Cat Sassy - Skin Abscess? Right Treatment?

[miguel99nyc]

Hello Everyone,

From a previous post about her not eating, losing weight, etc. It has all be resolved and been doing well since early January.

Now a new minor issue came up in which she seemed to have developed this cyst like abscess on right side of rib cage? Came about weeks ago..as a small like dark dot I noticed...thought maybe she got scratched by our other cat indoors or she over bit herself or something. Then as time went on, it slowly increased in size a bit to like an M&M and was white pus filled. She might have licked/bit it but in next day or so it drained I guess and it was smaller again. Then it grew just slight with pus again so we took her to Vet.

He drained it, and just prescribed this Entederm cream to put on twice a day since last Saturday, and do so for a week. ANd since she had to be with the cone which I HATE she looks soo depressed at times but somewhat got used to it. Just gets me so sad seeing her like that but at least she still asks for food, walks around awkardly, and uses litter ok and drinks water.

So my question to you all is, is Entederm solely the right away to approach it? Vet said theres also clavamox or amoxcillin..but since it didnt look so serious, he rather treat it topically first rather to risk any side effects from medicine, especially since shes now 16 going 17 yrs old. The other thing was that we decided after vet visit, as we put the cream on that it was probably useless at first since she had like this dry blood scab around it. So how would the cream work?? We decided to gently clean her, remove the scab, more pus came out actually afterwards, drained it and then saw like a crater in middle? THEN we put the cream and since then seems to be slightly improving. Now each day we are cleaning it up, even draining it more because it seems like there still some pus in there. So we drain it very carefully then apply cream and clean area. Im attaching pictures, each labeled with date on to see progress since feb 17th.

If anyone could let me know if this cream is correct or should she be on medication? I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[verna davies]

If it is still filling with pus, there is still an infection there so she might need antibiotics. If she will let you, bathe it every couple of hours with a cotton ball or clean cloth soaks in warm water but with the excess water squeezed out. Remove crusts and scab so the wound can drain.
If you dont see any improvement send photos to your vet for his opinion or take her back in.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I agree with V verna davies . I also agree with your vet in attempting to treat this topically FIRST, then moving on to antibiotics if there was no resolution. Prudence in non-emergency cases, especially when dealing with older cats, is always wise!

 

[Jem]

When cleaning it, if she'll let you, use a warm compress on the area, hold it there for several minutes then continue to clean the area. The warm compress will help draw the infection out. And as much as you can, don't let it scab over until only clear liquid comes out of it for a while. You can ensure it won't scab over by doing as V verna davies said, by gently using a damp warm cloth or cotton ball to wipe away any new scabbing trying to form. Or if you want to be even more specific as to not irritate the area too much, use a cotton swab (q-tip) to just clean the edges where the scab will try to form. (you don't need to do the warm compress every time you wipe the area.) And although this seems contradictory to what we've said, be sure the area stays dry. When cleaning it, don't over saturate, air is the enemy to infection so although you do need to dampen it to keep the wound open you don't want it to stay wet.
I would give it a few days of what was mentioned, with the antibiotic cream (just my opinion) for a few days and see if it improves before going with oral antibiotics.

 

[catlover73]

I agree about cleaning the abscess and warm compresses.

If your cat hates the warm damp compresses you could try a warm dry towel or a heating pad on low placed on the area. The reason for the compresses is to force any puss under the wound to come to the surface. I was curious and googled the medication there are ingredients in the medicine that are useful for this situation even though it is not an antibiotic. I can see given your cat's age why the decision may have been made to try this first. If the abscess is continuing to fill up with puss though that is a sign of an infection still being present. The infection can be underneath the actual abscess so you can only see it when the puss is draining. If things are not improving due to the wound continuing to fill back up with puss then I would do a follow-up phone call with your vet and let them know what is happening. If you have a series of pictures e-mailing them to your vet to look at may be helpful for them to see how things are progressing.

I do not know if this is an option for cats but I know on humans Clindamycin Ointment is used for skin abscesses for people that can not take antibiotics due to digestive issues. This may be another thing to ask your vet. I am not seeing the ointment online on sites that sell pet meds for cats. I am not sure if it can actually be used on cats but you could ask your vet if this is a safer option. This is antibiotic ointment.

 

[miguel99nyc]

Wow guys, thank you so much for the into! For whatever reason, I had no idea replies were sent...got no email notifications as I used to in the past?

I did manage to take my cat to vet this morning. Vet reviewed it and agreed it was getting better but was not there yet. So he said we can move onto clavamox along with keeping the ointment as well for one more week.

He did say if Sassy lets us, we can keep on draining and cleaning the infection, which thankfully she lets us. she doesnt growl or get angry, nothing. She just lays down and lets us clean it, so we have been doing it twice a day. Swelling is definitely better then days ago so I know its improving. I tried giving her Clavamox tablet today but she won't go near it. Not even in pill pocket nor food.Shes one smart cat. So monday when vet opens, I will try get the liquid form which the vet originally wanted to give instead the chewable tablet.

Which leads to another question. I was just watching vids of giving cats the liqiuid form...but theres a risk of the liquid going into her lungs??! that sounds scary as hell, and have no idea how I can assure that won't happen while i give it to her.
Is it true? That while giving such antibiotic with that dropper in liquid form, if enters her throat the wrong way , it can go into throat? Because if thats the case then I'd be really afraid of doing it, let alone she hates us opening her mouth...we've tried it many years ago for another medication and was tough.

Thoughts?

 

[Jem]

If it's liquid, you could mix it into a small amount of something you know she will gobble up. Favorite wet food, tuna water....I had a cat who would lick it up that way. If you allow her to swallow on her own and don't just shoot it down her throat, the chances of her aspirating are pretty slim.
When it comes to syringing the medication, just position it under the cheek, positioning the tip of the syringe just behind the canine tooth. You want to squirt it in the back half of the mouth, just not into the throat so she can swallow it herself.
Is the liquid flavored at all? Most medications taste very bitter and they will sometimes start drooling and foaming at the mouth trying to spit it out. This is normal, but obviously something to try and avoid. And if you've never seen it happen, but do this time, it looks really awful, just don't panic, it is a normal reaction to bitter tasting meds. She's not having an adverse reaction to the meds or having some sort of allergy attack, she just hates the taste.
If she won't eat it on her own (mixed with something) you could still syringe it (if it's not flavored) with something like tuna juice to dilute the gross flavor and help her take it better. If you do mix it with something, then you need to take your time syringing it into her mouth, just squirt a small amount let her swallow it then squirt some more and so on until the syringe is empty.
Oh and one more thing, I know when giving pills, tilting the head back a bit, is recommended so you can push the pill past the hump of the tongue, but when dealing with liquids, I try to keep the head level / no too tilted up to make sure it does not run back before she can swallow herself.

If you still don't want to do the liquid. Pilling is not that bad if you get the right technique down.
What I would do with mine was sit on the floor, with my legs folded under me so I was sitting on my feet. I would put my cat between my legs so that his butt was tucked into my crotch (that way he could not back away or get out from either side.) Then I would tilt his head back as I leaned forward so that his head was pressed into my chest (that helped control his head so it did not thrash about). I would then take my thumb and wiggle it just behind the canine and this would force him to open his mouth, and with the other hand that was holding the pill (thumb and index holding pill) I would use my middle finger to push down a bit on his lower jaw and shove the pill just past the hump of his tongue (not down the throat). If you get it past the hump, they have a hard time spitting it back out. Then keep the head back and stroke his throat a few times until he licked his lips (a sign that he swallowed). depending on the pill, I would sometimes follow up with a squirt of liquid, but usually just give a treat or two, it finishes the ordeal with something positive, but also makes sure that the pill went down.

 

[miguel99nyc]

So an update on Sassy's skin.

After discussing with vet earlier in the week, and showing some pictures, I myself deemed it that it was improving and the vet agreed. Then he said to hold off on the clavamox but instead keeping using the Entederm ointment he gave 2 weeks ago and continue monitoring.

My question to him was if the hole would seal uP? Because nothing has been draining from it, no puss or blood, and hard to tell if that stuff inside the hole is puss or just flesh? He said may take 2 or 3 more days...its been 4 days but the hole does look a little smaller? ive attached pics for reference. But nothing is draining out from there. So I wonder if clavamox would speed up process of that hole sealing up , maybe the infection stilll in there?

Plus I so want to take off that cone shes been on for two weeks already! But vet advised to leave it on until it seals.... otherwise her licking it would irritate it.

Thoughts? Would gladly appreciate it.

 

[Jem]

I would keep the cone on until the wound is healed. Cuts and holes heal from the inside out so until the inside closes the outside will still be open, but will shrink over time. The cone will prevent it from getting irritated and possibly introducing a new infection with licking.
It's seems your close to the finish line, so out of all the possibilities that can still arise, the cone for another week or so is the lesser of all the evils. I would hate to see this start all over again and kitty having to wear the cone for another month or more instead of just a week.

Also, if there has been nothing draining for some time and it is slowly closing then the infection is most likely gone. More clavamox won't make a wound heal any faster, you just have the let the skin do it's thing, but licking will make the healing process longer and may cause another infection.
Think about if you have a cut on your hand, every time you wash your hands it, re-opens, gets more and more red and angry and sometimes even oozes with every hand washing. Yet if you get a cut somewhere else, that does not get exposed to constant friction and moisture, it seems (well...it does) to heal faster.