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Feline abscesses
Cat bite abscess
AffectedAnimals:
Cats and other animals can develop an abscess. Unneutered male cats that spend any time outside are the most commonly affected with bite wounds.
Overview:
There is a tremendous amount of bacteria in the mouth of a cat, so when a cat bites another animal, the wound it leaves is very likely to become infected. The holes created in the skin by the teeth tend to seal over quickly, trapping all the injected bacteria underneath. When infection occurs, the wounded cat's body will send a large number of white blood cells called neutrophils to the bite wound to help kill the bacteria. A painful abscess will form when the bacteria and neutrophils combine together in a pocket of pus that will appear at the wound site or just below it.
If the abscess is not able to drain to the outside surface of the cat's skin, the cat can experience a fever, anorexia, and other signs of illness. If left untreated at this stage, the abscess will expand and burrow through the tissues until it ruptures through the overlying skin. Generally, bite wound abscesses can be treated successfully with wound care and antibiotics. A greater worry with fight wounds is that through them, cats can pass on life-threatening diseases -- such as the feline immunodeficiency virus, feline leukemia, and rabies.
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