Swollen Right Cheek..Abcess?

Our red and white tuxedo kitty, Lucy, is eight years old. Last night we noticed that she had a right swollen cheeck. This morning we took her right to the vet. Lucy was not very co-operative but the vet saw into her mouth enough to say that she had an abcess that seemed to have broken and was draining inside her mouth. He gave her an anti-biotic shot and gave us some antibiotic liquid to give her twice a day. She is somewhat lethargic and her cheek is still as swollen as it was when we first noticed it.

The vet says if she is not better in about five days that we should bring her back in and they will sedate her and get a better look into her mouth. I can't help by be worried. Has anyone else gone through this?

Since it's in her mouth it may be an infected tooth. I hope they can get a better look at it soon. Will she let you look inside her mouth?


...I thought tuxedo mean black and white markings.

Yes, we went through this ordeal last summer! Holly Golightly (my orange tabby) was bitten by Buster on her cheek during a fight. I didn't see it happen but I heard a screech meow in the middle of night. Anyway, I didn't realize what happened until the side of Holly's cheek grew larger and larger. After several days, it grew into the size of a tennis ball and had to be operated on immediately. There was no draining but it was scabbed because Holly continued to paw at it.

Anyway, Holly underwent emergency surgery and received stitches on her face. They also inserted a tube in the area to drain the pus and blood. When she came home a few days later (after the drain was removed), she wore a cone on her head for two week. Two weeks later the stitches were removed and she looked fantastic! The fur grew quickly and there is no scarring at all.

I hope your kitty gets better! If you need any more information, just ask.

Thanks for responding. My poor baby is still swollen today. It's been about 24 hours since she started the antibiotics. She does not seem to be in much pain but is more lethargic than usual. (Below are photos that I just finished taking.) We could not find a wound on her and the vet thinks it might be her sinuses or her teeth. She was sneezing a lot before she became ill. I wonder how long we should wait for the swelling to go down before returning her to the vet???

Holly's cheek looked similar to Lucy. In fact, Holly's abscess was even larger (it grew over a period of four days, I think). I don't know if it hurt but Holly was also lethargic and it seemed to be heavy. The surgery cost a lot of money but it was the only thing we could do. I would definitely see a vet ASAP!

We are administering liquid antibiotics every 12 hours with a hyperdermic (minus needle). We swaddle her in a towel and then squirt the meds down her throat. I think she is a little more active tonight. One of the reasons I took the photo is to see if the abcess was going down or not. We'll compare how she looks to the photo in the morning and if there is no change, of if it looks worse, she will definitely be on her way to the vet. Thanks for the advice.

Lucy is looking a LOT better this morning. I guess the antibiotics kicked in. When she finishes up the medication I plan to take her back to the vet to see if he can determine what was wrong....tooth or sinuses. Thanks to all who helped!

Just wanted to hear a verdict.  My kitty Tipsy woke this am with the same right swollen cheak.  She is 12, so we are headed to the vet.  12 hours ago she was fine.  She is an indoor cat with no claws so I am thinking tooth issue, but wanted to see what your outcome was, please.  And thanks.

Hi, one of my two young kitties has the same problem, she started sneezing a couple of days ago, and her cheek has been swollen today, and it's getting worse. It's weekend and I can't take her to the vet, so can you please tell me what kind of liquid antibiotic you gave her? I can't let her like this for 2 days without doing anything. She seems to be ok, she has been eating, but her cheek is very swollen.

I just realized I'll need a prescription for the antibiotics and I won't be able to get it until Monday, so I'll have to find some unprescribed antibiotics for the time being, just for the weekend...

Elena0 said:

Hi, one of my two young kitties has the same problem, she started sneezing a couple of days ago, and her cheek has been swollen today, and it's getting worse. It's weekend and I can't take her to the vet, so can you please tell me what kind of liquid antibiotic you gave her? I can't let her like this for 2 days without doing anything. She seems to be ok, she has been eating, but her cheek is very swollen.

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Elena, the thread you are posting to is over 5 years old, so I doubt if you get an answer.  Besides, I'm not aware of ANY actual antibiotic you can get without a prescription, which means a Vet visit .