I took my 11 year old cat to the vet a little bit ago because a lump had began forming behind my cat's ear. His balance had been off and he became only able to eat a specific type of canned food. They said it was some type of Abscess and they didn't know if it was because of an ear infection or because of his teeth because they've been in bad condition and the dental procedure is very expensive so I can't afford it at the moment. They gave me something to put in his ears in hopes that that would be the issue and the abscess did not change. Now it has gotten much much larger and so I thought it was his teeth since his ear treatment didn't work but now I'm finding a lot of brown gunk filling his ear and when I started to clean out what I could and found little bits of fresh blood. I'm just curious if anyone has some insight that might be helpful
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Abscess on my cats head
- Thread starter goatee
- Start Date
Oh no....I am so sorry! It definitely sounds like an issue that a vet is necessary for. I hate to say it, I understand the $$ constraints, but sometimes that's what it takes. If it is an abscess he needs antibiotics or it will get worse. I'm surprised that they only gave you drops, instead of systemic antibiotics. Do you think you could call the vet and just tell them it isn't any better, and see if they will prescribe antibiotics instead of charging you for another visit, especially since you have made it clear you can't afford extensive treatments? My vet is good about going the cheapest route first before giving up and having to go for an expensive procedure.
I am a human doctor, not a vet and any advice that I give you about cats should be checked with a vet.
In human medicine there is an axiom: Where there is pus, let it out! and you can apply this axiom to cats. From what you have told us about the ear filling with 'brown gunk', it may well be that the abscess has burst spontaneously, but only partially. My advice is that you should take your cat back to the vet to have the cat examined and the abscess properly drained, if necessary. Until you do so, the cat may well be in considerable pain.
Incidentally, and I apologise for contradicting @hbunny, antibiotics, given for an abscess are rarely of value until the abscess is drained.
I cannot understand how an abscess behind the ear could be due to a dental cause, but the teeth do still need to be examined under an anaesthetic, particularly as a diseased tooth may also be a cause of pain. The teeth could be examined under the same anaesthetic as the one that the vet will use to examine the abscess.
With all best wishes,
Geoffrey
In human medicine there is an axiom: Where there is pus, let it out! and you can apply this axiom to cats. From what you have told us about the ear filling with 'brown gunk', it may well be that the abscess has burst spontaneously, but only partially. My advice is that you should take your cat back to the vet to have the cat examined and the abscess properly drained, if necessary. Until you do so, the cat may well be in considerable pain.
Incidentally, and I apologise for contradicting @hbunny, antibiotics, given for an abscess are rarely of value until the abscess is drained.
I cannot understand how an abscess behind the ear could be due to a dental cause, but the teeth do still need to be examined under an anaesthetic, particularly as a diseased tooth may also be a cause of pain. The teeth could be examined under the same anaesthetic as the one that the vet will use to examine the abscess.
With all best wishes,
Geoffrey
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Hi Goatee and welcome to the forum !
If you would post your approximate location, we could do a little searching for you.......
In some areas there are organizations that help with expenses like these....there are also SPCAs with hospitals where fees are variable with peoples' income...there are also rescue groups that can help.
Don't just assume there's no help to be had !
And, this is not a do-it-yourself project - attempting that could easily spread the infection.
This MUST be attended to quickly - apart from the pain, the location of this wound makes it a very serious situation.
If you would post your approximate location, we could do a little searching for you.......
In some areas there are organizations that help with expenses like these....there are also SPCAs with hospitals where fees are variable with peoples' income...there are also rescue groups that can help.
Don't just assume there's no help to be had !
And, this is not a do-it-yourself project - attempting that could easily spread the infection.
This MUST be attended to quickly - apart from the pain, the location of this wound makes it a very serious situation.
