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Our cat has what we believed to be an abscess on his cheek. Initially he was struggling with scabs and itching under the skin, some sort of a skin condition, so we switched him to prescription food. Hasn’t changed anything. He had a scab on his cheek and kept scratching it, until it started to bleed. A lot. We took him to the vet, he was put on steroids and antibiotics to see if it would help…it did slightly, but the wound from picking at his scab started to get bigger. He is relentless with trying to scratch it. So now he’s been wearing a cone..the wound site has turned into a ball. It’s a bald spot and it slowly got bigger over time. It’s warm to the touch. We took him to a different vet. Says it’s too hard to determine what it could be and referred us to a dermatologist. Derm says likely could be cancer and it’s a mass…..even though we have explained how it all started. He is quoting us $5k to remove the mass and test for cancer. We are thinking it’s just an infection that is stuck under the skin….last vet tried poking it and draining it, but there was no puss, only blood. What could this be? We are worried but stil have a feeling it could just be an infection. Maybe he wasn’t on antibiotics long enough? Do we just proceed with this surgery?
About seventeen days ago,our cat was bitten by another cat,she wasn’t treating as the same so we brought her to visit doctor the next day,
She had fever and had stopped eating,
They started antibiotics,we had vaccinated her about two months ago,so they decided that vaccination is not necessary,
After seven days she started to get worse,
And now we found an abscess in her waist,so they drained it and start another antibiotics and started cleaning the abscess with iodide and h2o2 3 percent,
She seemed to be better after two days,but stopped and again started getting worse so she doesn’t eat and hides from us ,we saw that while cleaning and washing the abscess area under the skin, is getting bigger,an right now after 10 days she is getting worse and worse,can you please give us some directions,please help her,she is in a very dangerous situation and our vet don’t know what to do،
Hello,
It sounds like a more aggressive approach might be warranted. I would ask the vet to consider doing blood work, culture the wound to look for the best antibiotic and hospitalization with iv fluids.
That would be my plan if this were my patient.
Best of luck.
Krista
Does anybody know what this could be? It happened the first time when he was around 6 months old, he has been to the vet a few times and had multiple tests done but the vet can’t seem to figure out what it is. Usually it will first appear as a bald spot and then over the next few days turns into a moist sore, and then within a week or so it starts healing and the fur grows back. This is probably the 5th or 6th time it has happened but this time it was worse, the photo with the big bald spot is one that appeared a few weeks ago and is now in the healing stage but now the smaller one just appeared today. I will take him to the vet again but I’m getting frustrated not having an answer, has anyone seen something like this before?
Hi Grace – do you know *what* tests were done? Did they do a skin scrape? It’s odd that it’s such a specific patch…does it recur in the same place?
Honestly, after so many visits to your generalist with no answers, I’d be looking for a veterinary dermatologist – they can be found at vet schools, usually, but may be found at local Pet ERs. If you’re in Maryland, I know the vet school in Salisbury should have someone specializing in it. I know UPenn’s vet school also has someone. Search for veterinary dermatology near you.
Thanks for the response. We took him to the vet again and they did a skin scrape (has been done in the past along with basic blood work, i think a CBC and CMP) and the only thing that was determined was it was some sort of bacterial infection, yeast, fungi and parasites have been ruled out but they did not know specific type of infection and just sent us home with some antibiotics as usual. The soonest we are able to get him to see a dermatologist is beginning of July, and with how frequently it has been happening I’m sure it is going to happen again by then. It’s always on the same spot too, we do not have fleas and have not been giving him and medications/treatments that could cause it, we also have been experimenting with limited ingredient foods to try to rule out food allergies but so far no luck.
That’s so frustrating! I hope the derm is able to give you better answers.
I found a spot under my male cats left neck area while petting him. He does not seem to be bothered by it but I do see him licking that area. Is this a hot spot? If so, is this something that can be treated over the counter or does this warrant a trip to the vet? I bring him to Jarretsville Vet with Dr. Graf (love you guys!) but if it’s not necessary to bring him on a car ride I would avoid it. Just looking for advice. Thank you so much!
Hello,
I don’t usually see hotspots in cats. And there is a significant amount of hair loss so I am a little worried. I can talk to de graf tomorrow and we can come up with a plan that works for you.
Please call the clinic in the morning to remind me.
Thank you for using pawbly and I will talk to you tomorrow.
Krista
Thank you so much. I’ll call first thing tomorrow. Lexie
My 18 month old pit mix woke up with this nodule type bump on her face. It was hard and crusty and now it’s open. I dint think it’s painful but she doesn’t like me to mess with it. I got the best pic I could. No other symptoms at all.
Trying to get info from a photo is very difficult. If it were me, I would make an appointment for the vet and ask them to do a biopsy. It could just be a small injury, but it could be worse too. I hope it is nothing- best of luck!!!
.
Hello,
I think there are options before you spend that kind of money. You can ask about doing a culture of the area to see if there is a better antibiotic option. Or find someone who can surgically remove the lesion for a more affordable price.
That’s where I would start.
How is he doing? This heavily reminds me of a kitten, that developed cancer on his ear at the age of 4 months. It started with a tiny sratch, that scabbed over. We though maybe he’d played to rough with his littermates. But it started swelling, was red and incrediby itchy. He would sratch at it whenever he could. So at first we also tought abscess, so he was also on antibiotics and cortisone I think and of course he had to carry a cone. But it only helped a little.
We took a biopsy, which showed a mast cell tumor. These produce histamines, hence the itchiness. As it was very small and on his outer ears removement was rather easy.
I can imagine that with this size and lacement on your cat it will be harder to remove it if neccessary.
So… sdditionally to a culture I would maybe do a biopsy?