My cat had an abscess. Is lethargy normal? What are signs of recovery?

It all sounds normal. Cat bite abscesses can really take a toll on their bodies. Draining is good - it means that the infective material is getting out of the body rather than staying trapped under the skin. You can keep it clean by gently wiping with a warm wet washcloth before applying the topical medication. Decreased appetite and lethargy are also normal, but if they last longer than 24-48 hours, I would call your vet to see if she needs to go in for a recheck. Otherwise, just let her rest and heal.

Many times, we have to give medication to sedate or anesthetise the cat in order to drain the abscess. These drugs will make them drowsy and sometimes not feel good for a day or two after it wears off. Hiding under the bed for a day would not concern me at this time. If he is otherwise acting normal, then he's probably just getting over the drugs and traumatic experience. It might take him a couple of days before he feels like going back to his normal routine. If something else seems abnormal with him - like he won't eat, drink or respond normally to you - then there could be something else going on and it would be best to take him back to the vet for a check-up. I hope that helps and Toby gets better soon.

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. Blood work was not performed prior to the sedation and if there is a pre-existing condition, the anesthesia may have made the condition worse and more pronounced. I would also consider a fructosamine test to check and see if the level is consistent with diabetes. I would say that the ultrasound is the next appropriate diagnostic test to have performed with what is going on. I hope this helps better determine what the cause could be. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sometimes it can take some time for cats to recover from anesthesia and administration of these medications together so that could be a reason why it has been taking him longer than expected to recover. If he is eating and otherwise doing well, it may be ok to monitor him for a bit longer. However, if he worsens or by tomorrow he has not improved, he should be evaluated by his veterinarian for reevaluation. Good luck and have a great day!

I'm sorry Lucek isn't feeling well! It's good that his diarrhea is better, but he sounds like he is still feeling unwell at the moment. If he had a serious case of diarrhea, it could take him a couple of days before he feels better and is back to his normal self. I would monitor him for now, and if he's still acting lethargic in another 24-48 hours, I would bring him back into the vet for a health check.

Hi, the medications should help fighting the infection and therefore there should not be any need to clean or drain the abscess as it burst on his own. For the time being, you just need to wash the area with salty water if you notice any discharge. If not, just monitor and make sure that swelling does not reoccurr. If you notice that the area is swollen or the discharge is not any better in the next couple of days then I would recommend to take him back to your vet to be reassessed. You should also have him rechecked if he is not eating or appears to be lethargic as this could mean he is running a temperature. Hope this helps and best wishes for a speedy recovery !

Great to hear you are choosing to spay and neuter your kitties! Some cats definitely do recover more quickly than others. This could depend on the choice of anesthetic, recovery time, other health issues, and nutrition. 15 hours is definitely a pretty long time and I would have expected a almost full recovery from any anesthetic at that point. Extremely lethargy and unsteadiness could be an indication of a post-op complication, infection, or something different entirely. If Tortilla appears to be stable to you, this isn't necessarily an emergency. However, if you think she is deteriorating, you may want to go ahead and get the emergency hospital on alert to tell them you might be coming in at some point. I would go ahead and check her gums for good color (pinkish and moist) and try to obtain a rectal temperature (over 102.5-103.0 would be considered a fever). If any of these are troubling to you, get her checked out some time soon. Also, I would flip her over and take a good look at her incision to see if it looks inflammed, red, or painful. Hope this helps!