Our kitten had an abcess that ruptured Friday night. It was a small abcess (the scab on it was the size of a pinhead), so I didn't notice it until it had ruptured. Of course, we took her to the vet and the vet shaved around it, drained it as much as possible, and packed it full of antibiotic cream. After it was shaved and drained, it is about and inch to and inch and a half in diameter. She's on antibiotics (a shot they gave her and pills I have to give her once a day), and they sent me home with a cleanser that I clean the wound with twice a day and I pack it with antibiotic cream twice per day. She's wearing an e-collar (she hates it but the vet highly recommended she wear one) and is fairly frisky considering all she's been through. She's eating and drinking normally and wobbles around in her e-collar.

My question---how long does it generally take something like this to heal (average)? What should I look for to know that it's healing and not getting more infected? I have a vet appointment on Saturday, but I was wondering if anyone else had experience with cat abcesses and could offer any additional advice or what to look for.

6/14/2010 12:01:45 AM

Shouldn't take more than a week or two to heal, depending on how deep it is. Any additional swelling, redness, heat, etc. are things to look for. I doubt you'll encounter any problems from here on out as long as you keep it clean and keep the e-collar on.

6/14/2010 1:01:13 AM