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Orion had 3 extractions, two during the summer and one about a month ago. He's been yelling a bit the past few days but that's not unusual for him, and we had our chocolate lab euthanized so I thought he was upset by that. Then last night he came and put his front paws on my chair and meowed at me - just as he did when he had an abscess before. Sure enough when I looked his lip looked a little swollen.
Took him to the vet today and he's got 2 abscesses, at the recent extraction site and the original site. Poor guy got pain meds, antibiotics and a follow up appointment for next week. He's a good patient except for having to take pills, but the vet tech gave me a pill shooter, is that what it's called? It's basically a syringe with a rubber tube at the end that allows loading the pill and shoots it into his throat. It was a failure, I had to force feed him the pill, he got liquid meds without a problem.
After all that the poor guy was afraid I was going to grab him and manhandle him when I went to pet him. Fortunately he's a smart boy and realized I was done for the day and let me salve my conscience. It's turned into a really rough week for my poor guy, first he loses his pal now he's got dental problems and mom is manhandling him
Orion had 3 extractions, two during the summer and one about a month ago. He's been yelling a bit the past few days but that's not unusual for him, and we had our chocolate lab euthanized so I thought he was upset by that. Then last night he came and put his front paws on my chair and meowed at me - just as he did when he had an abscess before. Sure enough when I looked his lip looked a little swollen.
Took him to the vet today and he's got 2 abscesses, at the recent extraction site and the original site. Poor guy got pain meds, antibiotics and a follow up appointment for next week. He's a good patient except for having to take pills, but the vet tech gave me a pill shooter, is that what it's called? It's basically a syringe with a rubber tube at the end that allows loading the pill and shoots it into his throat. It was a failure, I had to force feed him the pill, he got liquid meds without a problem.
After all that the poor guy was afraid I was going to grab him and manhandle him when I went to pet him. Fortunately he's a smart boy and realized I was done for the day and let me salve my conscience. It's turned into a really rough week for my poor guy, first he loses his pal now he's got dental problems and mom is manhandling him
Sounds like a tough week for you as well. Sorry to hear about your lab and Orion.
No, he doesn't seem to have any idea. I'm at a loss. Anyone here have any experience with abscesses in kitties? Odie is sensitive to topical flea meds, and had fleas recently, I can't imagine a connection. I did use horrible chemicals to rid the apartment of the fleas during the summer but haven't since. I also used Capstar for the fur friends and gave Odie that when he got fleas after his extraction. But again I've no clue if there's a connection. I'm just sad the poor guy is suffering, he is very, very sweet, has never bit or scratched me. He's only scratched once in his life and that was after they drew blood from his jugular which I'm sure hurt =(
Sorry to hear about your Lab, and Orion too. I know what it's like when bad stuff piles on like that. I don't have much experience with extractions with my cats, so can't offer much help. It does sound like the abscesses/infection are related to the extractions. Maybe not the same with cats, but I've had many, many teeth pulled in my lifetime, and I can tell you that if there is any hint of infection and it's not treated before the extraction you will have problems like these or worse. Most of my extractions involved a round of antibiotics prior to pulling. I'm curious if Orion showed any signs of infection before hand. Also, did your vet have you do anything preventative for Orion after the extractions? Last week my girl Misty had 2 tumors removed from the back of her mouth, and as aftercare I'm putting antiseptic gel in her mouth twice a day to prevent infection until she's healed.
One more thought... My ladycat Gypsy is allergic to fleas. If I mess up and let any get on her (has happened twice in the past few years) she will develop very small sores around her neck, ears, and chin. My vet calls them lesions, and they will even break open and scab over, but mostly just itch her like crazy. Is Orion allergic to fleas by any chance? Don't think that's it, but just curious.
Thanks Catdad. These have been the months of hell here, I should be on the depression board. It's just one of those times in life when everything is just falling apart...
Orion had antibiotics and an NSAID after his last extraction, he's on the same NSAID now as well as a different antibiotic. He doesn't seem to have a problem with fleas but at least one of the cats, who knows which one, had a tape worm from them. I found what looked like sesame seeds on the bedding the other day. I treated them for that but I doubt that was the cause of Orion's problem.
I think he may be a pedigree - what I don't know, Maine Coon or Norwegian Forest? He has a deformity, his back legs do not align properly when he sits they are always on either side of his front paws. I think if he were human he'd walk oddly because his back legs do not align with his front, when he sits they are to either side. I'm sure if he walked upright he'd have a rolling gait like a sailor because his legs are out past his shoulders. I often think that's why he was taken to the shelter, he couldn't be sold. That said, my supposition is that if he is a pedigree he may be less hardy than the other guys. Who knows where he came from? A backyard kitten mill perhaps? Poor guy, he's so sweet and patient.
What a handsome little man and he has certainly been through it lately (and you have too - right there with him through it all). Reference the underlying causes of the abscesses - I always thought they were caused by infection. In his case maybe there is an underlying infection nobody has detected yet (I'm thinking jawbone as I had that happen with one of my boys Jack, who always seemed to have a pouty mouth and was finally found to have an infection deep in the jawbone that had probably been there for years undetected. It was only discovered by x-ray (digital) and you could see where it had almost totally disintegrated). It's amazing how much pain these little fellas endure before we even realize there's a problem, but he's telling you there's something wrong. With my Jack, he kept needing to have teeth removed and the "pouty" mouth kept returning, his labs looked ok but those x-rays told the story. He ended up with massive doses of antibiotics to kill the infection and lost all of his teeth except for one (they were afraid to pull it because it might break his jaw and it was reasonably healthy) as the jawbone couldn't be "fixed". He recovered nicely, was comfortable, able to eat, and was doing very well until this past late summer when he took a turn and we discovered he had bowel cancer. We let him go over the bridge in September of this year. I'm glad you're aware your guy is still having a problem and he is going back in, and I'll be anxious to know how he is and what is causing his problem. The pill popper with the rubber on it is way better than the old ones from years ago, but I still find just using my fingers or even those Greenies pill pockets are the easiest way to get pills down our kids when we need to. Just keep him comfortable and you two catch up on some much needed snuggling over this long holiday weekend coming up!!! Sending healing thoughts to you both...and a big hug too!!!
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