Is it safe to treat an abscess on a cat at home? (Please see details)?

Question

I've been taking care of an abandoned cat. I tried taking him to a no-kill shelter but they are all full and cannot accept anymore cats. So I took the fellow to my vet, and was told the best thing I could do for him was to have him neutered. He has recovered from the procedure and is looking healthier but the first time I let him outside he took off and came back 3 days later with wounds on his paw. Now he has an abscess on his shoulder. I've been through this with my own two cats so I know the swelling needs to be lanced and drained. I've already spent $94 on this cat that isn't mine - I want to get him healthy and find him a home. Is it possible to drain the abscess or let it rupture on its own without endangering his life? I think he's on his 8th by now.

Thanks for the help.

Answer 1

what you can do at home is limited. if it is not open and draining it needs to be so soak a cloth in hot water (not hot enough to scald) and press it firmly but not painfully over the area do this several times through out the day this is to open the wound and allow it to drain. clean it with peroxide several times a day once it has opened and has started to drain clean it until it stops bubbling. i wouldnt do this for more than a week without results after that i would take him to a vet. why cant you keep him anyways? 3 cats is nothing.

Answer 2

   I encountered a similar situation with a cat whose people didn't care for him. He had a thumb-sized abscess behind his ear. Since he wasn't my cat and I couldn't afford to bring him to the vet anyway I took matters into my own hands.

   I boiled new sharp razor blades then put them in a container of rubbing alcohol, swabbed the cat's ear area with alcohol and then jabbed the abscess as carefully and quickly as I could. It was disgusting!

  I cleaned it out with 2 small squirt bottles of the saline solution sold for sinus infections. Tried to put bandage dressings on it but he removed them as soon as I put them on leaving the cat with a nasty open wound.

   I got penicillin capsules at an aquarium supply store the next day and gave it to him twice a day ( I'd been feeding him so he'd come to me) in food for 10 days. I got the correct dosage from the Merke Veterinary Manuel at the library but upped it. I don't remember the amounts but you could probably find online.

   I tried to keep it clean for him but that was a lost cause. He healed very fast compared with a person and was fine in spite of my blundering efforts as an amateur surgeon.

   What I suggest though is that you call the vet, explain the situation and ask if he or she could prescribe an antibiotic. Also ask for shelter advice as a vet probably has more information than you.

   It is a wonderful thing you are doing - especially having him fixed. Good luck.

Answer 3

Most kitties with abscesses need antibiotics and a deep wound flushing to help them recover. And in a few months he needs to be tested for feline leukemia and aids, both diseases cats get from others infected cats, not curable.

Answer 4

DO YOU SEE A PUNCTURE HOLE ON HIS SKIN ??

IV NEVER HEARD OF AN ABSCESS WITHOUT A PUNCTURE HOLE.

YOU KNOW THOSE SYRINGES THAT DONT HAVE A NEEDLE IN THEM ??  YOUR VET .....I'M SURE WILL BE ABLE TO GIVE THEM TO YOU FREE.

I HAVE TAKEN ONE OF THOSE SYRINGES AND FILL IT WITH HYDROGEN PEROXIDE.  INJECT IT INTO THE AREA WHERE THERE IS PUSS.

YOU CAN INJECT IT INTO THE SKIN.  WHAT YOU WILL SEE IS THE HYDROGEN START TO FOAM PUSHING OUT THE PUSS AND DISEASE.

IT LOOKS AWFUL, BUT IT DOES REMOVE THE PUSS UNDER THE SKIN.  ONE TIME SHOULD DO IT.  THE SKIN WILL LOOK HARD AT FIRST, THEN IT WILL START TO HEAL.

IV DONE THIS FOR ABOUT 25 YEARS. I HAVE TWO CATS I OWN NOW THAT HAD SEVERE PUNCTURE WOUNDS AND YOU CANNOT SEE WHERE I TREATED IT.

BEST OF LUCK AND BLESS YOU FOR YOUR KINDNESS.............