Abscess...?How did the vet miss this???

[4senuff]

I'm having a hard night:-(.

I took Hobbes in for his vaccines and wellness check, and showed the vet a lump on Hobbes' side. It wasn't hot, there was no bite or bleeding and when the vet handled it, my boy didn't even flinch. I was told to bring him back in a month, or sooner if the lump grew larger.


Today I went to pet him and found that the lump had changed shape and that Hobbes seemed to have scratched it..there was a tiny scab. I put a warm compress over it and then when I gently felt around it, all this green pus oozed out!

I've cleaned the abscess and put warm compresses over it and will take him to the vet FIRST THING tomorrow. My poor little guy:'-(.

How did this happen? Hobbes didn't have any signs of wounds or rough play with his furry siblings at all!

How does a cat develop an abscess like this without an injury? Could this be a feline version of a boil?

Why didn't he react to the vet touching and prodding it then? I've checked on the lump daily and it didn't seem to be getting bigger or harder and it wasn't hot, so what the heck??

Poor baby:-(... This has left me a little shaken.

 

[stephanietx]

Have you gotten him back to the vet for an antibiotic to clear up any infection?  I would ask the vet how abscesses are formed and if he thinks this will be a chronic condition.

 

[4senuff]

Thanks for replying. I'm taking him to the vet at 2pm today. The vet called me back this morning and after I described it, told me that it could have been a cyst that became infected.

He's going to give my boy some antibiotics and I'll ask him if this could be chronic. That didn't occur to me, so thank you for bringing that up:-).

Hobbes is doing better this morning. The site isn't swollen anymore and he isn't happy about me touching the area but isn't as uncomfortable as he was last night, poor baby:-(.

Hopefully the vet will give me some medicine for Hobbes in case he's in any pain. Two o'clock can't come soon enough.