What to do if my cat's paw abscess isn't bursting? How long to wait?

Hello. Sometimes draining is appropriate, sometimes not, so I would guess your vet did not think it was a good idea to open this up. With time, the antibiotics should work, but it may take several days. If Shade will allow you to apply a warm compress, or soak the paw in comfortably warm water, this should help with the swelling. 5-10 minutes 2-3 times a day should be adequate. If the paw is not showing signs of improvement in 72 hours please check back with your vet to reassess what might be ongoing with Shade's paw. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

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.

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!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. What you are doing is fine and she should be ok to wait to see the veterinarian, especially if they are becoming smaller. One other thing you can do is purchase betadine and dilute this with water until you have a light brown solution. I would use this solution to clean the abscesses twice daily until you get to your vet. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Ouch! From the picture it looks like maybe a ruptured abscess and not just an injury. I would encourage you to have him seen by your veterinarian In the meantime soaking in warm water and Epsom salts maybe helpful and make him more comfortable. Best of luck and I hope he improves soon.

It looks like it may be healing. If it isn't big, full of pus, painful to him, he's eating, and isn't lethargic, you can wait until Monday to have him seen. Otherwise, take him into a vet immediately.