Wound on Chin won't heal

Hello!

I am hoping someone has an idea on what the issue could be with this one!

Singa has had a wound on her chin since February this year - at least that is when I first noticed it. It almost looked like a hole.. some scab around it. I took her to a vet who prescribed her antibiotics (tablets) which I gave her though not an easy job and she may not have gotten the full dose each day as she is a really strong and stubborn one...

The wound got better, but then after a few week it came back again. Went back to the vet and this time Singa got a long term antibiotic injection (2 weeks strength)  - again the wound healed. Hair grew back. a dew weeks later I again saw the wound reappear.

This time I thought I'll just wait it out as with us humans, but unfortunately it worse and worse.

I decided to change the vet who gave her another round of antibiotics (again the long term 2 week injection). She was of the opinion that perhaps the bacteria was so deep in the wound that it would come out again although the skin had healed over. We went for two subsequent rounds of the injection (4 weeks in total). Again - wound healed and came back after a few weeks.

(BTW, this isn't a cheap affair as you all know - each time the bill is £80 for consultation and injection.

Took her back, this time the vet did a swab (to analyze whether there are any "resistant" bacteria that the current antibiotics are not attacking) of the wound and another round of antibiotics as this seems to do the job at least for the short term... The results of the swab came back without any conclusive results.

Vet now has recommended to do a biopsy (£500!!!) or just continue to treat it with antibiotics and wait and see...

Now I really am at a loss. £500 is a lot of money (nearly $800) after having already spent almost £600 (over $900) to date! Sorry I never thought I'll complain about vet cost as my cats come first, but it's starting to burn a hole in my pocket since no solution is found!)

So my question is - has anyone ever had a wound that would not heal?

I think I can rule out FIV. As far as I recall  both cats were tested negatively about 5-6 years ago and have not had any particular body contact with other cats since. I will check the medical records though to be sure.

Singa is female, sterilized and about 8 years old. She is mainly on dry (Royal Canin - various kinds) and gets the odd wet food treat every week about twice.

Thanks for your help!!

Vera

Edit: She also had pretty bad cat acne about 2-3 years ago on her chin. Not sure if that helps anyone

My guess is that it's an abscess.  The outside heals but there is still infection in it.  I personally think that abscesses heal better if they are kept open and allowed to heal from the inside out.  Maybe you could discuss that idea with your vet.  That is an unusual place for an abscess but maybe it does have something to do with acne.  I know people can get abscesses and cysts from acne.

Not to alarm, but I had a 15yo with what started out looking like a bug bite on his back that went on for months.  I tried all manner of creams and salves on it, but it eventually got about as big as a quarter and bloody.  He had surgery and my vet cut it out and stitched it up very nicely and sent it out for biopsy.  It was squamous cell carcinoma.

However, happy ending to the story is that he lived on for two more years and the carcinoma never came back.

I always thought little pinpoint wounds on their chins could be caused by an abcessed tooth, but if that were the case with you - I am sure it would have cleared by now.

Probably keeping the food dishes extra clean might help.  I have also in my years heard of tiny chin acne being caused by plastic dishes and that stainless steel dishes should always be used.  I'm sure you've thought of all this already.

Both cats had acne a few years ago and I changed all my cat dishes to stainless steal and high quality ceramic and change them every day or latest the day after. Acne has cleared since on both cats...

The vet thinks the wound may come from fighting with the other cat which can get a bit rough sometimes (though only in play). But he now also said it may come from the bone since it's not healing??

Would an abscess become swollen? There is now swelling in the area...

Yes it would swell it's like a boil on people.  What happens sometimes they will burst or the vet will lance it and it will heal over but there is still infection inside so it will swell up again.  What may have been happening with the antibiotic is that it was clearing up enough of the infection so that it wouldn't come to a head but there was still some infection left.

Denice said:

 
Yes it would swell it's like a boil on people.  What happens sometimes they will burst or the vet will lance it and it will heal over but there is still infection inside so it will swell up again.  What may have been happening with the antibiotic is that it was clearing up enough of the infection so that it wouldn't come to a head but there was still some infection left.

Click to expand...

I could never see a swelling even when it was healed - but then again the wound is so small that maybe you can not see it  especially as it's under the chin. The vet initially thought that there may still be an infection inside... that is why she did 2 sets of antibiotics (4 weeks) but could it be that it is still not cleared? I just don't want to keep on bombarding her with this... I'm not a fan of antibiotics myself as they kill good bacteria in the body as well....