our kitten had an absess in her neck last night. she went to the vet this morning.?

Question

We don't understand how it could have happened. Her eye was infected (cat conjuvtivitis i think) Well that started to clear up really well this week and I think the infection spread from her eye to her neck from not being treated. (she had the infection for like 3 weeks) well i went home for a day and came back here and she was all sleepy and inactive.My boyfriend and i napped for about 3 hours and when we woke up his mom asked us of we knew of this golf ball sized lump on her neck and i said no there was nothing there about 3 hours ago. it looked like it had a hole in the middle. well a little bit later they see her again and it ruptured there was blood and goo allover her. they cleaned it up and waitied till morning. Boyfriends mom took her to the vet in the morning and his grandparents picked her up this afternoon and they lanced her. i was wondering if they left this big hole open so that it can drain. would it have gotten worse if they stitched it? because it looks gross. HELP :[

the absess is on the same side the infected eye is on. is that it or maybe she is allergic to certain cat food with fish in it? i dont know how this big lump could have appeared in such little time.

yes we do we have 4 other small dogs 1 chihuahua and 3 poobeagels. The chihuahua is old and he is nippy so she could have pissed him off. and meatball older poddle mix he tried to bite ate her neck all the time like he wants to carry her around. i hate all of the dogs (not mine) i suggested to them maybe she got bit . AHOLE DOGS i hate them i really do.

she is an insideonly kitty and our adult male kitty loves her to death and would never ever hurt her. those dogs though..........errrrr

Answer 1

Abscesses are pus under the skin from an infection, so no it's not allergies. She either got bit by another animal, possibly had the infection come down from the eye (sort of rare, but I suppose it happens) and the infection grew between the skin and the muscle underneath. They can puff up pretty fast.

Lancing is done if the abscess isn't scratched open by the cat itself. It has to be open to heal. I know it's pretty gross with the goo and everything but really you DO want it outside the wound and not inside. If the hole scabs over you'll have to use a kleenex to take the scab off. Their skin heals very fast, which is half the problem with abscesses, wounds heal over before they can get rid of the infection.

If it heals over without a scab and is still raised, very carefully use the point of a needle to press in on the very center of the former hole, to open it up again, and gently press from the sides toward the center to get it emptied out again. It needs to drain to be able to heal all the way. Lightly pressing a kleenex to the top will soak up most of the stuff.

Don't worry, these heal up pretty quickly in cats and the fur grows in just fine. The bad part is already over if the thing is lanced.

Answer 2

abscesses are caused from the cat being bitten...so if she goes outdoors she could have gotten in a cat fight...if she is strictly indoors, then one of your dogs is the culprit. They usually leave the abscess open and put a drain in to keep it from filling up again...it needs to drain so infection does not set in again.

Answer 3

I have had cats for many years. These abscesses all most every time have come from another cat that your kitten has had an encounter with and was clawed. I have used peroxide on them after they broke open and they did just fine. Hope this helps.

Answer 4

I've seen cats do that. I don't know what it is, but after it drains they come out of it fine. Yes, the hole needs to be left open. I'd suggest you keep it inside, clean, and away from other cats..

Answer 5

Abscesses are never sewn shut because they heal from the inside out. If it were to be closed it may get infected again. I dont think an allergy would have caused it. Do you have any other pets that may have bit her?