Cat in so much pain after developing abcess

Our cat spends much of his time outdoors. He had a bite wound on his leg he was being treated for, and now has a huge lump on his neck area. It first it wasnt causing much pain, now it seems he can hardly move because of it. He doesnt even want us to pet him. I have an appointment on tuesday, but I'm wondering if I should go to the emergency room. I hate to see him suffer.

I would get him to the ER vet since he seems to be in so much pain and discomfort.  You can always follow up with your regular vet on Tuesday.

I agree.  He has an abscess that needs to be drained.  He's going to suffer until that happens.  Perhaps your vet could get him in first thing tomorrow if you call and explain the circumstances?

@darkxfire   ...I would take him to the emergency vet. It may cost slightly more, but having to wait until tuesday is far too long to be in pain. (and some ER vets are quite reasonable in costs.)

They will probably flush out the wound, give him a pain injection and antibiotics, and give you meds to take home. 

Not sure about the lump on his neck, but it can be from an infected lymph node, so the vet will know what to do.

Please take him in if he is in pain.

Actually the wound on his leg pretty much healed. He was on an amoxcillin based medication for two weeks. It was only brought up to me last week he had something. I called the vet, and he said Tuesday is the only time available. He didn't have any pain at first and it was hard. Then it turned soft and painful. Im assuming it's an abscess. He will hardly let me get near him or pet him. I wish I had leftover metacam to give him if could for a day. Tommorow is a holiday

Its about 2-3 inches long

As Lavish Squalor mentioned, the lump could also be another abscess, that needs to be drained, and was not showing at the first appointment.

They would have to lance it to drain it, to relieve his pain. Only a vet would know what he needs. Having a closed up abscess is painful and dangerous. May cause systemic infection.

Don't hesitate, just bring him in. good luck.

Thanks for the replies. Brought him into the closest ER clinic near me that was open, since today is a holiday. He ended up having a large abscess, and lost quite a a bit of weight. He was initially 4.2kg when he got his shots late march. Today he was 3.85kg. Poor thing. Put back on the same antibiotics and metacam. I ended up paying about $550 all in, but my insurance should cover 85% of it hopefully lol. Its just hard to see your own pet through so much pain, and being so helpless, sometimes its worth paying a little extra.

So glad that you took him in.

And glad that you have pet insurance, too, since I figured it would be double what usual vet charges, but it seems that ER's are always higher.

It's good, for the future to scope out and research some other ER clinics, either online or by phone, to see differences in reviews, payment plans, locations, costs, etc.

And to always have one or two, that you are familiar with for emergencies, since our pets always seem to get sick when our usual vets are closed.

Some vets, do have weekend hours, too, and extended hours, ...so researching those would be good also.

It all depends upon how you trust, and like your own vet, though, and if they are who you and your animal are comfortable with, then spending a little more, would not matter.

As for your cat's weight loss...just keep an eye on it...after the meds are entirely out of his system. Going from 9.3 lbs to 8.5 lbs (4.2 kg to 3.85 kg) might just have to do with him being currently unwell, being outdoors, or even difference of scales and weight taking at each vet place. If he is not neutered, then he will be more apt to get into outdoor fights, as well. Cats fight for territory. So I hope he is neutered.

But even neutered cats get picked on, so it's good that you have him all up to date on his vaccines, especially feline leukemia vaccine. Outdoor cats also can hunt, and pick up intestinal worms, so taking in stool samples and having it checked for parasites, might help, too.

Basically, you are doing a great job, by just taking notice, and taking care of your guy, as best you can.

He has a constant urge to be outside, and I hate that. Its ok to be out a litte, but usually around 12-15 hours a day. This is in Canada, we live in these rowhouse apartments with plenty of area behind and a huge ravine. We have raccoon's, skunks, and other animals regularly. We also had a rabies outbreak in the city with around 100 cases of rabid raccoons/skunks/dogs.  I really wanted to get him fixed, since the SPCA does clinics where they fix, chip and give him the rabbis vaccine for $20 certain times a year, but my brother was telling me not too. Usually they will do it around $70, and $180-$400 at a regular vet. Just for the three shots, I ended up paying more than what it would cost to completely vaccinate, neuter and chip him. 

After seeing him go through what he did, I hope to never see it again. Too much heartbreak to deal with, and it could've been much worse

It's really never too late to neuter. And you can still look for SPCA, Humane Societies, or low cost neuter programs. They probably have waiting lists, but it's still better, than an unaltered male wanting to go out and fight, because his hormones are driving him to. Cat fights are awful. Check to see if your city has any type of low cost neuter programs, too.

You're right, seeing our cats in any type of pain, is terrible.

Glad to hear you got him to the vet on the holiday. Hoping he's improving!

You should reconsider neutering your cat especially if he goes out. It will help out his health by reducing his risk of testicular cancer, reduce aggression and spraying and will also help reduce unwanted pet population in your area. By letting him out un-neutered, its likely he will impregnate an unspayed female cat who will have kittens and those kittens will have kittens and lots of cats potentially without good homes will have been born. Please at least consider it. You can read more about the benefits of spaying and neutering and about the procedure, check out this page from the BC SPCA. I'm also in Canada and I'd be happy to try to help you find a low-cost option in your area if you want, feel free to PM me.