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Recurring abscesses

Published on: December 17, 2022 • By: seniorcathelp · In Forum: Cats
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seniorcathelp
Participant
December 17, 2022 at 03:43am
Male cat, ~ 13 yrs, adopted five years ago. Neutered. Cat is completely indoors, does not have any interaction with other animals. In July, a large abscess (2.5 inches or so) developed at some point over a long weekend (cat sitter at home), that we noticed on returning. It burst overnight before getting into a vet the next day. It was on his back hip, near anus so we were told anal gland abscess. Vet cleaned the wound, administered clavomox, cone, went home. Wound healed and then cone removed. Unfortunately, an abscess then appeared again less than a month later, same treatment from the vet. Third abscess came aback only three weeks after that. Those two were smaller, as we began to recognize the symptoms and got him in quickly for treatment. At that point, vet did further testing, opened the wound up to examine for any foreign bodies, took extra tissue for biopsy. Tests came back negative for feline leukemia, HIV, cancers. His kidney, thyroid, all other blood work came back in normal ranges for his age. In late October , same thing, fourth abscess. We did the same routine, added doing amoxicillin at home twice a day for 3 weeks. That was a nightmare for everyone but did it. A week after that ended, fifth abscess (first week of December). Usual routine (it was very small, less than pencil eraser), plus a topical cream we apply twice a day to the area. That was almost two weeks ago, and this is the first time it hasn’t healed up within a week and is now oozy again. During this whole thing, he dropped from 12 lbs to 8 or so but is back up to 9.5 now. Our vet is supposed to be consulting a veterinary dermatologist, but no word so far. Love our vet but exploring other options now. We have been searching all over for similar cases but nothing on the internet or in research seems to mirror this scenario and desperate for resolution as the vet/cone/pain/meds routine is hard on the little guy. Appreciate any ideas!
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Liz Buchanan BVSc MRCVS
Keymaster
December 17, 2022 at 04:48pm
Hello - I see why your vet is keen to explore other ways to treat this.   Dermatoloists are definitely the best people to ask and I wonder if there is scope for moving the process along? - although specialist appointments are extremely difficult to find at the moment.  It could be that there is a clear space for an anti-inflammatory or anti-itch treatment to make the patient more comfortable in the mean-time.  Wishing you all the best with this frustrating process.
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BrightTea
Participant
February 18, 2023 at 04:13pm
@seniorcathelp / OP - any update with your treatment plan or diagnosis? I have a very similar situation with recurring abscesses over 12 months.
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