My cat has a swollen paw abscess. Should it be drained or helped at home?

If your cat lets you do it, you can bathe her paw in a warm epsom salt solution twice a day. This should help ripen the abscess. Since I have not seen the abscess, I cannot tell you , how long it should take until it bursts, but I think by the latest on Monday, it should have opened.

Since he goes outside, he could also have an abscess/infection in his paw or he may have an injury. He should definitely be examined by a vet to determine the exact cause. He may need an antibiotic or an anti-inflammatory to treat. Your vet can also take an x-ray, if needed, to help diagnose. There isn't much you can do at home until we know the exact cause of the swelling. Hope he feels better soon.

It looks like Johnny has an abscess. What he really needs is to have it flushed out and get on some antibiotics. If you absolutely can’t get to the vet, you can try soaking the foot in epsom salt solution. Mix 1 tbsp epsom salt into 1/4 cup warm water and submerge the foot for 5 mins two to three times daily. You will also need to warm compress the leg at least twice daily to help drain the puss. (Use a warm wet washcloth in a plastic bag and apply moderate pressure- you want the puss to come out.) Johnny MUST stay indoors until his leg is healed. Leave the wounds open to air- do not try to bandage the leg. Also remember that pain medications for humans (Tylenol, aspirin, ibuprofen) should NEVER be given to cats as they can be very toxic. Good luck to you and Johnny!

A check up, appropriate disinfection and eventually antibiotics (oral, topical or in a shampoo formulation) are needed to solve the problem. Disinfection can eventually be started at home with very diluted hibiscrub or betadine or salted water baths. Buster collar may be useful as well to avoid licking. 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.

There is a good chance she could have an abscess. It needs to be opened and drained and then put on antibiotics for the infection. They can also give her some pain medications to help. If it is not an abscess then they may recommend doing an X-ray and make sure she didn’t break something. So I would have her looked at by tour vet. Hope she feels better soon

It is probably an abscess. You can try soaking the foot in warm epsom salt water for 5 minutes 3 times per day. That may help draw the infection out. Honestly though, most of the time oral antibiotics are also needed to get this to heal up completely. She definitely looks like she does not feel well so if you can eventually get her to a vet that would be really great.

Based on your description and the appearance of the paw, my suspicion is that Finley was either bitten / scratched by another animal or he suffered some sort of puncture wound from something else. If there is a yellowish exudate emanating from the effected area, there is likely a significant infection occurring that will require a systemic antibiotic to fix. I would also be concerned about a fever. You should go ahead and obtain a temperature at your house rectally. See if it is above 102.5-103.0. If so, the infection is definitely real and Finley could probably benefit from some fluids as well and an NSAID to decrease the temperature. In order to prevent any further damage to the area, the use of a collar to stop Finley from licking his paw would be great. You can make one of these at home if you don't want to buy one commercially. Anyway, I think a vet visit would be the safest bet in this case. If you decide to wait, I really think you may ultimately end up having to go anyway but with matters only worse. Hope this is helpful.