How often do cats get abscesses from fighting? Cats can be very territorial.
Outdoor cats will often defend their territory or try to claim new territory from other cats.
When this happens, fights occur.
How does the abscess result from fighting? The original wound is often very small; perhaps just a nick or scratch where a nail or tooth caught the skin.
This gives bacteria access to the subcutaneous tissue or the space beneath the skin.
After 3 to 4 days, the bacteria causes a large pocket of pus to form.
How does a cat with an abscess act? As the abscess forms the cat will run a fever.
The fever makes the cat lethargic.
The cat often hides and will stop eating.
Anytime a cat stops eating, there is a potential problem and the cat should be taken to the veterinarian.
What happens when the cat is brought to the veterinarian? If a veterinarian is presented with an outdoor cat with a fever, the first thing the doctor will look for is an abscess.
The abscess can be recognized as a tender swelling that can occur anywhere on the body.
Often with close examination, a small, scabby wound can be found.
Sometimes the abscess will have ruptured leaving a larger, draining wound.
How is the abscess treated? The most important step is to drain the pus out of the wound.
This is usually a procedure done with the cat under sedation because the wound is painful.
After lancing and draining the wound, it will be flushed out with an antiseptic.
Antibiotics are then used to treat the infection.
How long for complete recovery? The wound is usually dry, meaning it is no longer discharging, within two to three days.
Complete recovery depends on the size of the abscess, but you can expect about 7 to 14 days.
Antibiotics are continued at home until healing is complete.