Panther keeps getting abscesses

Panther is an old black female cat (at least 10 years old). She lives down the road at an abandoned house with 4 other black cats. My husband and I have been taking care of these kits for a few years now. Panther had a sister named Blackie. Blackie got attacked by a stray tom cat and ended up being pts when gangreen set into both of her back legs and a majoity of her front right leg. A few months later, I found Panther limping and she had abscesses all over her tummy and back. She went to the vets, got the areas cleaned out and was put on medicine. After she healed up, I continued the meds for 10 more days like the vet told me to. A few days after the ending of the meds, Panther developed another abscess on her back. This one is bigger then any of her other ones, too. She is now back on meds and has an appointment for Jan. 3rd for a FeLV test. Is there anything that could be causing her to abscess like this that I should also have her tested for? I don't know her history but I can guess she's never had shots before. I also have her away from my group just in case she's got something they can get. (Even though she's a crab and likes to beat everyone up)

Thanks,
Chrissy

Uhm, thanks for the ideas. I appreciate all the responses.

Because of the holiday weekend, not everyone saw your post originally. Is she still an outdoor cat? If so, then she is probably getting bitten by other cats, which would result in the abscesses. In addition to Feline Leukemia, you may want to have her checked for FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus) which might account for a decreased ability to fight off infection. Regardless, keeping her inside and away from other cats will probably eliminate the abscesses since she won't have the opportunity to get into fights.

If the test come back negative (I hope they do) it's possible that it was just a small bite or scratch the vet missed, was there anything in the abscess, piece of tooth? claw? That could make it harder for the antibiotics to fight off infection in it.
Since she's an older kitty her group or even another cat in the area my be trying to push her out. It's time to let her retire and be an indoor kitty if she's willing.

She became indoor only when I found the first set of abscesses on her. She was only off her meds for about 3 days then developed a new, bigger abscess. She went in today and her FeLV was negative. She's now on Albon twice a day for a week to see how that works. She, apperently, is riddled with infection and the clindamycin she was on really didn't fight it as well as the doctor hoped. He's also doing a full panel of blood work just to satisfy me. I, honestly, don't see how a cat can carry an infection for weeks with no ill effect except for the odd abscess. I could be wrong, but to be safe, I pushed for the bloodwork.

when will you have the results?

Originally Posted by huggles

when will you have the results?

Click to expand...

He said the first set would come back in roughly 2 weeks. The total will be in by the end of this month/beginning of next month.

One of our shelter cats had reoccurring abscesses on his head that needed to be drained, and after ruling out other causes he was put on antibiotics long term. (I thought 6 months, but I could be wrong) He has been off the medication for probably two years now and never had another problem since then.

I hope you find some answers for your little one and she feels better soon.

Spot had a recurring abscess on his head as well, but he couldn't tolerate most antibiotics. After a couple of months of treatment, including two surgeries, it eventually went away on its own. Of course, Spot was a weird cat with hyperthyroidism, cardiomyopathy, and some weird nasal problem.

It sounds like a strong and longer course of antibiotics may be what Panther needs.

Update:
Some of Panthers tests have come back and the vet said there's nothing showing up (No FeLV, FIP, FIV). She's now off the Albon and doing really well. No more outbreaks of abscesses anywhere on her.

We also found her attacker. Hubby went to feed yesterday and said he thought he say either a black or dark gray cat with white feet run off. I went down today to feed and hung around for awhile petting the kits and this huge dark gray with white feet cat waltzed around the corner like he owned the joint. I figure "he" because of the sheer size of this cat. He must be around 2 or 3 years of age with huge deep golden saucer eyes (Think Persian saucer eyes). Yes, he's feral too. As soon as he saw me he was off and running. Now I'm afraid for the young resident tom cat. He's only a little over a year old and now shies away from me where as he would come to me and let me touch him. Punk won't come to me now. He hides in the house and watches what I'm doing then comes down the eat when he sees me leave. His sister, Sweetheart, and mother, SmallFry, act like nothing is wrong. Now I have to step up production of an enclosure for those 3 and try and trap the big guy to get him vetted.

I'm glad Panther is doing better. It sounds like she was just unlucky enough to get attacked repeatedly. Best of luck in catching the big guy. If he's not neutered, then hopefully do that will calm him down and make him play nice with the others.