I hope it's something easily taken care of.

 

Fingers and paws crossed for you.

 

We're back! Stix did bite her. The vet shaved the area, gave her antibiotics and said that the abcess will probably open up within the next few days, and when that happens I just need to keep it clean so it can heal. I should expect her to get a little sluggish and lose her appetite a bit, as well as run a fever, she was already one degree over normal at the vet. This is her second abcess from a Stix bite, is there any way I can disinfect his mouth? :lol: Maybe I should get him some Orbit gum. Anyways, poor baby.

 

Orbit gum!

I'm glad it was nothing more serious, although that's pretty bad. Do they fight often?

 

Glad it was nothing real serious.
Sounds like Stix might be having jealousy issues. Is there a way that you can give him some extra attention by himself? Explain to him that you love him, but you need him to be friends with Kota.

That abscess will be gross when it bursts. If you could lance it yourself, it would be better.
Get together supplies you'll need, first. Get some sterile saline solution, or some other wound cleanser; Betadine will work. Peroxide can kill delicate tissues, so avoid that. You'll need a syringe with no needle, a sharp, sterilized X-Acto knife or single-edge razor blade, and some gauze or a bunch of cotton balls.
You can make your blade sterile using rubbing alcohol or a flame.
Have a wad of gauze or cotton balls handy, and make a little cut toward the edge of the abscess. Squeeze the contents out, blotting up the mess as you do. Fill up a syringe full of saline and squirting it into the wound with one hand, have more gauze or even paper towels ready with your other hand. Do the wound flushing two or three times, and then bandage it up. Give Kota a fresh bandage every day, and watch to make sure it's healing okay. Oh, I forgot to mention treats; give her lots of treats and lovin'.
That was easy, wasn't it? :wink:

 

I'm guessing since the vet didn't lance it, it wasn't quite ready to lance yet.
Heat to the area, like a heating pad would help it come to a head, but I know my crew wouldn't permit it.

Glad you caught it early though.

 

Poor Kota, I'm glad that you noticed the area and was able to get it treated early. Taz had an abscess that broke open on my hand 8O . It did heal alot faster once it had opened up.

 

We're back! Stix did bite her. The vet shaved the area, gave her antibiotics and said that the abcess will probably open up within the next few days, and when that happens I just need to keep it clean so it can heal.
snipped

Glad you got her fixed up.

Does she look a little like this?...................

Tommy got bitten in the bum by a local feral when playing in the garden Jan 07. We got him to the vet right away and he was antibiotics for a while. No abcess but the shaved area made him wag his tail like a dog for a week.


Mick.

 

Poor Kota. I imagine that area is very tender.

 

Glad it was nothing real serious.
Sounds like Stix might be having jealousy issues. Is there a way that you can give him some extra attention by himself? Explain to him that you love him, but you need him to be friends with Kota.

Well....she is actually the one that starts the fights!! I guess it's the Siamese attitude. Even though she is way smaller, she still picks on him. Its not all the time - they do play nice and even groom each other once in a while. But when they fight they can really get into it. I was chiding her on the way to the vet telling her she needs to behave.
Thank you for the advice on lancing the abcess when it appears. At the moment all you can see is the slight swelling, and the puncture. When she had one before, on her neck, it was already bubbly by the time we noticed it so the vet took care of it. I think I can do this! I do have a mini heating gel pack, I will try that on her tonight, if she lets me!
Mick, the vet tech only shaved the top of her tail but I was thinking of getting my husband to finish it all the way around like that. Right now she is just lounging on the tile like a sweet little baby. I'll have to give her a second dropper of medicine in a little bit. Thanks guys for all your advice.

One question, is there a chance that it won't even get 'bubbly', and maybe just go down after a couple of days?

 

Snipped for brevity

One question, is there a chance that it won't even get 'bubbly', and maybe just go down after a couple of days?

Well, Tommy's puncture was pretty deep but I think with (a) getting him to the vet right away for antibiotics and (b) shaving all around the injured area, both on top and underneath as the bite was on both sides of the tail, it certainly did stop him getting any abcess and swelling problems.

Mick.

 

Just keep a close eye on it. You, and Kota, might luck out. If you have some neosporin to gently rub on the area, that will also help.

rcat

 

Ouch! 8O Glad you caught it early though. Poor kitty!