Questions About My 17 yo Boy

Casey has had more than his share of health problems one requiring ear surgery over the years. The last few years he has had problems with the appearance of bags of pus which have fortunately broken by themselves before they did any lasting damage. One appeared this past Wednesday. Now he is considerably smaller than he was a couple of years ago. He was a large cat as a youngster but now is quite skinny despite eating and drinking at least a normal amount.

He was OK until Friday morning when he started to hide under the bed and stopped eating and drinking. The bag which was near his left ear was nowhere near as large as ones he has had in the past. I thought he was going to die. Made an appointment with the vet who I never cared for BTW for Saturday just before noon just before they close. Long story short the vet tells me to euthanize him immediately like right now. Bear in mind that before the appearance of the bag by his ear he's been acting normally running up and down the stairs eating drinking staying in close proximity with his 3 friends in the kitchen and using the litter box always.

Vet told me my only option besides putting him down right now because he is suffering would be an emergency clinic which could cost upwards of $1K because he had to be sedated and have the bag lanced and drained. Well the bag broke by itself so this morning having no other immediate options I called the vet to get him a shot for any infection that might be left. Vet supposed to call me when she gets in which was an hour ago still no call.

We have been giving him water and his wet food mixed with water since Friday afternoon since he didn't move from under the bed. Sunday afternoon while we are feeding him the bag broke wide open and we were able to get all the pus out of the infected area. Cleaned him up real good and he went back under the bed for about an hour. He gets up an hour later to get a drink and use the litterbox then runs downstairs to the kitchen. So he's pretty much back to normal now drinking but while he goes over to the wet food just nibbles and walks away.

At least until he starts to eat normally again we need to supplement what he eats. Baby food OK? Secondly IF I cannot get him an injection for any leftover infection I can order Clavamox. That would be better than nothing right? Not ready to give up on him he seems to be at least as alert and active as he was before the infection appeared. My concern is getting enough food in him. Another idea was Pet Ag Catsure which I can get on Amazon. AD Hills at Petco requires a prescription from a vet and I don't know what this woman is willing to give us. I am in the process of getting another vet.

Sorry for the wall of text.

I am sorry to hear about what you are going through with Casey.  I just wanted to let you know that someone saw your post and cares.  Perhaps you could provide some more information about where you live.  This is an international forum perhaps someone on here would have some experience with some vet offices in your area.  If you want to PM me more about your location privately that is fine too.  Even if I am not in your area at all I would be more than happy to help do some research online for you. 

I only have experience with human abscesses and not with cats.  I can say that sometimes it is difficult to find the right antibiotics to treat the underlying infection that causes them in humans.  I do not know if this is done with cats but perhaps when you do find a new vet you can ask them to do a culture of the abscess because if this can be done on cats it is very helpful for finding the right antibiotics. In humans these abscesses are a form of staph infections.  Even though you mentioned this last abscess has drained already it might not be a bad idea to ask a new vet about pain meds for this issue as well as the culture to make sure you have the correct antibiotic if this is an on-going issue. Sometimes they do not drain fully when then open themselves up and that is why an antibiotic is needed for the infection.  These abscesses can be very painful for your cat and I know that when I am dealing with them I want to hide and sleep.  My human doctor gives me Bactrim for an antibiotic.  I am not sure if there is a cat safe version of this medicine but it may be something to look into. I have personally been on Clavamox too for this issue but my doctor discovered that Bactrim was a better match to treat the infection that causes mine. One thing that is very helpful to humans to put a heating pad on the area. You could try setting up a heating pad on low in the primary area you cat sleeps. Even though this one has drained itself the heating pad may help with any pain your cat is still feeling until this can be addressed with the vet. The cat may seek out the heating pad as a source of warmth and comfort.  

Has your vet done any sort of testing to try to figure out what is causing these abscesses?  If you can do so when you find a new vet try to see if the vet will work with you to find the cause of this issue.  Also when you do find a new vet ask if they would be willing to give you some nausea meds.  The antibiotic can cause nausea in humans and that would certainly cause a cat to stop eating.  When I have been on Clamvox myself I have always been told to take it will small meal.

I have dealt with cats that have stopped eating though and understand how hard it can be to get them to eat again.  Here are somethings that worked for me years ago when one of my seniors stopped eating.

Watered down Fancy Feast Classic Pate-Chicken or Turkey

Plain cooked chicken cut into tiny pieces (This could be watered down and put in a blender to create a slurry that could be syringe fed)

Meat Flavored baby food with no garlic or onions in it

Goat Milk (If you can not find this one of my close friends had luck using lactose free milk for humans just make sure it is not fat free)

Please do not apologize for the wall of text because the information you provided is helpful for others to give advice.

I am sorry you are being told to put Casey to sleep and I agree with your decision to keep trying to help him.

My cat went though the not wanting to eat stage too...she lost a LOT of weight. I took her to the vet. He gave her some kind of shots . And said to bring her back in 5 days. He was very concerned , because she lost the weigh within 2 weeks time. I ordered some PROBIOTICS  and added them to her PATE food (which was new) within days she was eating and gaining weight! I also put a few drops of VIRGIN ORGANIC COCONUT OIL in her food...in fact she licked the coconut oil right off my finger.

Today she is back to eating and being her normal self. Try these things they cannot hurt...all natural...good luck

I got the probiotics online....it was for cats and dogs..check your local pet stores too

Thanks to both of you for the replies. I have managed to get an appointment with a well respected vet in my area. Durham NC. Hopefully she will give him a shot of Covenia for whatever infection might still exist. Although I know it is difficult to tell whether a cat is in pain or not he seems to be OK. I know the rapid weight loss he has experienced over the past year probably has some underlying cause too dreadful to mention and he has lost all this weight while eating nearly as well as he had previously. I plan on keeping him going as long as he wants to be with us.

The new vet is quite nice and reasonable as well. They are doing blood work. The weight loss is a big concern. She did give him a shot of Covenia and said the abcess seems to be healing fine. Hopefully the blood work comes back showing something treatable or the diagnosis is cancer. Hope not.