feral boy cat

Hello!! I am new to this site. But, I joined because I care and feed a few stray cats that live on my outdoor patio. One of the male cats got into a fight and has a very bad abcess on his ear.  He is still eating everyday and drinking water.  The ear is bulky and has a very big lump on it.  I'm worried and scared that he might lose part of his ear.  I just tried to start cleaning it with diluted hydrogen peroxide and putting neosporin on it. But, it is hard because he hardly lets me get near his injury.  Does anyone have any other advice?  I was also going to try taking a picture and getting advice from the local vet.  But, the last time I had issues, the vet just suggested taking the cat in and paying money.  Can I give the cat any other medicine or natural herb?

Hi there and welcome to TCS. I'm sorry your little guy is hurt. If he has an abcess he should see a vet for antibiotics. I don't know if topical medications will work for an abcess but if you can't see the vet right away try colloidal silver.

Hope he's feeling better soon.

Thank you for responding so soon.  What is colloidal silver?  I have never heard of it before. Where can I find it?  would they have it at a pharmacy? Is it possible to give him this medicine in his food?  Have you heard of cats getting these kind of wounds before?  I wish there were more I could do.  I'm trying to keep an eye on him the best I can.  But, it is difficult with feral cats.  He does let me feed him and pet him. But when I try to put medicine on his wound he dashes and scratches me.
 

It is made from actual silver and is available at pharmacies. It has very good anti-bacterial/ anti-microbial properties. I have used it on a wound I had and it healed it very quickly. I was thinking you could try putting it ON his ear, but I beleive it is edible too. I just don't have any idea what would be a the correct dose for a cat. Since he is feral and hard to get to the vet maybe you could call a holistic vet and see if it would be okay to put some in his food and the correct dose? I wouldn't try that without checking with a vet first.

Good luck!

it sure does sound like he should see a vet. is there any way you can afford to bring him to a vet? are there any low cost practices near you, or perhaps a vet that will work out a lower price given the situation? you don't mention where you are, but what about the animal control for your town? in some areas (like mine) vets will waive the doctors fee and provide expired meds at no cost for animal control. CAVEAT - only do this if you know what he/she (animal control officer) is like and what their position is regarding feral cats.