My cat has an abscess. Home remedies failed. What should I do?

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. That does appear to be a burst abscess. Without examining her it's impossible to know for sure, however it resembles and has acted like an abscess. Ideally she would be seen by a vet, they would flush it out with warm (not hot) salt water (1 teaspoon in 1 cup of water- your vet would use sterile saline) and then likely get antibiotics and pain meds. An E-collar also prevents Littlecloud from licking and introducing more bacteria into the wound. If you cannot go to a vet, I recommend flushing it/cleaning it with salt water. Do not use any topical creams, just leave it open to drain. Clean it twice a day with the salt water, and try to prevent Littlecloud from licking at it or chewing at it. The main pain has now gone since the abscess has burst (the pressure is relieved) . Do not give any human pain medications as these are often very toxic to cats. Best of luck with Littlecloud!

I am sorry to hear about your kitty. Unfortunately from these photos it does not appear that at home care is going to be appropriate anymore. I am concerned based on the picture that some of the tissue/skin around the wound could be devitalized/dying. He likely needs systemic antibiotics and wound care by a professional at this point. I would recommend looking at this site for info on ideas on affording veterinary care: https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/having-trouble-affording-veterinary-care . There may be a low cost clinic in your area associated with a human society or shelter that may be more affordable.

Tea tree oil is toxic to cats, so please stop putting it on Fresca. He will ingest it by licking it off, and that can have serious consequences for his health. In addition, that and aloe will not cure the abscess. Peroxide also interrupts the healing process and can cause damage to the tissues. Please do not give him Amox-Clav either, it's never recommend to self treat your animal with medications as you may accidentally do harm to him. In addition, it may be wrong antibiotic. Fresca needs to see a vet as soon as possible. The vet can drain and flush him abscesses, clean them, and can give him an approbate antibiotic to treat it.

There is no home treatment for this, he needs oral antibiotics, and the abscess needs to be drained and flushed. Try to find Big Boy's owners so they can take him into the vet. If he doesn't have owners, I would take him in yourself. Best of luck.

Hello, and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Sorry to hear about Misha's persistent issue! I would definitely advise that you have Misha seen by a vet. If this is truly an abscess, it may require a course of antibiotics to fully clear - otherwise it will likely continue to wax and wane as you've observed, and could become even worse if the infection is allowed to remain. It's also possible that Misha's issue is not a straightforward abscess - she could have another issue such as a cyst or tumor/mass, or even a foreign body (such as a thorn) that could be leading to a secondary infection. Your vet will be able to help determine what specifically is going on with Misha, and from your description I suspect your vet will likely put her on a course of antibiotics to help her heal. Hope this helps!

Oh my. Poor kitty. It seems this area needs to be cultured to see what kind of antibiotic will rid this infection for sure, or at the very least another class of antibiotic (i.e. fluoroquinolone) should be tried here. I would also not cover this for the future, to give it a chance to breathe an heal well. The area should also be investigated while Mickey is sedated to ensure there is no foreign body material underneath the skin that could be a source of chronic infection. If there is foreign material there, then it needs to be removed first in order for it to heal well. I hope this helps and best wishes with your kitty Mickey moving forward! Take care. : )

The best things that you can do include cleaning the wound with an antiseptic soap (such as chlorhexidine or betadine) and keeping an e-collar (cone) on your cat to prevent any skin damage from scratching. If you do not have an e-collar at home, this link provides some tips to make one at home: http://dogsaholic.com/care/homemade-dog-cone.html. Your vet will be able to evaluate the extent of the wound and start antibiotics. I hope that all goes well!