mind. I'm sure the vet will lance it if it doesn't burst naturally. When you say the other day, how long has it been this size? Is your cat's temp raised? Is he eating? My cat looked very sorry for himself right before it burst. It was late at night and I was giving it until morning, but woke up to an almighty mess. Lovely.

 

[gracey]

hi fran, erm he came in on wednesday with a huge egg on the side of his face, he was whisked down to the vets a couple of hours later, the vet thinks he must of been fighting (he is a stroppy bengal) and we hadn't noticed anything, and it became infected, he had a couple of shots, and he came out with a packet of pills (oh the fun trying to get them down him!!!) then yesterday, he must of had a good scratch and took all the fur off the lump, it looks like dark blood underneath the skin? if i knew how to put a picture up i would!!! yes he is eating, and he seems ok in himself, but he is sleeping more than usual ..and yes he is looking pathetically sorry for himself! lol!! my other cat is in shock of his arch enemy bashing his way around the house with a bucket thing on his head! x

 

[twiglet84]

Your vet should have lanced it and let the pus drain out. Otherwise it could burst which would be painful plus the infection will make him poorly, I'd go back to your vets xxx that is unless your vet suspects a tumour of something? What did they discuss with your OH? Xx

 

[gracey]

.. vet thinks it is a cat fight / bite .. i don't really get why it wasn't lanced? the vet is normally FAB ... i just don't really know why it wasn't lanced? if he suspected a tumour, he would have said? surely??

 

[twiglet84]

Yeah well either way they should of at least stick a needle in and aspirated the lump. Xx strange xx

 

[Alexart]

I hate abcesses they're so icky, we've rescued lots of feral tom cats in the past most of which have had abcesses from fights. I just get a stitch cutter/scalpel or large horse needle, although I find making a hole with a needle they tend to heal over very fast so keep needing to be jabbed everyday, a larger cut is far better as they just drain naturally and don't need squeezing! All you need then is a shed load of bog roll, and don't do this on your best furniture!, and wrap said cat in a towel and one quick jab and it's ick everywhere!! The cat usually feels tons better though and it means we can just wash it out everyday, usually a week of that and they heal very quickly! - eeeew!! Oh and wear gloves as the smell of pus is really hard to get off your hands!!!!!:O

 

[missieh]

Is your cat better?

 

[gracey]

sorry only just saw you asked how my cat is, yes he is much better thanks hun, we went back to the vet and got the whole of the infection cut out, he was under house arrest for a few weeks, but now he is back to his normal bolshy self xx