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Cat Wound – Abscess
Has your cat ever come home with a bit or a scratch from a brawl in the alley, only to turn
into a big bulging infection in a few days? With a cat wound, an abscess is an indication of
something very serious going on deep under the skin. Immediate medical attention and
antibiotics are needed to treat it properly. Lets see exactly what is going on and what can
be done to treat it.
Even though cats are naturally resistant to most infections, cat wounds are prone to
abscesses. Bacteria will use any break in the skin as a means of entrance. There are lethal
bacteria present in a cat’s mouth that can be deposited by the bite of another cat or
cleaning any open wound by licking it.
The most common cat wounds are caused by bites from other cats and thus are the leading
cause in abscesses. Mature tomcats will often inflict bite wounds on younger male cats at
the base of the tale. This occurs when a tomcat is defending his territory.
Abscesses found in the mouth, often in older cats, are usually caused by a lack of proper
dental care.
An abscess can be recognized by swelling and heat in the skin at the cat wound site. A soft
lump can usually be felt here and is painful. Your cat’s reaction will let you know that.
Fever and loss of appetite will also occur later.
If a cat wound not treated quickly, an abscess will go deeper into the tissues and enter the
bloodstream. Septicemia, or blood poisoning, will result, causing damage to the heart,
kidneys and other major organs. It can shorten the lifespan of your cat quite a bit and even
cause death at the time of the abscess.
Bone infection can also occur making amputation necessary if treatment of the cat wound is
not started early enough. Abscesses in the ear are particularly dangerous as they can
spread to the brain, resulting in convulsions and death.
The most difficult type of abscess to treat is in the loose skin areas. There usually is not
a definite lump at the site of the cat wound so it often goes unnoticed by the cat owner.
When it is found that the cat is ill, it has gone into a deep infection and is harder to treat.
Even though an abscess may seem to break down, discharge a lot of pus and heal, this can be
very misleading in cat wounds. It will occur again because the skin heals faster than the
tissues it covers. Proper care by a veterinarian is needed to insure that it is treated
properly. If the abscess is not draining adequately, minor surgery may be needed.
Antibiotic treatment will be necessary in either case.
All surgery carries risk because of the anesthesia but those risks are greatly reduced from
times past with the techniques used today.
If your cat is treated for an abscess in a cat wound, do not be taken aback by the open
wound after surgery. It is necessary to open it up and keep it open so the drainage will
continue and the infection will lessened. For this reason, your cat will not be sutured after
treatment. There will also be large shaved areas due to the need to clear the hair away
from the area to be incised. The hair will grow back completely in a few months.
To avoid abscesses, you will need to be observant. If your cat is injured and has a cat wound,
take it to the vet right away. Clean the wound before you go as a clean wound can be
stitched so scarring is minimized. The vet will start antibiotic therapy to prevent infection
from setting in. This will save the cat from the pain of an abscess and save you a
considerable amount of money of vet bills.
If you have take your cat in for treatment of an abscess or cat wound, you will need to
follow the vet’s instructions on post-operative care. This will include observing your cat
for any signs of the abscess coming back. If the abscess does return, immediate treatment
is required.
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