My cat's burst abscess from a fight: When should I see a vet?

It's hard to say if it can wait. Once an abscess is opened and draining, much of the risk of lots of pain and deeper infection is reduced. If you decide to wait, Mr. Fox needs to wear an e-collar to prevent further licking of the wound, since that will delay healing and spread infection. You can apply Neosporin or clean with warm water rinses, but don't use alcohol or peroxide.

Yes, that appears to be an abscess. What you are smelling is infection. Chances are it won't clear up without oral antibiotics. I suggest you get him to the vet for an exam and to get some antibiotics. You can try applying a topical antibiotic cream/ointment but it is rare for that to actually work on it's own. As a side note, male cats that are not neutered usually get into a lot of fights so if you don't use him as a breeding animal you may want to have him neutered to minimize the chance of this happening again.

It sounds like Kit has either an abscess or cellulitis. I recommend to take him in to the veterinarian's office today for an exam and likely antibiotics as well as pain medication. The doctor may recommend to drain the abscess as well (assuming its not cellulitis). Infections after cat fights are very common. Hope Kit starts feeling better soon.

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 !

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!

Unfortunately, an abscess cannot be treated at home, Shivers has to see a vet for it. If it's ruptured, it needs to be flushed sterilely to prevent further infection from entering the area, and she needs antibiotics to treat the infection which are available by prescription only from the vet. She does have to see a vet as soon as possible for this, and it truly cannot wait until next week. I would see if a family member can take her to the vet this week since you are only home this week from school.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding your cat. She will need to see her veterinarian to have the swelling evaluated. It is likely another abscess. She will need to have it lanced to allow the infection to drain out. She will need oral antibiotics as well. I hope this information helps!