What to do for my 6-month-old cat's recurring draining ear abscess?

Hello. If your veterinarian has no cultured the lesion, it is time to do so. Mac may have a resistant bacterial infection, or perhaps, even a fungal infection that may require a change in medications. Another concern is there could be a foreign object that penetrated the skin & is causing these recurrent infections. A grass awn, or even a broken claw can basically disappear under the skin creating chronic infections. I would probably start with an x-ray to see if anything is visible & submit a sample for culture & sensitivity. Last resort would be to open the area, explore & possibility biopsy some of the tissue to understand why this is not healing. Good luck & thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

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!

I'm sorry Peekie has an abscess. I presume it is draining from your description. Unfortunately, it is very diffcult to get abscesses to heal without thorough flushing and oral (or injectable) antibiotics, so I would have Peekie evaluated by your veterinarian, so you can make sure it isn't a tumor and get appropriate treatment. I have attached an article below that may be helpful. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=361 Please let me know if that was helpful and if there is anything else we can help you with. Thanks for using PetCoach.

It sounds as though Booboo may have an abscess that is simply not resolving. Abscesses typically require antibiotics for resolution and some also require surgical draining and flushing. At this point, your best bet is to take her to the vet for an exam and to determine if surgery is indicated or if antibiotics alone will be sufficient. I hope that she is on the mend soon!

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. : )

Yes it looks like the ear must be examined by your veterinarian to have the most appropriate treatment prescribed. There could be an infection there and antibiotics drops may be needed. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Owie, it looks like your kitty has a cat bite abscess in her ear. Almost all cat bites are infected, so this is not unusual. The location is rather unusual. Maggots are gross, however in this case I think they helped clean the wound. Maggots are often used in human medicine to clean out infected wounds, so this is a tried and tested method, albeit, in your kitty's case not originally intended. This is all you can do for tonight. You did na nice job cleaning the wound and I see it is quite swollen, so now the swelling needs to go down. That might take a few days. Your vet will likely prescribe an antibiotic to keep the wound from festering again. If you have an e-collar at home, you could put that on your kitty to keep her from scratching the wound, however I suspect she will leave the wound alone anyway.