Question about an abscess?

Hi, I'm new here & I have a question about abscess if anyone has experience with this type of situation.

I took in my cat Cleo when she was 3 y/o, she had been an outdoor 'neighborhood' cat I guess prior to my moving to the area. I had her spayed, tested for leukemia, feline hiv, mites, etc. All clear after the initial treatments & tests.

She has one eye that she is blind in, someone shot her with a pellet gun. The vet I had in MI said she would never get sight back in it. Now that she's ours we keep her indoors always & she is an only cat.

She's been a pretty happy girl since we nursed her back to health, then 2 months ago I couldn't get her to come out for her treat of wet food. When I found her & started petting her(she has very long fluffy hair) I found a huge abscess running from behind her left ear & jaw down to the base of her neck.

I took her to the vet & they couldn't seem to get past the idea that she does NOT go outside & is an only cat when they were looking for a cause of the abscess. It cleared after they drained it & I followed with flushes & antibiotics.

3 days ago, I noticed the abscess is back. Not as large, but I caught it quickly since the area was still shaved down.

This time the vet put in a drain, re-tested her blood(I live in NC now) & when I asked what could be causing this he told me 'I'm not prepared to answer that.' & left the room.

Now I'm a little upset, her ear was slightly infected first abscess & I treated it with the meds they gave, it cleared up. The abscess keeps re-occuring on the same side as her blind eye & the ear that keeps re-infecting(it was when I got her).

Both times of the abscess her blind eye swells, turns red & oozes.. all the vet told me after her surgery was that he wants to clean her teeth next week(???) & I'm beginning to wonder if I'm not getting suckered into sinking a ton of money into him not actually knowing what is going on.

So what would you think of the vet wanting me to spend another $300 to have her teeth cleaned as a way of finding out what is causing the abscess?

If you scroll down to Abscess here
http://www.vetinfo.com/cabscess.html

you'll find some important information.

I'd just like to ask you, has Cleo been retested for FeLV and FIV?

I think I would get another opinion. My vet goes on and on about my animals. He really goes into detail explaining things to me. I'd get a second opinion, but I do agree with Violet to get re combo tested. Hope everything comes back negative. You have a good heart to take this little one in and take such good care. Will keep you in our thoughts.

Another opinion ABSOLUTELY. I believe they need a specialist.

Thank God there is a vet school in NC. Kyra, the people there will help you find the right person for this.

If any vet told me they were not prepared to answer something I would want to know why. I also suggest a second opinion and sooner rather than later.

Just shooting in the dark here, but I wonder if there is another pellet there, or the original pellet that blinded her?

Originally Posted by Kyra

...I took her to the vet & they couldn't seem to get past the idea that she does NOT go outside & is an only cat...

...when I asked what could be causing this he told me 'I'm not prepared to answer that.' & left the room....

Click to expand...

Sweetheart, it seems to me that it's waaaay past time to find an honest, open, transparent and above alll, competent feline Veterinarian....as I believe you've discovered, unfortunately, they're NOT all "created equal".

(From what you've said, this is not someone I would trust to dispense an aspirin, let alone even touch one of my cats!)

This site might help, or, alternatively, you could look for a feline-only practice.

I have several cats who have pellets under their skin and it has never caused an abscess by any means. There are several possibilities; insect bite that got infected, reoccuring cyst, tumor or even cancer (worst case scenario of course) One of my cats had the same problem occuring on the top of her head. The vet cut the cyst out several times, but it kept returning and finally the diagnosis of cancer was rendered.

i would suggest you find a feline specialist and let an expert guide you. bless you for caring for this cast off kitty and good luck in the next diagnosis. Any vet who does not freely share his/her concerns concerning the health of any of my animals is one I will never visit in the future.

Get another vet and soon!

I have seen this type of thing in rodents and my experience with it has not been all that good. Smaller animals and lousy resp systems make it harder to heal up when they are chronic.

I am sure a competent feline vet can help you with this situation. In the meantime I wish both you and the kitty much luck and healing!!!!

Were they ever able to remove the pellet? My Spot had recurring abscesses. In his case, I believe they were due to a cyst that formed beneath the surface of the skin. He had surgery twice to debride the area, but the abscess kept returning until one day it went away. In his case, he was allergic to most antibiotics, so we had been treating him with warm compresses and saline flushes. If the pellet may still be lodged beneath the skin, it could be causing some sort of chronic irritation. It may be worth trying to have it removed. The vet's idea of a dental does make some sense, since infected teeth can also cause abscesses. It might also be worth discussing with a vet that you trust (since you don't trust your current vet, I'd look for another one) whether exploratory surgery is an option. It might be able to locate a pellet or other source of irritation and to debride the area where the abscess is occurring. This could be done at the same time as a dental that checks for infected teeth.