Abscess healing time?

I have a cat with a burst abscess - my vet cleaned it and gave her injections of antibiotics and pain killers and put liquid antibiotics directly into the wound. I asked if I should keep cleaning it and the vet said no. it's a large gaping wound on her neck. The vet said it would heal in around a week but it's been three days and it doesn't look any better (or any worse). The cat seems fine apart from the huge hole in her neck - she's eating and drinking fine and is not lethargic -  and I'm keeping her indoors for now. How long do abscesses usually take to close up? 

if it's that large, two weeks should do it.

The only thing you can do is keep it from getting infected. Indoors helps speed up healing, too. Best not to strain her too much (no active playing - sorry), but keep her company and let her know you are there for her. She'll be confused as to why she is suddenly locked up. 

Is she wearing one of these ugly cone collars?

Thanks roguethecat - she is very confused and not very happy about being locked up! Two weeks isn't too bad though. 

She's not wearing a cone collar - the wound is under her chin/on her neck so the collar would irritate it. 

ok. Tell her to be patient. Tell her that my Grisou had a similar wound on his front leg and I carved in and let him out after a week, only to have the closed wound burst open again (who knows what the little devil does when he is out).

Maybe you can put the TV on for her, or leave a window open a slit so she can hear what is happening outside without escaping. Or if you feel the pity, invest in a interactive toy... and extra treats.

Oh poor Grisou - I'll think of him when she's howling at the window to go out. I took her in from the street and unfortunately, even though she has plenty of food here, she still has a habit of dumpster diving and coming back filthy so I know she's better off inside for now, but I feel very mean keeping her locked in - especially as I have to keep her separate from all my other cats, and she can see them playing outside! She's getting lots of extra treats though. 

you're getting it wrong - dumpster diving isn't for food, it is for the adventure! My crowd loves sneaking into the garage and sit on top of the bins, just to get the smell.

Don't feel mean. You're helping her. Tell her she can get out as soon as it is completely healed. Tell her she is one lucky cat as there are some that don't go out at all, or worse, don't have a home. Maybe you can put some cardboard boxes up for her to play hide and seek, or something to climb (in my place, even though everyone gets out, they love their cat trees).

My cancer support cat has an abscess on her hip, not a great time as she HATES Vets. We are treating with bentonite clay as I have had amazing results for cancer related illnesses and we are already using it in her food. We wonder if we should have it closed up. Wanted to know if anyone has dealt with this. Thanx

roguethecat said:

 
you're getting it wrong - dumpster diving isn't for food, it is for the adventure! My crowd loves sneaking into the garage and sit on top of the bins, just to get the smell.

Don't feel mean. You're helping her. Tell her she can get out as soon as it is completely healed. Tell her she is one lucky cat as there are some that don't go out at all, or worse, don't have a home. Maybe you can put some cardboard boxes up for her to play hide and seek, or something to climb (in my place, even though everyone gets out, they love their cat trees).

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ha - I wish she wasn't so adventurous then! I'm in Jordan and haven't seen any cat trees here - although I'm sure she'd love one. I bought her some pieces of wood to scratch on and she's enjoying that. 

DoraAQ said:

 
ha - I wish she wasn't so adventurous then! I'm in Jordan and haven't seen any cat trees here - although I'm sure she'd love one. I bought her some pieces of wood to scratch on and she's enjoying that. 

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can you get some sisal rope and glue? then you could make your own cat tree. Any rope should do.

Thanks for rescuing cats in Jordan!

Laylacat mom said:

My cancer support cat has an abscess on her hip, not a great time as she HATES Vets. We are treating with bentonite clay as I have had amazing results for cancer related illnesses and we are already using it in her food. We wonder if we should have it closed up. Wanted to know if anyone has dealt with this. Thanx

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Hi Laylacat mom - sorry to hear about your cat. I haven't got any experience with bentonite clay so hopefully someone else can help you with that. 

As to whether the abscess should be closed up - I was sure my cat would need stitches/sutures as the abscess left a deep and wide hole, but the vet said it's better to leave it open and let it heal itself, and that there's a risk of trapping in infections if the wound is closed too early. Other vets may have different advice though. 

My vet also gave my cat antibiotics - so it might be worth putting some amoxicillin in your cat's food, in very low doses? I've done that before with feral cats who I couldn't get to the vet and it's helped. 

Hope your cat gets better soon! 

roguethecat said:

 
can you get some sisal rope and glue? then you could make your own cat tree. Any rope should do.

Thanks for rescuing cats in Jordan!

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I'll try - maybe it would stop them all playing with my shoes/climbing up my legs too! It's hard to live in Jordan and not take in cats - we have really beautiful and sweet ones here, and a lot of them!